Ben McCarthy is an electronic musician and sound artist from Toronto, Canada. Working layers of purloined, processed and documented sound into music that slips in and out of generic idiom, his output spans ambient and electroacoustic compositions, sound design for theatre and art video games, blown out DJ assemblages, sound installations, and improvised multimedia performances. He recorded pop music as Pale Eyes, reaching the electronic top 10 on Canada’s college music charts for his 2013 release Sweatshop. McCarthy won the Dora award for Outstanding Sound Design and Composition in Independent Theatre in 2019. His work with art video game collective SpekWork has been shown at the Venice Biennale, Amaze Berlin, and Mayworks’ Nightshift. His podcast Precariat Content explored art as labour through interviews with working artists such as Kent Monkman, Jordan Tannahill, and Maria Chavez. Recent digital and interactive works have been included in the Social Distancing, Vector and Cluster Festivals.
Ben McCarthy
