Supported by British Council and PRS, we hosted Noshvia Wu as our international musician-in-residence. As part of her hybrid residency, Noshvia visited Liverpool for 2 weeks in March 2026. During her time with us, we supported Noshvia in connecting with Liverpool based sound artists, improvisors, and producers in experimental electronica. Her time in Liverpool concluded with a work-in progress sharing, made in collaboration with Liverpool based sound artist Sara Wolff. You can read a blog written by Noshvia about her time in Liverpool on the residency.
I was selected as the China-based artist for Metal Liverpool’s residency programme, supported by the British Council and the PRS Foundation. In March, I travelled to Liverpool for two weeks of in-person residency. As a producer, sound artist, and performer, my work has always been driven by how sound connects across different media – how it unfolds, extends, and weaves through space, objects, and people. This short trip to Liverpool was an exciting one. I carried my own questions with me, and I spent time in open conversation with local artists. What stayed with me most was the sense of human connection. I left deeply inspired.
The two weeks passed quickly, but my days were full. I am very grateful to Metal for hosting a warm welcome gathering on my arrival – it was through that gathering that I met so many local artists and felt, almost immediately, the genuine support and warmth of this community. With recommendations from friends in Liverpool, I visited historic landmarks as well as some hidden acoustic spaces worth discovering: the Picton Reading Room at Liverpool Central Library (a light stomp in the middle produces a curious echo), the whispering arch at Liverpool Cathedral, and the acoustic echo design at the centre of the circular stairway in Liverpool ONE’s amphitheatre. During my stay, I also slowed my pace and wandered often through Princes Park and Sefton Park near where I lived. The quiet harmony between nature and daily life there moved me, and I recorded many field recordings using my portable equipment. The rustle of fallen leaves, the faint ripple of water, distant voices – all of these found their way into my sound collection.
In the following days, I was invited to visit the music department at the University of Liverpool and a recent new media exhibition at FACT, among other things. I gradually came to see how tightly Liverpool’s music and artist community is woven together – small in scale, yet deeply cohesive. In the second week, I took part in several improvisation sessions with local artists. My musical background has always allowed me to move freely between forms, and that sense of freedom carried into our work together. We moved from production and recording to a large jam session of nearly ten musicians – a fluid mix that shifted from saxophone, guitar, and other acoustic instruments to modular synth and electronics. To me, such open, cross-form exchange feels rare and precious today. The questions I had carried with me from New York seemed to find their answers in Liverpool. Through conversations with artists from such different cultural and historical backgrounds, I felt again that music has a way of binding us into one larger community. That is what artist residencies are truly about: not just sharing a space, but reaching across boundaries to meet one another.
After returning to New York, I kept reflecting on the journey and how profoundly it has shaped my work. I am now developing the piece for this residency project. I see each conversation I had as a branch extending from the same tree – some reaching in different directions, some crossing and intertwining. The differences and similarities in sound, the divergences and meetings of expression – this is what I want to focus on. I hope to create a sound diary assembled from several audio pieces, using sound and memory to explore this sense of connection.
It was an interesting and wonderful journey. My sincere thanks again to my Liverpool friends, my host, the British Council, the PRS Foundation, and the entire Metal family for the opportunity and warmth. I hope to return to Liverpool one day!
About Nohsvia Wu
Noshvia Wu is a singer-songwriter, producer, and sound artist working between Beijing and New York. She moves fluidly across songwriting, acoustic composition, computer music, and interactive media, viewing sound as a transcendent medium for integrating visual and performative elements. She creates immersive experiences that resonate across personal and collective dimensions.
