Dirk Stromberg is a multidisciplinary artist whose work integrates free improvisation, instrument-making, and live production. His career has led him to perform and present his work across Asia, Europe, North America, and Australia, reflecting an ongoing commitment to innovation and exploration in music and performance.
Beginning as a jazz and blues guitarist, Stromberg’s evolving interest in composition and avant-garde traditions led him to free improvisation, where spontaneity and sonic exploration became central to his practice. His performative language is influenced by artists such as Robert Reigle, Evan Parker, Peter Brötzmann, Derek Bailey, and Richard Scott, whose work has guided his approach to structure, sound, and creativity.
Stromberg’s work explores interplay with improvisation, production, and instrument design. His instruments draw from production practices to offer intuitive, turn-key solutions, while his improvisation informs the agility and adaptability he brings to live production. This interconnected approach fosters continuous technical and artistic growth.
As an instrument maker, Stromberg creates tools that reflect his artistic philosophy and facilitate unique interactions with sound. These instruments are an extension of his artistic voice, serving both as tools for performance and as conceptual explorations. Their creation and use form a feedback loop with his improvisational practice, allowing his artistic philosophy to inform his design, and vice versa.
His instruments include the Phallophone (2016–2021), Sphere (2014–2019), Strombophone (2009–2016), and Fryprone (2021). Each instrument evolves through iterative design, informed by Stromberg’s research and extensive performance practice. The Fryprone, designed with touring in mind, embodies this adaptability. Lightweight and portable, it features 48 capacitive touch sensors and accelerometer integration, enabling performers to explore intricate articulations of pitch, rhythm, and timbre while bridging technical innovation with artistic intention.
In live production, Stromberg emphasizes the immersive and ephemeral nature of performance. His expertise spans commercial production, telematic experiences, virtual acoustics, multi-channel systems like ambisonics, d&b Soundscape, and L-ISA, as well as sound design for theatre and concerts. He balances technical precision with the spontaneity of live performance to craft engaging, visceral experiences that challenge conventional notions of space and presence.
Stromberg has contributed to numerous interdisciplinary projects. Images of Ascension has been performed across Asia and Europe, including a notable presentations at Singapore’s ArtScience Museum. His Intensity series has toured Southeast Asia and the UK, while Telepaesants, a collaboration with Michal Seta, explores telepresence through integrated audio, video, lighting, and projection has been presented in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. Other works, such as Alt F: In Front of the Body and time:crystals, explore different approaches including VR and physical hardware to create immersive, collaborative performances.
Stromberg’s discography includes Borderless Field, Primitive Touch, and Images of Ascension, alongside collaborations with ensembles and collectives such as Telepaesants, Davilakn, and Kaon’CPT. His work in telematic performance emphasizes innovative approaches to remote collaboration, integrating media to enhance telepresence and connectivity.
Throughout his career, Stromberg has shared his expertise at conferences like NIME, NowNet Arts, IEEE, and Music Tech Fest and presented work at festivals including KLEX (Malaysia), SIFA (Singapore), and Moers (Germany).
As a Senior Lecturer at LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore, Stromberg mentors students in production and performance practice, drawing on his extensive experience in interdisciplinary projects and live production. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Composition from Texas Tech University and a Master’s degree in Music from Brooklyn College, CUNY.
Dirk Johan Stromberg 