Nordic Resonance: Renzo Spiteri Returns to Spazju Kreattiv with an Immersive Sonic Journey
- Noel Mifsud
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
On Friday 30 January 2026, Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta will host Nordic Resonance, an immersive concert by Maltese sound artist and percussionist Renzo Spiteri, co-created and performed with Scottish flautist Richard Craig. The performance marks Spiteri’s return to the venue after an absence of several years, reconnecting him with a space that has played a formative role in his artistic life.
Spiteri has described Spazju Kreattiv as a theatre “that holds many positive and meaningful personal memories”, having performed there repeatedly over the years in a wide range of contexts — as a soloist, within ensembles, and across interdisciplinary productions including contemporary dance, storytelling and musical theatre. His return is therefore both personal and artistic, offering a new work that reflects the evolution of his practice while remaining rooted in long-standing creative relationships with place and performance.
At the heart of Nordic Resonance is Spiteri’s lived experience of Shetland, where he spent six years and developed a deep engagement with the islands’ natural environment. The work is conceived as a contemporary sonic portrait — what Spiteri has described as “a sonic postcard” — capturing the character of a landscape defined by elemental forces, seasonal extremes and a strong sense of community. Rather than illustrating Shetland in a literal or programmatic way, the performance translates environmental experience into sound, texture and gesture.
Field recordings gathered over an extended period form a central layer of the work. Bird calls, the force of the wind, the shifting moods of the sea, frozen ponds and underwater sounds all contributed to shaping the musical language of Nordic Resonance. These sounds are sometimes presented in their pure, recognisable form, and at other times transformed into abstracted textures that blur the boundaries between natural and human-made sound. As Spiteri has explained, these recordings did not function merely as background material, but actively influenced how the music was conceived and performed: both musicians “responded to, reacted against, and sometimes created counterpoints to the natural textures and field recordings”.
Live improvisation is fundamental to the structure of the performance. Spiteri works with percussion, electronics and real-time sound processing, while Craig brings a highly developed and expansive flute practice shaped by years of collaboration with composers, improvisers and contemporary ensembles. Together, they navigate a space where composition and spontaneity coexist, allowing the performance to remain fluid and responsive. Reflecting on this approach, Spiteri notes that because “the sounds of nature are constantly in flux”, the musicians felt their playing should reflect “the same sense of impermanence”. As a result, no two performances of Nordic Resonance are the same; each one unfolds as a new conversation between environment, memory and sound.
Presenting Nordic Resonance in Malta introduces an additional layer of meaning. The stark, windswept openness of Shetland’s sound world is placed in dialogue with Malta’s dense and vibrant acoustic environment, inviting audiences to reflect on how geography shapes listening and perception. Rather than offering escapism, the work creates a space for heightened awareness — an alternative listening experience that encourages stillness, attention and reconnection with the sonic environments people inhabit daily.
Following the performance, audiences are invited to remain for a Q&A session with visual artist Vince Briffa. The discussion will delve into the conceptual foundations of the work, addressing broader themes such as sound, environment, impermanence and artistic process, and offering insight into how Nordic Resonance sits within Spiteri’s wider practice.
The Valletta performance comes at a particularly significant moment in Spiteri’s career. In 2025, he was awarded the Royal Television Society Craft and Design Award for Sound and received an Emmy® Award nomination for Outstanding Sound in Documentary, recognition that reflects the depth and precision of his sonic work across media. Yet Nordic Resonance foregrounds live performance as a vital site of experimentation and encounter, reaffirming Spiteri’s long-standing commitment to sound as an embodied, shared experience.
Co-creator Richard Craig brings an equally distinctive voice to the collaboration. Described by Gramophone Magazine as performing in “a primal, at times ecstatic state of Fauvist force”, Craig is known for pushing the expressive boundaries of the flute through contemporary repertoire, improvisation and interdisciplinary collaboration. His involvement is central to the work’s balance between intensity and fragility, structure and openness.
Nordic Resonance is presented as part of the Spazju Kreattiv 2025/2026 programme, with further performances planned in Shetland and Glasgow. The project is supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland, with additional support from Band Aid Music Malta.
Ultimately, Nordic Resonance is an invitation rather than a statement — an invitation, in Spiteri’s words, “to immerse yourself in this experience and become part of the journey”. In an increasingly saturated and noisy world, the concert offers a rare moment of grounding and attentiveness, allowing sound, place and presence to resonate across geographies.
Nordic Resonance
Friday 30 January 2026 | 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta
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