| Byron J Scullin | |
| Alias: | Spiderface |
| Origin: | Australia |
| Occupation: | Composer |
Byron J Scullin is an Australian composer and sound designer.
His sound design work has appeared in performances and exhibitions at National Gallery of Victoria,[1] Rising Festival,[2] and Dark Mofo.[3]
His 2015 Dark Mofo art piece Bass Bath was a collaboration with the company Supple Fox,[4] made up of Hannah Fox and Tom Supple.[5] The work featured eight "2100 horsepower monolithic subwoofers"[6] in the space which audience members could move around to change their experience, with the low tones causing a physical sensation across their body.[7] [8]
In 2017 he returned to Dark Mofo with Supple Fox. Their art piece Siren Songs included 450 speakers and a helicopter broadcasting sound around the city as part of the performance which The Guardian called "eerie, dark and beautiful."[9] The work later toured the Perth Festival where it was reworked for the new setting.[10] [11] They then reimagined the piece as Clarion Call for a performance in Ipswich as part of SPILL Festival of Performance where it included local musicians Shirley Collins, Elizabeth Fraser, and Beth Gibbons.[12]
Byron has released one single under the alias Spiderface. A Seasonal Gift was released in 2014 as a free single with David Thrussell. Elsewhere, he has worked with Francois Tetaz, Darrin Verhagen, Philip Brophy, and Midnight Juggernauts. In 2016 he co-founded the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS) along with Robin Fox, which contains a collection of synthesisers and other electronic music instruments available to the public.[13]
In 2021, Scullin's work The Rivers Sing (created with artists Deborah Cheetham Fraillon and Thomas Supple) was presented as part of the RISING: festival in Melbourne. It was presented again as part of RISING: 2024.[14]