Sound and Music’s In Motion programme brings together a diverse group of composers, each with a unique voice and vision. This Q&A series offers a glimpse into their creative worlds.
Here, we speak to In Motion 2025 composer John Falsetto.
Has your background, identity or environment influenced your sound or practice in any particular ways?
My Zimbabwean heritage, deeply rooted in Southern African musical traditions, profoundly shapes my sound and practice. The mbira and marimba are not just instruments but vessels of ancestral memory and spiritual connection. Growing up immersed in these traditions, I’ve developed a unique tuning system for the mbira, allowing me to explore innovative compositional techniques. My work aims to bridge traditional Zimbabwean musical forms with contemporary performance practices and technology, creating a soundscape that honours my heritage while engaging with modern influences.
What’s your relationship with improvisation, and how does it shape your work?
Improvisation is the lifeblood of my creative practice—a sacred dialogue between spirit, memory, and sound. Rooted in the ancestral traditions of Southern Africa, particularly the Shona people’s mbira music, improvisation is not merely a technique but a profound act of communion. In Shona ceremonies, the mbira serves as a conduit to the spiritual realm, with its interlocking patterns and spontaneous variations facilitating a connection to ancestral spirits.Â
My journey with the mbira and marimba over the past two decades has been deep listening and responsive creation. Each performance is an invocation, where improvisation allows me to navigate the liminal space between the known and the unknown, the past and the present. This approach aligns with the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu, emphasising interconnectedness and collective humanity.
In my compositions and performances, improvisation becomes a tool for decolonisation, challenging Western musical paradigms and centring indigenous knowledge systems. By embracing improvisation, I honour the oral traditions of my heritage, fostering a living, breathing musical expression that transcends boundaries and speaks to the shared human experience.
Can you tell us about your musical influences?
Chiwoniso Maraire – my late mentor. Dumisani Maraire. Oliver Mtukudzi. Sam Mtukudzi. Quincy Jones. Whitney Houston. Spirituals. Southern African Musical Cultures.
If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
I’d be a Pilot.
If your music had a visual identity or colour palette, what would it be?
Interestingly – black, orange, and purple.
What does collaboration mean to you, and how do you approach working with others?
Collaboration, to me, is sacred. It is not simply working alongside others, but engaging in a shared ritual where every participant brings their full self, culture, and story, and leaves changed. Rooted in the Southern African principle of communal cooperation, I believe true collaboration must be an act of mutual transformation, not transactional exchange.
I approach it with deep listening, respect for cultural specificity, and a commitment to holding space for difference. Whether I’m working with classical musicians, dancers, or digital producers, I bring an openness that invites co-creation, where the outcome is unknown but made richer by every voice involved.
What’s your relationship with improvisation, and how does it shape your work?
When improvising with other musicians, I work with a live captioner who describes the sounds/ music the others are making in a live text transcript, and I respond to this. I suppose that’s quite unusual, isn’t it?! Some of the work I make is rooted in improvisation, and I have made work which evolves from the live captioning transcripts. That’s a new creative process for me, which has been developing during the past few years and started when we were all working online during the pandemic.Â
What are you looking forward to most about In Motion?
I’m most looking forward to immersing myself in the In Motion programme’s nurturing environment, which champions experimentation and cross-cultural innovation. This opportunity will allow me to deepen my exploration of integrating Southern African Mbira and Marimba traditions with contemporary performance practices and technology.
I’m eager to collaborate with like-minded artists and mentors, expanding my professional network and engaging in meaningful intercultural musical dialogues. The programme’s support in electronic music production and film scoring will be pivotal in bringing my envisioned EP/Album to fruition, enabling me to share my unique soundscape—a fusion of ancestral rhythms and modern electronic elements—with a global audience.​
Sound and Music is a PRS Foundation Talent Development Network Partner supported by PPL.
In Motion is made possible with the generous support of Arts Council England, Jerwood Developing Artists Fund, The Garrick Charitable Trust, Creative Scotland National Lottery and PRS Foundation.
