Maria W Horn: Drone Music, Esotericism, and the Panopticon
Maria W Horn, a Swedish composer and visual artist born in 1989 in Härnösand, combines electroacoustic music with themes of the esoteric and historical memory. She pursued her studies at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and Universität der Künste Berlin. Co-founding the Sthlms Drone Society alongside Mats Erlandsson, Horn released her first album, Kontrapoetik, in 2018, which delves into witch trials of the 17th century and labor disputes from the 1930s. Her second album, Epistasis, came out in 2019, continuing a sacred narrative. In 2020, her work Dies Irae debuted in Stockholm and was showcased at Tallinn Music Week and in Milan. She collaborated with Sara Parkman on Funeral Folk in 2022. Horn is set to perform at the Transmission Festival in Ravenna, Italy, on November 23, 2023, and her forthcoming album, Panoptikon, is inspired by an installation at Vita Duvan prison.
Key facts
- Maria W Horn is a Swedish musician, composer, and visual artist born in 1989 in Härnösand.
- She studied at Royal College of Music in Stockholm and Universität der Künste Berlin.
- She co-founded Sthlms Drone Society with Mats Erlandsson.
- Her debut album Kontrapoetik (2018) addresses witch trials and labor conflicts.
- She participated in a feminist satanic sect using organ, mellotron, and Buchla synthesizer.
- Her album Epistasis (2019) continues sacred themes.
- Dies Irae premiered in 2020 in Stockholm, Tallinn Music Week, and Milan.
- Funeral Folk (2022) with Sara Parkman explores mourning.
- She performs at Transmission Festival in Ravenna on November 23, 2023.
- Upcoming album Panoptikon is based on a prison installation at Vita Duvan in Luleå.
- The prison is the only Swedish Panopticon (1856–1979).
- The installation used speakers in each cell with individual voices.
- Panoptikon will be released on XKatedral label in November.
- Horn cites John Bauer and Eliane Radigue as influences.
Entities
Artists
- Maria W Horn
- Catherine Christer Hennix
- Mats Erlandsson
- Sara Parkman
- John Bauer
- Eliane Radigue
- Jeremy Bentham
- Samantha Stella
Institutions
- Royal College of Music Stockholm
- Universität der Künste Berlin
- Sthlms Drone Society
- XKatedral
- Transmission Festival
- Tallinn Music Week Festival
- Chiesa di Santa Maria Annunciata in Chiesa Rossa
- Artribune
Locations
- Härnösand
- Sweden
- Stockholm
- Berlin
- Germany
- Ravenna
- Italy
- Luleå
- Milan
- Tallinn
- Estonia