Nathaniel Mann’s practice often begins with a simple but powerful question: what can sound reveal that conventional histories cannot? Across his work, listening becomes a method of uncovering forgotten narratives embedded within landscapes, institutions and collective memory. Projects such as The Cut and Tyburnia demonstrate this approach. In The Cut, Mann explored the social and […]
For Nathaniel Mann, collaboration is not secondary to composition — it is composition. His work consistently unfolds through encounters with specialists, communities and makers whose knowledge shapes the final sound. This includes collaborations with filmmakers, curators, academics and visual artists, but also less expected partners: a swordsmith, a pigeon fancier, ex-Gurkha musicians and archivists. These […]
Pigeon Whistles remains one of Nathaniel Mann’s most iconic and unconventional works — a composition performed not by musicians on stage, but by Birmingham Roller pigeons flying overhead carrying handmade whistles. The project emerged from Mann’s fascination with sound, movement and the relationships between humans and animals. Working alongside pigeon fanciers, he designed custom whistles […]
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, […]