This web site is dedicated to the work of composer and sound designer Joseph Young. My acting agent's web site can be found here.

Since 1986, I have been composing electroacoustic soundtracks for theatre, TV, film and radio, having trained initially as an actor at Drama Centre, London (1979-82). My current working methods have evolved from film-like scores to experiments with improvisation and interaction using field recordings as the basic building blocks for composition in performance.

In 2005, I completed a research MA (Design by Independent Project) at the University of Brighton - the final outcome of which was a sound installation called The Family Album. Excerpts from The Family Album were broadcast on Framework on Resonance 104.4 FM on 25th November 2005. The installation was also successfully restaged at the 2006 Sonic Arts Network Expo at Victoria Baths in Manchester.

The seed for this research was planted back in January 2002 when the Arts Council of England awarded me a Personal Development Grant to develop an interactive musical performance system using a new software product radiaL (based on Max/MSP), then in its beta testing phase. I was very excited by the possibilities that radiaL offered in escaping the use of pre-recorded soundtracks in a live medium such as theatre. By using samples made from improvisations with the actors (and appropriate to the sound world of the play) then performing them with radiaL, I was able to respond to the actors' movements and words in rehearsal, in a real-time collaborative process more akin to playing in a free jazz ensemble. I have used this technique successfully since in a number of dance performances. The report I wrote for the Arts Council, detailing my initial experiences with radiaL is available here.

I am interested in soundscapes that bring the listener into the "hear and now"; creating a quiet space in the present moment that inspires contemplation and reflection. In this, I am influenced by the work of the Luigi Russolo's Art of Noises manifesto, and in particular the 7 remaining bars of Awakening of a City. I have used this work as a jumping off point for my latest project (Re)Awakening of a City! - a multimedia celebration of urban noise, with a group of artists under the banner of The Neo Futurist Collective.

My online project field, showcases work that utilises phonography and the human voice.