The Townshend Studio at Ealing’s University of West London (UWL), which was opened in October 2024 by its namesake Pete Townshend, has appointed Theo Sofowote as synthesiser studio coordinator and Anna Daly Edgington as its first artist in residence.
The Studio houses a collection of instruments including 12 synthesisers used by Mr Townshend, co-founder of rock band The Who and an alumnus of Ealing School of Art (now UWL).
As well as the synths, the Studio features other equipment used by Mr Townshend throughout his seven decades musical career.
Mr Sofowote said of his new role: “I’m a synthesiser enthusiast so this is a dream job. Synthesisers were not designed to replace acoustic instruments but be an addition to them. Each instrument is very set in what they do, but a synthesiser can emulate the timbre and feel of instruments but also sound totally different.”
The Studio’s artist in residence for January and February is Anna Daly Edgington, who works under the name of AUNCE. She said: “I often work with manipulating vocals and lots of synth sounds, but I have never had the opportunity to touch such epic vintage precious synths. There’s so much scope here to create something new.”
Ms Daly Edgington added: “I have already collected a lot of cool sounds, and I am building worlds and songs around them. Having the time and space to play like this is super precious.”
Senior lecturer in music technology Greg Smith commented: “These are exciting times for the University; not only do we have the best vintage synthesiser collection of any educational establishment in the world, but we now have a genuine expert in the field in Theo to guide our students and staff in their use.”
Mr Smith added: “Additionally, the artist in residence programme allows UWL to provide an incredible opportunity for emerging artists to explore creativity with technology in the same way that Pete did throughout his career. None of this would be possible without the incredible generosity of Pete Townshend who has funded the positions and the development of the studio.”
