Tim Exile (UK)

Tim Exile, born Tim Shaw in 1978, is a British musician and performer known for his use of custom digital instruments that allow him to transform sound in real time. Following an initial phase linked to drum ‘n’ bass and the club scene, he developed an increasingly performative approach, building complex systems where sampling, synthesis, and processing are controlled instantaneously, in an almost instrumental way. He has released music on labels such as Warp and Planet Mu, but the core of his practice is live performance, where composition, improvisation, and interaction with the machine merge. Exile has long collaborated with Native Instruments, contributing to the development of software instruments that reflect his vision of electronic music that is ‘played’ rather than programmed. His concerts are continuous flows in which vocal, rhythmic, and harmonic materials are captured, transformed, and re-launched, creating structures that emerge and dissolve before the audience. His research questions the boundary between author and instrument, between control and unpredictability, proposing a vision of technology as a creative partner rather than a mere tool.