Nathaniel Mann’s work resists easy categorisation. While often described as a composer, his practice extends far beyond traditional composition, moving fluidly between sound art, research, performance, broadcasting and installation. At the core of his work lies an enduring relationship with sound and listening — not simply as artistic media, but as ways of understanding place, history and human connection.

Across more than a decade of projects, Mann has built works that emerge through context. Whether exploring the socio-political histories of Britain’s waterways, the colonial residue of recorded sound in South Africa, or forgotten public execution sites in England, his pieces grow from deep research and collaborative exchange. Sound becomes both archive and intervention, revealing narratives hidden within landscapes, institutions and communities.

This expansive approach has earned him recognition including the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Composers and an Arts Foundation Fellowship. Yet his work remains rooted in experimentation: creating compositions that are not fixed objects, but living experiences shaped by dialogue, participation and site.