Nikki Sheth BMus, MMus, FHEA, PhD

Nikki Sheth is an internationally recognised sound artist and composer. Her practice involves field recording, soundscape composition, multimedia installations, sound mapping and soundwalking. Her work uses multichannel and ambisonic spatial practices to create immersive listening experiences and engage with audiences. She uses sound as a medium to bring a voice to the environment and encourage a wider awareness of the natural world.

Nikki recently completed a PhD in Musical Composition at The University of Birmingham titled ‘Blurring the Lines Between Field Recording, Soundscape Composition and Acousmatic Music’. The practice-led research project investigated the relationship between field recordings and the genres of pure field recording composition, soundscape composition and acousmatic composition in her own practice and reflected upon how this relates to practitioners in the field, acquired through a series of interviews.

She has received international recognition for the quality of her field recordings and soundscape compositions. In 2020 she was awarded a Sound and Music award, nominated for the Phonurgia Nova Awards in the ‘Field Recording: Soundscape’ category and was an Honourable Mention for the Sound of the Year Awards in the ‘Composed with Sound’ category. In 2021 she was nominated for an Ivor Novello Composer Award in the Sound Art Catergory. Her debut album Sounds of Mmabolela received an excellent review in The Wire Magazine.

Her work has been presented internationally including at BEAST FEAST (UK), Sonic Territories (Germany), Pitea Performing Arts Biennial (Sweden), KMH (Stockholm), MANTIS (UK), Spektra Festival (Columbia), Ecoacoustic Congress (Brisbane), Barber Institute of Fine Arts (UK), The Global Composition (Germany), DLR Lexicon (Dublin), Perspectives on Listening (Brisbane), Balance Unbalance (UK), Sound + Environment (UK), Sound Thought (Glasgow) and more. She has been featured on Framework Radio, Clydebuilt Radio, Resonance FM and BBC Radio 3 and her work has been published with a variety of labels. Recent commissions include Ambient Soundscapes (live set), Sound Explorers (global soundmap), Connections Through Culture, UK - South East Asia (British Council funded project), We’re All Bats (Binaural Soundscapes series), Land Lines (soundscape composition), Ten Acres of Sound (sound walk) and Artefact Projects (multimedia installation).