Stephen de Filippo
Composition, Multimedia, Sound, Experimentation, Voice, Education
Stephen de Filippo is a composer and multimedia artist from Wardandi country in the remote southwest of Australia, currently based in San Diego, California. His work focuses on the theme of place, exploring the concepts of travel, displacement, and cultural identity. Originally rooted in score-based concert music, Stephen’s work has evolved into electro-acoustic forms, incorporating experimental performance techniques, dense soundscapes, and live electronics. His compositions often integrate field recordings and environmental sounds, reflecting his deep connection to the natural world and his experiences of transience and dislocation.
Stephen’s music is thematically driven by questions of Australian identity, belonging, and cultural inferiority. His current musicological research investigates the phenomenon of cultural cringe in Australian classical music, examining how Australian composers express colonial anxieties in their work. This research has been supported by his role as a visiting fellow at Harvard University’s Department of Music, where he was backed by the Ian Potter Cultural Trust and Harvard’s Institute of Australian Studies.
In addition to his academic work, Stephen has presented compositions and multimedia installations in concert halls, galleries, and experimental settings across the United States and abroad. His pieces embody a detailed approach to notation and performance, often involving complex sonic textures built from field recordings and electronic manipulation. Whether exploring love, impermanence, or the meaning of being Australian, Stephen’s music remains rooted in his ongoing exploration of place and the sounds that define it.
Learn more:
Music | Performance | Teaching | CV
Fruit Map
Created in 2011, Fruit Map is a hobby project where I would chart local fruit trees, herbs, berries, and vegetables that I would find in the area where I lived. Many of the entries have quirky little descriptions and custom icons, documenting whether the fruit is readily accessible, or whether you may need to trespass. At the time I was interested in freeganism, and would regularly consult and update this map.
The map became inactive around 2013, and I have since donated all the locations to Falling Fruit — the global foraging map. However, more recently I have began putting in new entries as I move around the world.
