Somerset House Studios returns with Assembly 2026
Somerset House Studios is set to host Assembly 2026, its acclaimed biannual festival celebrating experimental sound, music, and performance, from 26–28 March. Launched in 2018, Assembly has become a cornerstone of the Studios’ multidisciplinary arts community, offering a platform for sonic innovation and live experimentation. The festival blends elements of exhibition and performance, commissioning new works, and presenting UK premieres alongside pieces developed during residencies at Somerset House Studios. This year’s line-up features artists including Jasleen Kaur, Laurel Halo & Hanne Lippard, felicita, Onyeka Igwe, Ellen Arkbro, Hannan Jones & Samir Kennedy, and DeForrest Brown, Jr, among others.
Ellen Arkbro
The first day of Assembly opens with a focus on deep listening and harmonic exploration. Composer Ellen Arkbro will premiere For Crumhorns and Regal, a work created during her 2025 residency, performed with the London Crumhorn Consort. The piece explores sustained tones and the crumhorn’s unique timbre to approach an ideal of pure harmonic clarity. Artist and composer Raheel Khan also presents Oh Forewarn, drawing on the brass horn’s historical and spiritual resonances to create an evocative sonic experience. Additionally, the experimental gallery G31 will host Sour Loop, a collaborative installation by Laurel Halo and Hanne Lippard. This work investigates how sound shapes behaviour in public spaces, blending muzak, PA announcements, and anti-loitering deterrents in a thought-provoking audio-visual composition.
De Forrest Brown Jr,
Friday’s programme emphasises improvisation and iterative performance. felicita (Dominik Dvořák) presents czysta forma, an evolving project inspired by the Polish concept of ‘pure form’, combining electronic and instrumental music with dance-inspired structures. Meanwhile, Hannan Jones and Samir Kennedy present Relay, an exploration of dual identity and psychological multiplicity. Using analogue tape loops and contact microphones, the artists build immersive, layered soundscapes, integrating body movement and spatial resonance into their experimental compositions.
felicita (Dominik Dvořák), czysta forma
The festival concludes on Saturday with a full day of performances and talks. Highlights include Seyi Adelekun’s (un-)drowned, a work reflecting on London’s submerged waterways and Black healthcare histories, and Daniel Oduntan & Audio Visual Ensemble’s Working Memory, which examines memory, media, and spatial transformation. New ensemble works by Jasleen Kaur and Onyeka Igwe interrogate cultural memory and diasporic histories, while performances by Mark Fell & Mohammad Reza Mortazavi and Hanne Lippard & Renato Grieco explore the intersections of electronics, percussion, and vocal experimentation.
Seyi Adelekun
The festival closes with DeForrest Brown, Jr’s Synoptic Audio and Trevor Mathison’s immersive sound installation, both reflecting on cultural perception, technology, and sound’s spatial and political dimensions. Assembly 2026 continues Somerset House Studios’ commitment to experimental music and sound art, providing a dynamic space for live innovation and critical engagement. Tickets for the three-day event and individual performances are now available, with some exhibitions open to the public free of charge until 12 April.
Full Assembly programme here
Date: 26–28 March 2026. Location: Somerset House Studios, London, Strand, London WC2R 1LA. Price: Full day Saturday: £48.50 / £38.50 concessions. Individual performances: £12–£20 (varies by event). Free exhibitions: Sour Loop open until 12 April 2026. Book now
