Jay Needham: Moderator (Super Bloom 2026)

The Interdisciplinary Arts & Performance (IAP) B.A. program is proud to present a special low frequency sound installation by Jay Needham (Southern Illinois University). The sound installation is presented in association with the Super Bloom ambient music festival. 

Needham is an artist, writer/editor, and educator. As a multi-instrumentalist and visual artist, he creates sound art, music, productions for radio, visual art, performances, and installations that activate listening as a vital component of artistic perception. Through his works, he explores themes of militarism, surveillance, family archives, ecology, and autoethnography that are often informed by his life-long experience with hearing loss.

Moderator is a composition and public installation that resides on the threshold of audile perception through the use of low frequencies and volumes. In the piece, low frequency sound waves were amplified through a block of graphite and the resulting resonances were recorded for use in the installation. In nuclear reactors, graphite is used to slow neutrons as a way of sustaining chain reactions. Moderator is a part of Narrative Half-Life, a series that traces my familial ties to the origins of the atomic bomb and to Hanford, Washington, site of the first full-scale atomic reactor.    

Amplified using a single subwoofer, the installation prioritizes close listening of low frequency ranges, but also expands the utility of the subwoofer as a speaker with mid-range frequency response and potential. The composition will be substantially derived from the live performance by Needham on Friday, February 20th as a Super Bloom performer.

This sound installation will be joined by documentary imagery, audio, and video from the Super Bloom 2025 and 2026 festivals. 

Super Bloom is a two-day ambient and drone music festival. The festival celebrates the unique contributions of Arizonans to these genres while also featuring the work of nationally-recognized musicians. This year's festival features over a dozen musicians, including numerous ASU undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty. 

Super Bloom is presented by the Interdisciplinary Arts & Performance (IAP) B.A. program in collaboration with Desert Drone. Desert Drone was created in June 2022 in Tucson, Arizona, focusing on experimental art, sound, and movement. What was once a one-off noise show has turned into a continuous flow of experimental music throughout Southern Arizona. Super Bloom 2026 will take place in the new ArtSpace West gallery at ASU's West Valley campus. 

Super Bloom is curated by Charles Eppley (ASU) and Zack Hansen (Desert Drone). 

Parking

Free parking is available at ASU Lot 6. Paid parking is available across the ASU West Valley campus. Accessible parking is available at ASU Lot 14.