Madelyn Byrd (they/them, b. 1992) is a Berlin-based (sound)artist, activist and educator investigating connection, home, biophilia, and the adjascent possible or ‘what if...’ Madelyn believes stretching and pulling at the uncanny nodes of possibilia holds the power to conjure psychosocial transformation beyond human-centred perspectives. Fostering a deeply collaborative spirit, Madelyn engages with social praxis, sound, somatics, and digital media to de/re-construct the perceptual realm and voice emergent patterns of interconnection. Their research-intensive approach to practice balances playful, unbound creativity with scholarship, positioning them at the fringe of experimental music communities and academia. 

Madelyn holds a Masters in Neuroaesthetics from Goldsmiths, where they researched the impact of collaborative imagination on measures of connection and hope in social praxis art. They teach sonic worldbuilding theory + music production courses with Soundial. Madelyn, alongside collaborator Lou Croff Blake, is currently a fellow at Zurich University of the Art’s School of Commons (SoC) developing their project, Chimera. Madelyn is the co-founder of Gravity Pleasure, an emerging record label and event series that highlights the intersection of hydrofeminism and queer ecology with sound and workshops by women, trans, and non-binary artists.

⚛︎ *:･ﾟ

Madelyn produces music, DJs, and performs under their genre-defying moniker Slowfoam. Slowfoam amalgamates a constellation of sound sources ~ electroacoustics, field recording, granulated synthesis, feedback, sound design, drones, and spoken word ~ into a/biotic relects from the aqueous deep. They sculpts their live and DJ sets for deep-listening environments, clubs, and everything in between. Slowfoam has performed and toured extensively, including recent performances at Subbacultcha (NL), Cafe Oto (London), The Lab (San Francisco), Morse (Tokyo), and Morphine Raum (Berlin). Their discography has been published with Somewhere Press, Mappa, Lillerne Tapes, and Jungle Gym Records. Their work has yielded features on Bandcamp, Electronic Sound Mag, DJ Mag, First Impressions, Pitchfork, Boomkat, The Wire Magazine, and Futurism Restated.