James Benjamin
Montreal-based sound artist, composer, producer, and DJ working across immersive audio installation, ambisonic field recording, and spatial performance.
Contact: james@breakglass.ca
Bio
James Benjamin is a Montreal-based sound artist, composer, producer, and DJ working across immersive audio installation, ambisonic field recording, and spatial performance. His ongoing EAR (Ecological Ambisonic Recordings) series has been presented at Never Apart, MUTEK Montréal, MURAL Festival, the PHI Centre, and STEAMROOM 03 in Brooklyn. His practice includes immersive multichannel works built from self-recorded environmental sound, synthesis, recorded musical material, and spatial composition for installation, listening room, and live performance contexts.
Selected Immersive Works
EAR (Ecological Ambisonic Recordings)
EAR is an ongoing series of immersive spatial sound works built from self-recorded, time-accurate ambisonic B-format environmental recordings. The long-term project is centered on building a growing archive of 24-hour spatial environments across different geographies, soundscapes, and ecological conditions. These recordings become the basis for multichannel compositions, listening experiences, and installation works that explore time, movement, density, and perceptual thresholds.
EAR 005, STEAMROOM 03, Brooklyn, 2024
EAR 004, Habitat Sonore, PHI Centre, Montreal, 2022 to present
EAR 003, MURAL Festival / Mercedes-Benz Innovation Zone, Montreal, 2022
EAR 002, MUTEK Montréal, Montreal, 2021
EAR 001, Never Apart, Montreal, 2020
Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey
Original soundtrack composition and recording
Canadian Centre for Architecture
Original soundtrack composition and sound design
Salon du Livre de Montréal
Original soundtrack composition
Tim Hecker, Fog Works 2
Immersive sound system design and live mix
Below Breakglass immersive room listening experiences
Ongoing series, Montreal
Silence Please, New York City
Immersive ambient experience, 2026
Documentation / Work Samples
Selected audio excerpts and documentation from immersive and spatial sound work.
Spatial sound excerpts from the EAR series.
BB04 immersive installation excerpt
BB05 immersive installation excerpt
Ambisonic mixing session at Qualcomm Studios, San Francisco
EAR 003, MURAL Festival / Mercedes-Benz Innovation Zone
EAR 004, Habitat Sonore, PHI Centre