During his residency at Sonic Acts’ Spatial Sound Studio, BJ Nilsen developed Scalar Towers, co-commissioned with INA GRM. Expanding on decades of work with field recording and composition, Nilsen transforms vast architectural and natural structures into resonant instruments. Drawing on recordings made inside a historic water tower in Radio Kootwijk and a feed silo in Friesland, Scalar Towers explores “vertical acoustics” - how sound ascends, reverberates, and reshapes within towering spaces. Originally recorded and mixed in Atmos the recordings are further developed through electronic processing, extending their tonal range and accentuating the complex resonances of these towering environments. Immersive, physical, and meticulously detailed, the work marks a major moment in Nilsen’s ongoing explorations.
This work has been commissioned and produced by Sonic Acts and INA GRM as part of New Perspectives for Action, a project by Re-Imagine Europe, co-funded by the European Union.
BJ Nilsen (SE/NL) is a composer and sound artist whose work explores the relationship between sound, nature, and human perception. His practice spans field recording, composition, and sound design, often focusing on environmental, urban, and industrial soundscapes. Nilsen’s projects range from explorations of urban acoustic environments (Pending and Auditory Scenes Amsterdam (2020)) to large-scale audiovisual works created with filmmaker Karl Lemieux, including unearthed (2015), Yujiapu (2017), and Plateformes (2025), examining industrial landscapes across Europe, Asia, and North America. Nilsen has collaborated widely across disciplines and has worked with artist Femke Herregraven, musicians Chris Watson, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Hildur Guðnadóttir, directors Gaspar Noé, Denis Villeneuve, Benedikt Andrews, choreographer Örjan Andersson, and many others. Nilsen has released over 25 albums across three decades, including True than Nature (2025) for Ideologic Organ.
