Sound artist John Chantler reflects on leaving behind one’s homeland

While in New York in January I caught a performance by Stockholm-based sound artist John Chantler, who hunkered down behind a small table outfitted with two small analog synthesizers and a computer. The set began with pinging electronic sounds that flickered about, then gained in density, volume, and physicality as the minutes passed, eventually transforming from a pleasant ambient splatter of electronic starbursts into a punishing din that toggled between assaultive and enveloping.…