Koreless Produces Soundscape for Olafur Eliasson’s First Utah Installation
Grammy-winning producer selected by Eliasson to produce an “orchestral parliament" in response to the ecological conditions of Great Salt Lake.
Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson has chosen Welsh Grammy-winning producer Koreless to produce an original composition for his first public artwork in Utah and the Intermountain West region. The sound-and-light installation, entitled A symphony of disappearing sounds for the Great Salt Lake, is the capstone artwork for the Wake the Great Salt Lake initiative, presented by Salt Lake City Arts Council, Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office, and the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge. The artwork debuts in Salt Lake City’s Memory Grove on Thursday, March 26, 2026, and will be on view every night for only ten days, closing on April 4, 2026.
For the occasion, Eliasson and his team worked with three sound archivists – Martyn Stewart (The Listening Planet), Jeff Rice (Ecosystem Sound), and Kevin J. Colver – to collect field recordings from the animals and natural phenomena that make up the sounds of Great Salt Lake. Eliasson selected Koreless to produce the original score for the art installation, translating the sounds into a dynamic soundscape so that the lake can be perceived by residents and visitors in a new light.
“I believe that artworks can touch people in ways that scientific data, news reports, and policy discussions cannot. Created together with Koreless, the composition transforms over 150 field recordings of animals that depend on the lake and natural phenomena into what I call an “orchestral parliament.” In audio layers that overlap and interrupt one another, this parliament brings together a swarm of brine flies, migratory bird calls, the bellowing of grazing bison, and the sounds of over a hundred other animal species.” – Olafur Eliasson
Raised in the Welsh coastal town of Bangor, Koreless grew up navigating the swift estuarine waters of the Menai Strait — a formative experience that continues to shape his sonic sensibility. That lifelong relationship with water makes him a sensitive choice for a project centered on the ecological future of the Great Salt Lake.
"I’ve been fascinated by concatenative synthesis for a while, and this project became the perfect playground for exploring it through a vast archive of sound recorded at the Salt Lake. Limiting ourselves to these recordings opened up an entirely new way of listening." – Koreless
Koreless first emerged with his 2011 debut EP 4D, later releasing the influential Yūgen EP on the renowned music and arts organization Young. His critically acclaimed debut album Agor was described by The Quietus as “a simply breathtaking debut.” Beyond his solo work, he has composed original film scores, collaborated with choreographers Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar, and created immersive A/V performances that merge sound, space, and movement. Best known for his immersive electronic compositions and groundbreaking collaborations — including serving as executive producer on FKA twigs’ Grammy-winning album EUSEXUA — Koreless brings a globally recognized artistic voice to one of the most ambitious climate-focused public art projects in the United States.
