The Laws of Nature draws from improvised dancer brain activity

The new recording by Andrew Staniland, The Laws of Nature, is released on 1 August 2025 via Leaf Music. It collects twelve short compositions produced through a hybrid process involving environmental sensors, MIDI capture, and EEG interfaces. The album was initiated as part of a commission by Kittiwake Dance Theatre in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and uses material generated during live improvisation workshops with dancers, each wearing EEG headbands. The resulting brainwave signals were converted in real time to MIDI data, then reorganized and edited into fixed works.

Title: Laws Of Nature
Artist: Andrew Staniland
Release Date: 2025-08-01
Genres: Ambient, Contemporary Classical, Experimental Music
Label: Leaf Music
Description: Andrew Staniland's The Laws of Nature, out August 1 via Leaf Music, uses EEG data and custom digital instruments to produce twelve short electronic works.

The first half of the album, Dancer Portraits, consists of six pieces built from individual dancer sessions. These are presented as discrete, self-contained tracks. The second half, also titled The Laws of Nature, reworks the same material into six interrelated compositions, making use of additional electronic treatments and generative elements. All music was composed and performed by Staniland. The Dolby Atmos mix was handled by John DS Adams, who also co-produced the album alongside Staniland.

The record makes use of JADE (Joint Audio and Digital Environment), a digital instrument developed under Staniland’s direction at the Memorial ElectroAcoustic Research Lab (MEARL). JADE integrates real-time physiological and environmental data—such as humidity, elevation, and brain activity—as control parameters for musical performance. In this instance, EEG input was used as a primary trigger mechanism.

Andrew Staniland is a Canadian composer based in St. John’s, Newfoundland. He studied at the University of Toronto and was a resident composer with both the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (2006–2009) and the National Arts Centre Orchestra (2002–2004). In 2014, he was elected to the inaugural cohort of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada. Staniland has been commissioned by ensembles including Flex Ensemble, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, and has collaborated with artists such as Frances-Marie Uitti and Jessica Care Moore. His work has been published by labels including Naxos, Centrediscs, Analekta, and Redshift. In parallel to his compositional output, he is a guitarist and founder of MEARL, where he led the development of JADE and Mune, both digital instruments focused on real-time expressive control.

The Laws of Nature is issued on CD, digital download, and in Dolby Atmos format.

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