Sonic Art Research Unit

SARU is a research group that provides a forum for dialogue and exploration between the fields of experimental composition and sound art. It is situated in the School of Arts at Oxford Brookes University between the fields of Music and Fine Art. Areas of interest include electroacoustic and language based composition, interdisciplinary practices, field recording and auditory knowledge.

SARU is bolstered by a community of practitioners and is home to audiograft, a festival of contemporary experimental music and sound art.

A row of trees is the online journal of SARU

You can get involved in SARU through our Research Degree programme.

Banner image of Harriet Butler, Renzo Spiteri and Helen Frosi, taken during their residency, ‘Knowing Another is Endless’, at audiograft 2019.

A row of trees – The Journal of the Sonic Art Research Unit

a row of trees attempts to loosen the bounds between disciplines, and is committed to publishing new works across a variety of fields, backgrounds and mediums.

Our first two issues are available online.

Both issues of this volume grew from the experience of writing and delivering the ‘On Vibration’ lecture series from 2021 to 2022. The delivery was by far the more vital experience, bringing with it the gift of spending time with the participants and their practises in and out of the lectures (those who have contributed to this journal and not), holding the rhythmic rupture and continua of remarks and responses that continue to be sensed and considered.

Publications

Physical works distributed through SARU by current members and affiliate artists.

VISIT THE SARU STORE

People

If you want to know more you can find a collection of work by SARU on the Oxford Brookes University research repository RADAR or take a look at the following links (many more can be found throughout our website):  

audiograft
Sound Diaries 

Please contact sonicartresearchunit at gmail dot com for more information or if you have questions.

SARU supports the record label Consumer Waste and often works in partnership with Compost and Height and Oxford Contemporary Music.