Artist Statement
Petri Huurinainen is a Finnish-born composer, improviser and sound artist based in London. His work explores listening as an embodied and relational practice between body, instrument and environment.
Working primarily with the acoustic guitar, he develops a distinctive sonic language using extended techniques, bows, objects and electronics to reveal the instrument’s material qualities and resonances. Rather than treating the instrument as a tool to control, he approaches it as a collaborator, allowing its physical properties and responses to shape the sound.
Field recordings and environmental listening also play an important role in his work. Through attentive observation of sonic environments, he creates compositions and performances that explore subtle changes in texture, space and rhythm. Improvisation remains central to his practice, while recent work has expanded into composition through the development of graphic and text scores that connect his visual and sonic approaches.
Across performance, recording and installation, he is interested how listening can become a creative and reflective method for engaging with sound, place and material.
Short Bio
Petri Huurinainen is a Finnish-born composer, improviser and sound artist based in London.
Before moving to the UK in 1996, he was active in Finland as a guitarist, singer and songwriter, playing and gigging extensively in rock and punk bands. He was also part of the ethno-shamanistic art group Niskende in collaboration with Hungarian artists, an experience that introduced him to improvisational and durational approach to performances and to a more expanded, experimental approach to sound making. Within this group, instruments were often modified to alter their sound, and DIY instruments were built and incorporated into performances.
His music has been released across a range of formats, including cassette, vinyl, CD and digital platforms, spanning both solo work and collaborations. He frequently collaborates with artists from other disciplines, creating live soundtracks for film, performance and theatre. His solo album Nico’s Grave (2023) developed from a three-year exploration of field recordings made in Berlin, combining environmental sound with guitar improvisation. Alongside his studio-based practice, he performs live in a variety of contexts, both solo and collaboratively, and since 2014 he is a founding member of the improvisation duo Bouche Bée with experimental voice artist Emmanuelle Waeckerlé.
Together with his artistic practice, he has over twenty years of experience as an educator working in special educational needs and alternative provision settings, where he develops listening-based sound workshops that connect artistic practice with pedagogy. He holds a PGCE from Goldsmiths, University of London, an MA from University of Kent, and a BA from University of Dundee.
Selected Works
Bridges in the Air — collection of text scores (2026)
Worm’s Theatre — sound composition for an installation by Juliette Ezaoui at GroundWork Gallery (2026)
Nico’s Grave — solo album exploring Berlin field recordings and guitar improvisation (2023)
Frrree mon cheri — album with Bouche Bée (Earshots Records, 2024)
Exile Nothing — LP (2016)
Selected Performances
2026 — GroundWork Gallery, King’s Lynn
2025 — Studio Voltaire, London
2024 — Voicing Festival, 100 Years Gallery, London
2022 — Morley College, London
Exhibitions
Improvisation 3 — included in The Order of the Drawing, Drawing Research Network, Loughborough University (2023)
Improvisation 1 — Lots of Things Have Happened, Malaspina Printmakers, Vancouver (2020)
Education & Workshops
Alongside his artistic work, Petri Huurinainen has over twenty years of experience as an educator, particularly in special educational needs (SEND), social emotional mental health (SEMH) and alternative provision settings.
His workshops explore listening as a creative and reflective practice through sound walks, field recording and improvisation. Participants are encouraged to engage with their environments in new ways, developing awareness of subtle sonic details and exploring how listening can become a tool for creativity and self-expression.
His ongoing project Bow Sound Walk (2025–) brings together environmental listening, field recording and graphic scores in workshops designed for students in alternative provision settings.
