- Dates:
17 March 2026
- Opening times: 19:00 - 21:30
- Venue:
Temple of Art and Music, London, SE1 6DR
- Entry:
Free
The Engine Room presents: Andrej Bako and Zhuo Mengting performing Sine, Surge; Carpet Diem (Shannon-Latoyah Simon, Sam Leith Taylor and Hannah McLoughlin); and Tallulah for an evening of sonic experimentation that pushes at the boundaries of sound art and music.
Zhuo Mengting (b. Guangzhou, China, 1990) composes situations with site, sound, body and time, in the forms of performance, participatory installation, and concerts. Often minimalist, subtle and intimate, her work invites the audience to investigate themes of connection, transmission, contingency and distance.
Sonically, she is exploring the politics of listening – the creation, reception and manipulation of signals – as well as the liminal points where sound and space intersect, through a series of happenings predominantly using non-instruments, unwanted noise, found objects and the body. Recent scores were developed for MAO Torino, Italy, Frieze London, and Cafe OTO London, UK.
As a performer and director, she has made encounters with audiences in theatres, galleries and other spaces, including a park, a beach, a karaoke club, a flat, and online. She studied Performance Making at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she is now based. Her work has been presented internationally, including in the UK, China, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Andrej Bako (b. Cardiff, Wales) is a London-based sound artist with roots via Greece, Slovakia and Wales. Through installation, site specific work and performance he researches ideas around collective cultural memory, human agency and our impact on the natural world, inviting the audience to create new connections to the unheard; the nuanced rhythm and sounds uncovered from our environment.
He uses laptop electronics, modular synthesis and field recordings to compose intricate soundscapes, combining algorhythmic and generative techniques alongside musical influences of 90’s Detroit techno and dub.
Most recently he designed and composed a 16 channel ambisonic piece for permanent installation in London’s Natural History Museum. His work has been shown in galleries at the Barbican London, Hayward’s Gallery Artnight, William Morris Gallery and internationally such as The Light Festival, Iceland. He has performed in the UK in Café Oto, Shacklewell Arms, The Others, New River Studios, O2 Academy Islington and throughout the world, recently returning from a 4-month tour of venues and festivals in Slovakia, Czech Republic and Italy.
Sine, Surge
Are we oscillating? Sine waves, the ocean, the coming and going of tides—natural rhythms shape movement, sound, and perception. How do we attune ourselves to forces beyond our control?
Blurring the lines between electronics and performance art, this electro-acoustic duet explores oscillation on multiple levels, evoking connections to tidal motion, gravity, and the delicate interplay between order and chaos.
A household speaker and a suspended string become instruments for physical and sonic oscillations. The speaker, vibrating as both raw kinetic force and carrier of signal, interacts with the microphone in a feedback loop, generating unpredictable shifts in the soundscape. The string, hanging and swinging with varying tension, moves in response to these forces, creating a space where movement feels both guided and powerless.
This project challenges conventional approaches to electronic live performance by transforming everyday objects and a simple sound system into dynamic, unstable instruments. The interplay between feedback systems and physical motion results in a performance where neither the performers nor technology holds full control, shifting electronic music towards a more fluid, responsive, and embodied form.
Carpet Diem is an experimental ambient trio made up of Shannon-Latoyah Simon, Hannah McLoughlin & Sam Leith Taylor. Blending loops, drones and soft noise, they invite listeners to sink into dreamy landscapes where texture slowly shifts and time begins to unfold.
Shannon-Latoyah Simon is a Classical Guitarist, Angelic Reiki Master Teacher, Galactic Reiki Practitioner, and Sound Healer who brings deep passion and devotion to her practice. Her work is deeply rooted in embodied listening and sonic awareness. Using field recordings and organic material she creates immersive ambient soundscapes, crafting sonic environments that blur the line between the cosmos, ancient and future worlds.
Sam Leith Taylor is a composer and improviser, who sometimes also works with paper and video. His work often explores the edges of machines, bodies, and public space, designing colourful systems of feedback and layered noise. Recent points of interest include bodies of water, the mouth, and collecting paper used to test pens or printers.
Hannah McLoughlin is an improviser, composer and flautist. Her sonic work shifts between the realms of electro-acoustic analogue soundscapes, avant-garde synth-pop and film scoring.