Stephen Vitiello

The creator of this mix, Stephen Vitiello (b. 1964, New York), is an American electronic musician, multimedia artist, and curator based in Richmond, Virginia. Vitiello has collaborated with musicians such as Scanner, Pauline Oliveros, Frances-Marie Uitti, Andrew Deutsch, Steve Roden, Machinefabriek, and Yasunao Tone, as well as with visual artists like Nam June Paik, Tony Oursler, Julie Mehretu, Joan Jonas, and Eder Santos. His numerous releases have appeared on distinguished labels such as 12k, Sub Rosa, and Crónica, among others. Vitiello has performed at renowned venues like Tate Modern, the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival, The Kitchen, and The Cartier Foundation, and his work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions at leading modern art venues, including MASS MoCA, The High Line, Museum 52, MoMA PS1, and the 15th Biennale of Sydney. His contributions to art and music have earned him a Creative Capital award (2006) and a Guggenheim Fellowship (2011-2012). Vitiello is Professor of Kinetic Imaging at Virginia Commonwealth University. The 2011 documentary Stephen Vitiello: Listening With Intent, produced by ABC-TV, Australia, offers further insight into his work.

STM 071 connects 19 recordings through children’s voices, from home recordings and school choruses to pop songs, electronic composition and cinema. Steve Roden’s 1973 performance of “Bad Leroy Brown” gives the selection a personal archival thread. School choruses singing “Sugarcube” and “Space Oddity” sit alongside Smog, Four Tet and Aphex Twin, while voices drawn from M, The Birds and The Night of the Hunter bring a more unsettling view of childhood. Stockhausen’s Gesang der Jünglinge carries the voice into electronic composition. The sequence moves between unguarded play, carefully arranged songs and transformed speech without losing that human presence.

Records and connections

STM 071 could be likened to Ed Garman’s abstract expressionist piece “No.243 – 1946,” where playful geometric patterns evoke imagination, empathy, and comfort. Garman’s exploration of movement and stillness mirrors Vitiello’s mix, as both initially seem playful yet reveal deeper meaning and ideology upon closer examination.

Stephen Vitiello wanted to say ‘Thank You’ especially to Steve Roden, John Dombroski, Raewyn Martyn, Dan Rowe and Ben Hewer!