# Event Details - **Event Name**: OPTION: Matt Robidoux - **Event Start and End Date**: Sun, 16 Aug, 2026 at 03:00 pm – Sun, 16 Aug, 2026 at 05:00 pm - **Event Description**: Matt Robidoux performs "spiral worker," which features an expanded corn synth system to create a sculptural, world-building experience.About this EventMatt Robidoux presents "spiral worker." The spiral worker operates as a connector in a rhizome-like network, gathering and transferring material (corn synth, corn silk, corn husk), unlike tree-like structures that impose order. spiral worker features an expanded corn synth system (Kinetically Operated Randomness Network) built around two touch-controlled aluminum corn ears. This instrument draws from my collaboration with disability communities through Pauline Oliveros' AUMI project. The corn synth's design references the Buchla 158 synthesizer from the 1963 San Francisco Tape Music Center, creating a hybrid modular environment. Through spiral work the piece transforms this system into a sculptural, world-building experience involving multiple performers on electronics, percussion, violin, euphonium, and saxophone. All participants—performers, audience members, and conceptual frameworks—function as interconnected spiral workers within this non-hierarchy.This performance and interview are presented in the ESS garden, and will premiere online on ESS's YouTube.The OPTION series is curated by Andrew Clinkman, Lily Finnegan, and Dorothy Carlos.Event DetailsSunday, August 16Music at 3pmExperimental Sound Studio Garden5925 N. Ravenswood Ave., ChicagoAbout Matt RobidouxMatt Robidoux (they/he) is a San Francisco based composer, improviser, and educator interested in sound-gesture causality and the convergence of movement and sound as it relates to free improvisation and accessibility. Their primary instrument is the “corn synth” (Kinetically Operated Randomness Network), a modular system that interprets physical input from two “ears of corn” sculptures cast in aluminum.They are part of a composer collective with Sally Decker, Brendan Glasson, Briana Marela, Michelle Moeller, and Mitch Stahlmann, and Flatways, an electroacoustic improvising trio with Jordan Glenn and Sudhu Tewari. They have a duo with Laetitia Sonami called The Gleaners that often collaborates with Paul DeMarinis. They have worked with Creativity Explored, Del Sol Quartet, Fred Frith, Eclipse Quartet, William Winant, Jaap Blonk, Laura Steenberge, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Anla Courtis, J Mascis, and gabby fluke-mogul.They hold a MA in music composition from Mills College, where they studied with Roscoe Mitchell, Zeena Parkins, John Bischoff and James Fei. Their scholarly work is featured as a chapter in Improvising across Abilities: Pauline Oliveros and the Adaptive Use Musical Instrument via University of Michigan Press (2024).Matt has performed throughout North America, Europe, and Japan and has work available on Already Dead, Null Zone, Crash Symbols, Feeding Tube Records, Mystra, Exploding In Sound, Ydlmier, Carpark Records, and most recently their own imprint Air Tone.Artist StatementWhy corn? I like to focus on the modularity/ubiquity of corn and this kind of illogical sculptural sound causality as a starting point for free improvisation. The instrument was invented during my residency at ACRE in Wisconsin, where I cast two corn cob moldings in aluminum at a metal pouring workshop in a cornfield. Movement and touch determine the parameters of pitch, velocity, and duration. This makes for an accessible instrument, at once charming and absurd, while also a merging of my practice creating space for unrestricted musical improvisation.The modular environment, configured around two touch controlled aluminum cast ears of corn, is informed by my ongoing work with Pauline Oliveros' final project AUMI (Adaptive Use Musical Instrument) in direct collaboration with the disability community and multidisciplinary arts organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. The powerful echo and artistic legacy of Mills College CCM (1967-2022) resonates in my design of the corn synth, modeling it after the Buchla 158, the original synthesizer used at the San Francisco Tape Music Center beginning in 1963.About OPTIONOPTION is an ongoing music salon curated by Chicago musicians Andrew Clinkman, Lily Finnegan, and Dorothy Carlos and presented by Experimental Sound Studio. Its programming explores contemporary perspectives on improvisation and composition in a 'salon' format, enabling local, national, and international artists to publicly discuss their practice and ideas as well as perform. Click here for past OPTION performances. - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/chicago/option-matt-robidoux/100001989620916721 - **Event Categories**: entertainment, art, music, performances, live-music, workshops, it - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 - **Event Highlights**: - Duration: 2 hours - Location: Experimental Sound Studio - Languages: English ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: USD ## Event venue details - **city**: Chicago - **state**: IL - **country**: United States - **location**: Experimental Sound Studio - **lat**: 41.989151 - **long**: -87.6745105 - **full address**: Experimental Sound Studio, 5925 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, United States ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: OPTION: Matt Robidoux - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events9/banners/9229e78cb236c601ed7ec5a650874af72939760b11ccc02ac126002f1348d56b-rimg-w1200-h600-dce13a75-gmir.jpg?v=1778850550 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is OPTION: Matt Robidoux being held? - **A:** OPTION: Matt Robidoux takes place on Sun, 16 Aug, 2026 at 03:00 pm to Sun, 16 Aug, 2026 at 05:00 pm at Experimental Sound Studio, 5925 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, United States. - **Q**: Who is organizing OPTION: Matt Robidoux? - **A:** OPTION: Matt Robidoux is organized by Experimental Sound Studio. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** OPTION: Matt Robidoux is ideal for music lovers, fans of all genres, and anyone who wants to celebrate the power of music - from intimate gigs and live sessions to festivals and cultural performances. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Chicago, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. If OPTION: Matt Robidoux sounds like your kind of event, don't wait - spots fill up fast. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "OPTION: Matt Robidoux", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events9/banners/9229e78cb236c601ed7ec5a650874af72939760b11ccc02ac126002f1348d56b-rimg-w1200-h600-dce13a75-gmir.jpg?v=1778850550", "startDate": "2026-08-16", "endDate": "2026-08-16", "url": "https://allevents.in/chicago/option-matt-robidoux/100001989620916721", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "Experimental Sound Studio", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "5925 N. 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The facility is home to a full-service recording, mixing, and mastering studio for hire;Audible Gallery,a small public space for exhibitions, meetings, workshops, performances, and artists' projects; and theCreative Audio Archive—an invaluable collection of recordings, print, and visual ephemera related to avant-garde and exploratory sound and music of the last five decades. ESS presents eclectic performance and installation programming, workshops, and artist talks year round—both in the various spaces around the studio (including its beautiful garden) and at various partner venues around Chicago." } ] } ] ```