Shane Aspegren is widely known for his work with music and sound, which frequently serve as foundational elements in his installations, images, videos, objects, and performances. Approaching his practice from a cross-disciplinary and non-dualistic perspective, his projects often take a relational point of view, juxtaposing improvisational processes within carefully constructed frameworks. He frequently works through interactive modes of creation, exploring the practical application of his ongoing interests—ranging from meditative and holistic practices to the physicality of sound and its impact on the bodymind.
As a composer, writer, improviser, and multi-instrumentalist (drums, percussion, electronics, synths, voice, and more), Aspegren has released dozens of studio albums and performed extensively across the globe—from DIY venues to major music festivals and esteemed institutions such as the Whitney Museum and the Venice Biennale. After relocating to Paris in 2000, he co-founded the experimental electronic duo The Berg Sans Nipple (and its later offshoot Ça Va Chéri) with Lori Sean Berg (currently of Zombie Zombie), releasing three full-length albums and several EPs to international acclaim and multiple world tours. In 2014, following a move to Hong Kong, he co-founded Blood Wine or Honey, whose 2018 album Fear & Celebration received critical praise before leaving the group in 2019.
Aspegren has also toured and recorded extensively (primarily as a drummer/percussionist) with artists such as Bright Eyes, Songs: Ohia, Lullaby for the Working Class, Françoiz Breut, Don Nino, and Woodkid. He has participated in ongoing or one-off collaborative projects with a wide range of artists including (alphabetical):
Arto Lindsay, dj sniff, Dominique A, F/Lor, Ikue Mori, Jerome Lorichon, Ken Ueno, Kung Chi Shing, Mike Ladd, Nerve, Nicolas Laureau, Preservation, Quentin Rollet, Samson Young, Simeon Coxe (Silver Apples), Todd Fink, & others.
In addition to his solo works, Aspegren's multimedia collaborations include a partnership with Adrian Wong (2013–17), which yielded an eclectic series of material-based works, performances, interventions, and videos.
In the contemporary art space, he has composed for or collaborated with artists such as Tarek Atoui, Samson Young, Manuel Pelmuş, Ivanhoe Lam, Steven Reker, Huang Rui, Cody Hudson, Ellen Pau, Nadim Abbas, and more. He also continues to compose and perform for movement, theater, film, and commercial projects. His scoring credits include feature-length works for ARTE France and soundtrack contributions to films such as Mike Myers’ Supermensch and the PBS documentary BAM 150. His commercial work includes collaborations with Vogue, Maison Martin Margiela, Vivienne Westwood, Hennessy, On Pedder, Giuseppe Zanotti, Petit Bateau, and others.
Aspegren holds a degree in Film Studies and Photography from the University of Nebraska. His work has been commissioned, performed, and exhibited internationally at venues including Palazzo Reale (Milan), Tai Kwun Contemporary, Spring Workshop, Para Site, K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Frank Yang Foundation, Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago), Anthology Film Archives (New York), Holy Motors (Hong Kong), Rossi & Rossi, Guggenheim Museum (New York), Shanghai Gallery of Art, and others.
He is the founder of ONDO, a platform for his holistic sound and coaching practice. He currently lives in Los Angeles.
SELECTED CV
2025 Resonant Harbour (forthcoming) (composer/musician)
emblems of transmuting heat / artist book + digital album (artist/composer/musician)
With Love From Hong Kong (parts I & II) (short film scores/composer/musician)
Shane Aspegren & dj sniff (live performances)
2024 France tour (festival solo shows + quartet shows with N. Laureau, J. Lorichon, Q. Rollet) (live perfomances)
J’accuse (Abel Gance, 1918) // creation of live score // La Cinémathèque français (composer/performer w/Cosmic Neman, N Laureau, J. Lorichon)
Resonance: A Divine Comedy (multi-sensory experience), Reunion Los Angeles (co-creator, performer)
Shane Aspegren & dj sniff (live performances)
Conor Oberst residency, Los Angeles (live performance)
2023 Describing The Thing / EP (composer/writer/musician)
Resonant Harbour: a speculative water tour (installation/performance)
The Statistics of Fortune: Macao International Art Biennial (group exhibition)
One Can Never Enter The Same Body Twice (two channel video, four channel sound)
Ventriloquists’ Stone (Nadim Abbas), Oi!, Hong Kong (performance/recorded composition)
Bodies of Sound, The Aster, Los Angeles (composition/performance)
2022 form constant (i), Tai Kwun Contemporary, Hong Kong (installation/performance)
The Shape of Light (Ellen Pau), M+ Museum, Hong Kong (composition/performance)
Scaring The Mice For Revenge, (with N. Laureau, J. Lorichon, Q. Rollet) (improvisor/musician)
Re-launch of ONDO Los Angeles (holistic sound)
2021 Imaginal Pathways, iOS and Android App (lead artist)
Breathe Deep, Tomorrow Maybe, Eaton, Hong Kong (group exhibition)
Aora Space, Online Exhibition (sound creation)
Report ii: the illegal-i, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Hong Kong (composer/performer)
Interconnectivity, Hong Kong (soundtrack/sound design)
These Associations (Tino Sehgal), Tai Kwun, Hong Kong (performer)
2020 Daily Frequencies, Online Project (composer/performer)
Household Gods, Hart Hall, Hong Kong (group exhibition)
Cultural Masseur, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong (performance/artist talk)
West Kowloon Cultural District Freespace, Hong Kong (holistic sound program)
ONDO (online & physical sessions), various locat., Hong Kong (holistic sound)
2019 Report i- Which I am I, Tai Kwun (score/live performance)
Gala (Jérôme Bel), Hong Kong Arts Festival, Hong Kong (live performance)
Outcoming Ingoing #1, Tai Kwun Contemporary, Hong Kong (installation/performance)
Spectra w/ Ikue Mori & guests, Creative Media Colloquium, Hong Kong (live performance)
The Ground (Tarek Atoui), Biennale Arte 2019, Venice, Italy (sound contributor/performances)
Path Through Infinite Body (i—vi), Shane Aspegren & Jérôme Lorichon (composer/writer/musician)
Tomorrow, Blood Wine or Honey (composer/writer/musician)
Coming In Going Out Coming Out Going In, Suitcase Institute, Var. Locations (installation)
Intersection In Mid-Air, LSK School of Creativity, Hong Kong (live performance)
2018 ke1 le1 fe1/Carefree, Jockey Club New Arts Power, Hong Kong (live dance score)
Possible Music #1 w/ Samson Young, Guggenheim Museum, NYC, USA (co-composer/performer)
Exhibition on the Table: Third Eye Kaleidoscope, Shanghai, PRC (installation)
Conversations, Wing Platform, Hong Kong (artist residency/performances)
Movements at an Exhibition w/ Manuel Pelmuș, Para Site, Hong Kong (performance score/co-composition)
Shane Aspegren & dj sniff (various live performances)
Fear & Celebration, Blood Wine or Honey (composer/writer/musician)
Songs of Portrait, multi-media opera, City Hall, Hong Kong (live performances)
Blood Wine or Honey (live performances)
2017 The Ground w/Tarek Atoui, Mirrored Gardens, Guangzhou, PRC (artist residency)
The Garden, K11 Art Foundation/Chi Art Space, Hong Kong (group exhibition)
Loosefoot, Blood Wine or Honey (composer/writer/musician)
Hong Kong Solos, Spring Workshop, Hong Kong (commissioned score/performances)
The Reverse Collection w/ Tarek Atoui, Para Site, Hong Kong (performances)
Ho Visto Un Re, Shanghai, PRC (performance video & installation)
Carnival, Kong Art Space, Hong Kong (photographic collage)
Anxious Party People/The Young Ones, Blood Wine or Honey, (composer/writer/musician)
Blood Wine or Honey (live performances)
Shane Aspegren & dj sniff (various live performances)
2016 Ho Visto Un Re, Palazzo Reale, Milan, Italy (installation & performance)
Cromniomancy, Rossi & Rossy/Yallay Gallery, Hong Kong (collaborative show w/Adrian Wong)
Ceremonial Nomad, Para Site 20, Hong Kong (commissioned painting)
Third Eye Kaleidoscope #5, Things That Can Happen, Hong Kong (interactive installation)
Third Eye Kaleidoscope #4, Holy Motors, Hong Kong (installation)
Third Eye Kaleidoscope #3, WING, Hong Kong (immersive performance)
Third Eye Kaleidoscope #2, Art Basel VIP Programme, Hong Kong (performance)
Third Eye Kaleidoscope #1, Derrick Industrial, Hong Kong (performance)
The Memory of Proximity, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong (participating musician)
DECADE Ensemble,Kill The Silence, Hong Kong (participating musician)
Shane Aspegren & dj sniff (various live performances)
Pando’s People (various performances)
2015 Tales From The Fragrant Harbour, Hong Kong (director/composer/performer)
The Glorious Phoenix, LTD Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA (installation)
The Glorious Phoenix, Art Basel Post-Vernissage, Hong Kong (performance)
Chai Wan Mei Nights, Chai Wan Mei Festival, Hong Kong (performance programme curator)
Dream Cosmography, Dir. A. Wong (musical score/production)
Peak Helium, Chai Wan Mei, Hong Kong (live musical score/dance performance)
Grand Opening, The Mills, Hong Kong (participating musician)
The Keyboard Songs, Don Nino (contributing musician)
Restored Treasures, HK Film Archive (The Cave of the Silken Web) (live musical score)
Shane Aspegren & dj sniff (various live performances)
Pando’s People, tour EU (live performances)
Shane Aspegren, Jerome Lorichon, Quentin Rollet & Nicolas Laureau (live performances)
2014 Silver Apples, Hong Kong (live performance)
Apocalypse Postponed / Nadim Abbas, Hong Kong (performance programme curator)
Black & White Cats 49, then?, 10 Chancery Lane, Hong Kong (improvised performance)
Free Lounge, Para Site, Hong Kong (curator/performance)
Simeon Coxe (Silver Apples), Apocalypse Postponed, Hong Kong (live performance)
Comma Coma, Hong Kong (various performances)
1984 a cinematic opera, LSK School of Creativity, Hong Kong (contributing musician)
Restored Treasures, HK Film Archive (Red Heroine, Labor's Love) (live scores)
Chin King & Shane Aspegren (various live performances)
Shane Aspegren & Shadow Kim (various live performances)
Someday, Studio HA!, Hong Kong (group exhibition curator)
2013 Paper Rain, Art Basel, Hong Kong (sound installation/performance)
Arto Lindsay & Shane Aspegren (live performance)
Bearded Lady Sideshow, Clockenflap Festival (performance programme curator)
Decade, Hong Kong Film Archive/West Kowloon Cultural District (commissioned live musical score)
Je m'appelle Hmmm…, Dir. Agnès B. (soundtrack)
Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon, Dir. Mike Myers (soundtrack)
Towheads, Dir. Shannon Plumb (soundtrack)
2012 Île des sables, Ça Va Chéri (composer/writer/musician)
The Berg Sans Nipple, Tour Europe (live performances)
BAM150, Dir Michael Sladek (soundtrack)
At The Vanishing Point, Great Plains Theatre Conference (live score/sound design)
La Chirurgie des sentiments ,Francoiz Breut (contributing musician)
Heavy Mood, Tilly and the Wall (contributing musician)
2011 Build With Erosion, The Berg Sans Nipple (composer/writer/musician)
The Berg Sans Nipple, Tours Europe/UK (live performances)
Freedoom w/Cody Hudson, Guererro Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA (sound installation)
Monodrome Athens Biennale, Athens, Greece (sound installation)
Woodkid, Tour Europe/UK/North America (live performances)
The People's Key, Bright Eyes (contributing musician)
Cet Homme-Là (Est Un Mille-Feuilles), Dir. Patricia Mortagne (score)
2010 Woodkid, Tour Europe/UK/North America (live performances)
The Berg Sans Nipple, Tours Europe/UK/North America (live performances)
LCD Soundsystem, Tours North America/Europe/UK/Asia/Australia (production tech.)
2009 Let's Do Some Living After We Die (Cody Hudson), Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, USA (sound installation)
The Berg Sans Nipple, Tours Europe/North America (live performances)
Notes from the Treehouse, Alessi's Ark (contributing musician)
2008 De la mort ou de l’amour, The Berg Sans Nipple (composer/writer/musician)
The Berg Sans Nipple, Tours Europe/UK (live performances)
Bright Eyes, Tour Japan (live performances)
The Horse, Alessi’s Ark (contributing musician)
Ersatz, Julien Doré (contributing musician)
Flowers Forever, Flowers Forever (contributing musician)
2007 Along the Quai, The Berg Sans Nipple (composer/writer/musician)
The Berg Sans Nipple, Tours Europe/UK/North America (live performances)
Acid Tracks w/Cody Hudson, MCA, Chicago, USA (sound installation)
Cassadaga, Bright Eyes (contributing musician)
2006 A Free/La Voie Lactee,The Berg Sans Nipple (composer/writer/musician)
The Berg Sans Nipple, Tours Europe/UK (live performances)
Hero/Heroin w/Cody Hudson, ARCO, Madrid, Spain (sound installation)
Les Tortures Volontaires, Arman Melies (contributing musician)
Mentors Menteurs, Don Nino (contributing musician)
2005 Life If (in four parts), The Berg Sans Nipple (composer/writer/musician)
The Berg Sans Nipple, Tours Europe/UK/South America (live performances)
Bright Eyes, Tours North America/Europe/UK (live performances)
Le Detour, Dominique A. (contributing musician)
2004 Play the Immutable Truth, The Berg Sans Nipple (composer/writer/musician)
The Berg Sans Nipple, Tours Europe/UK (live performances)
2003 Form Of…, The Berg Sans Nipple (composer/writer/musician)
The Berg Sans Nipple, Tours Europe/UK (live performances)
Don Nino, Various Tours Europe/UK (live performances)
2002 Festival. International du Cinéma Méditerranéen, Montpellier, France (video) (participant/screening)
New Filmmakers Series, Anthology Film Archives, NYC, USA (participant/screening)
Music for the short film “Marie-Madeleine,”, The Berg Sans Nipple (composer/writer/musician)
“Marie-Madeleine,”, dir. by Shane Aspegren (short film - director/writer/composer)
The Berg Sans Nipple, Tours Europe (live performances)
Don Nino, Tours Europe/UK (live performances)
2001 Oh Holy Fools, Bright Eyes (contributing musician)
Don’t be frightened of turning the page, Bright Eyes (contributing musician)
2000 Ghost Tropic, Songs:Ohia (contributing musician)
Funk Shui, TV City (composer/writer/musician)
1999 Light and Space Between The Spirals, Club 1427, Lincoln, NE, USA (solo photography show)
Lullaby For The Working Class, Tours North America (live performances)
Song, Lullaby For The Working Class (contributing composer/musician)
1998 Lullaby For The Working Class, Tours North America ` (live performances)
My Hero Halo / Life After Tuesday, Eric The Red (composer/musician)
1997 End of It All, Temporary Gallery, Lincoln, NE, USA (group exhibiton)
I Never Even Asked For Light, Lullaby For The Working Class (contributing composer/musician)
UNL Fine Arts Undergraduate Show, Richards Gallery, Lincoln, NE (group exhibiton)
Plains States Undergraduate Exhibition, Norman R. Eppink Gallery, Emporia, KS (group exhibtion)
UNL Fine Arts Exhibition, Chopin Ballroom, Miami, FL (group exhibition)
Lullaby For The Working Class, Tours North America (live performances)
Bachelor of Arts, Film & Video Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (education)
1996 Lullaby For The Working Class, Tours North America (live performances)
UNL Fine Arts Undergraduate Show, Richards Gallery, Lincoln, NE (group exhibiton)
Blanket Warm, Lullaby For The Working Class (contributing composer/musician)