Selected artists and launch of the 2026 residencies
Following the results achieved in 2025, Casa degli Artisti launches Phase 2 of the 40Hz project, a research platform exploring the relationship between sound, perception, and neurophysiological processes, with a specific focus on sub-frequencies around 40 Hz.
The project now enters a new operational phase, with the start of artistic residencies and the expansion of the scientific network that will support its development in the coming months.
Selected artists
Here are the selected artists:
Gabriele Vassalli
📅 Residency: May 18 – June 10
Musician, electronic music producer, and co-founder of the project Box of Tangerine. His practice develops through interdisciplinary research within musical composition and performance, with a particular focus on improvisation, electroacoustic composition, and the use of the electric guitar as a prepared instrument.
Mattia Valentini
📅 Residency: June 11 – July 2
Musician, producer, and composer, Valentini moves across sound research, musique concrète, and electroacoustic music, blending dark and industrial atmospheres with evocative, cinematic electronics. His work spans experimental music, sound design, and composition for visual media, including projects for film, fashion, and brands.
Lo.Sai (Lorenzo Saini)
📅 Residency: July 3 – July 24
With a background in philosophy, double bass, piano, composition for visual media, experimental theatre, and a DIY punk approach, Lorenzo works at the intersection of electronic dance music, film scoring, sound art, and performance. His production explores ambient and IDM territories, aiming to create narrative and club-oriented listening experiences. In club contexts, his work gravitates toward techno and bass music, balancing musical and extra-musical influences.
Stegonaute (François Sivignon)
📅 Residency: September 7 – September 30
Stegonaute is a French musician and composer working at the intersection of ambient music and cinematic storytelling. His sensitive approach to sound is shaped by the Vercors mountains where he lives, as well as themes of memory and fragility. Trained in film composition at the conservatory, he conceives his works as “music for invisible films,” blending synthesizers, tape machines, Nintendo consoles, and archival recordings.
Fe Dong
📅 Residency: October 1 – October 27
A Berlin-based pianist and sound artist, her practice combines bodily states, improvisation, and sensor-based live mediation. Her work explores how physiological signals can become expressive material in live performance, investigating what it means to make the hidden activity of the body visible and audible.
Elena Giuriato
📅 Residency: October 28 – November 25
Her research explores the relationship between symbolism and the emotional depth of the human being through sound. Her practice aims to materialize archetypal forms of communication, drawing from a deep and ancestral memory. Through her sensitivity to the invisible, she translates the intangible into a vibrant, performative sonic experience.
The selected proposals share a strong alignment with the exploration of sub-frequencies, both from a compositional and scientific perspective, with particular attention to the relationship between sound, body, and perception, as well as to the active involvement of the audience during listening sessions.
During the residencies, artists will work in the Atelier Musicale of Casa degli Artisti, developing new compositions with the support of the artistic direction and the scientific team.
The residency process
During the residencies, artists will develop compositions lasting approximately 25–30 minutes, integrating sub-frequencies into their musical language through a shared protocol.
The work includes:
• use of the 40Hz Rack for frequency integration
• development of controlled listening environments
• continuous exchange with artistic direction and production
• ongoing dialogue with the scientific team
Each project is therefore conceived both as a musical composition and as a research device.
Scientific team and new partnerships
The project continues under the scientific coordination of neuroscientist Sasha D’Ambrosio, with contributions from Thiago Leiros Costa and researchers Simone Frettoli and William Giroldini, who are responsible for EEG data collection.
Phase 2 marks a significant strengthening of the scientific component through collaboration with the University of Pavia – Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences.
Within the university, the project develops in collaboration with:
• the Developmental Psychobiology Lab, led by Prof. Livio Provenzi
• the WHYPSY Lab – Work, Health and YOU through Psychology, led by Prof. Serena Barello
This collaboration will contribute to the design of EEG protocols, data analysis, and the development of the neuroscientific framework, including advanced research lines such as hyperscanning and brain synchronization.
Alongside this, the project further expands through the involvement of the Politecnico di Torino – Department of Electronics and Telecommunications and Music Technology, with Prof. Massimiliano Zanoni and Prof. Cristina Rottondi.
Their work will enable the integration of electromyographic (EMG) measurements into the protocol, introducing a physiological measure of muscle tone and emotional states, enriching the interpretation of EEG data and improving the understanding of individual responses to sound stimuli.
Data collection structure
Phase 2 includes an expanded and more articulated data collection process:
• during Open Studio sessions, pre- and post-listening questionnaires are administered to the audience
• EEG recordings are conducted in dedicated sessions using controlled audio material
• EMG measurements will be progressively integrated during public sessions
This approach allows for the combination of:
• subjective data
• neurophysiological data
• observation of experience in real listening contexts
Public presentations and development of the public program
Each residency concludes with a public Open Studio, conceived as an integral part of the research process.
These moments are not only artistic presentations but also observation environments, where the audience actively participates through listening and questionnaire responses.
The works developed during the residencies will also form the basis of a 40Hz public program, which in the coming months will extend beyond Casa degli Artisti into external venues, expanding audience engagement and data collection opportunities.
A research platform through music
With Phase 2, 40Hz consolidates its positioning as a platform where music becomes a tool for investigation.
The project operates within an international research context exploring the effects of sound stimulation on brain activity and cognitive and emotional processes, with the aim of building a replicable model that integrates musical practice and scientific observation.
This new phase represents a decisive step forward: from initial methodological validation to a broader, shared, and interdisciplinary research structure.
40Hz continues to grow as a space where music becomes research and contributes to scientific knowledge.
Credits and partners
Special thanks to the Artistic Directors: IDRA and Brail, the neuroscience and research team — Sasha D’Ambrosio, Thiago Leiros Costa, Simone Frettoli, William Giroldini — and all partners supporting the project:
Municipio 1 Milano, University of Pavia, Politecnico di Torino, Music Innovation Hub, Lifegate, That’s Contemporary, Egidio Galvan, Urbantale, together with all the people and organizations contributing to the project’s development.
Follow the project at casadegliartisti.org and on Instagram @casadegliartisti_art
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