Today we’d like to introduce you to Satch Hoyt

Hi Satch, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?

I started my professional career in performance singing and dancing. in musicals in Europe, this was not the world for me I found it quite restrictive, from there I played in various bands, as vocalist also playing flute and percussion. I composed and recorded an album in London which was picked up by BMG Paris. Growing tired of London I moved to Paris and whilst living in Paris I met Grace Jones with whom I composed a number of songs. 7 day Weekend was on the triple platinum soundtrack of the 1996 Eddie Murphy film Boomerang. Shortly after that I bade farewell to the commercial music world and made the transition from music to fine art, which ensued moving from Paris to New-York, After a few weeks in NYC I met the late Greg Tate writer, cultural critic, and musician who at that time was still writing for the Village Voice. In the middle of a studio visit Greg convinced me to attend a Rehearsal of Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber, a Band he had recently formed, I ended up joining the most eclectic genre bending sonic collective on the planet. which was conceived and inspired by the late Lawrence D “Butch” Morris’s Conduction methodology. and moreover we had the honour to work with Butch. After 10 yrs in New York, which enabled me to evolve into the artist I am now, I moved to Berlin where I still live and work, exhibiting in museums worldwide, creating sculptural objects, paintings, and sonic works, which are focused on my ongoing theory of Afro-Sonic Mapping Tracing Aural Histories via Sonic Transmigrations. and Un-Muting Sonic Restitutions.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

No one said it was going to be easy, its still not, The main work of a creative artist is the ability to reinvent ones self to be in the zeitgeist, to be a chronicler of our current times. To be financially secure, is another hurdle to cross, to secure a place in the art market is very much about gallery representation.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

As a visual artist I am known for my sculptural works which are often accompanied by what I term Sonic Texts (Soundscapes) also included in my practice are Large paintings which can be read as un-fixed graphic scores, cartographic depictions and cosmic constellations. These works are inspired by my theory of Afro-Sonic Mapping Tracing Aural Histories via Sonic Transmigrations. A recent chapter to my sonic theory is “UnMuting” Sonic Restitutions, where I gain access into ethnographic museums, (The British Museum is amongst these museums) and literally play the incarcerated African Instruments. I simultaneously record the motifs I play, Later, arranging and adding further instrumentation in a Berlin recording studio. these compositions are accompanied by a series of paintings titled, Black Urban Grids. which are layered sonic directives depicting imaginary utopian Black communities. In regards to works that i’m particularly proud of, I would name my audience participatory performative installation, titled, “Say It Loud” which was debuted in Infinite Island, Contemporary Caribbean Art, Brooklyn Museum (2007), “Say It Loud” is a platform for freedom of speech. which was included in the groundbreaking exhibition Radical Presence Black Performance in Contemporary Art.
curated by Valerie Casels Oliver.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?

My 1996 collaboration with Louise Bourgeois titled OTTE, produced by Ramuntcho Matta, which was on the playlist of Radio Nova Paris, is definitely worth a listen. Louise called OTTE her Rap record.
Ten Thousand Suns, The 24th Biennale of Sydney 2024, was a Biennale different from other Biennales I have participated in, Firstly the art directors, Inti Guerrero, and Cosmin Costinas selected fourteen works of mine which were exhibited in the White Bay Power Station. It was interesting to be in Australia for the second time. the first trip I had the honour of hanging out with two of the late great first Nations painters Clifford Possum, and Turkey Tolson, The words inclusive and eclectic is how I would term the overall ambience of the 24th Biennale of Sydney.
Back in the lab, I am currently working on an album which consists of compositions from my Un-Muting interventions. through the amalgamation of the old analog traditional African instruments and the contemporary technology of the digital world, a fresh genre is being realised.
It gives me great joy to know that I was able to sound the incarcerated muted instruments, and now their spirits are free they will be heard by many. Unfortunately the physical instruments remain in captivity in the dungeons of the ethnographic museums.
La Lutta Continua.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://satchhoyt.art
• Instagram: satch [email protected]
• Facebook: satch hoyt

Image Credits

Portrait Dale Grant

Left to right: Satch Hoyt, I Contemplate My Dharmic Journey, 2019; On Galactic Paths of More Tomorrows, 2017; Just one more Bridge to ride Crescendos, 2019. Presentation at the 24th Biennale of Sydney was made possible with generous assistance from the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen and Goethe – Institut Australia and with assistance from the British Council. Courtesy the artist © Satch Hoyt. Installation view, 24th Biennale of Sydney, Ten Thousand Suns, 2024, White Bay Power Station. Photograph: Document Photography.