📷by Storm Ravn (C) with permission
Aske Zidore (b. 1984) is a Danish artist, composer, and game designer.
https://askezidore.com/
Can you tell a bit about your background that is relevant to your practice? Does past education is important for what you do now?
Since I was very young, I’ve been experimenting with sound. It began in post-kindergarten days with recording music and radio shows on tapes, pitching and cutting them, later progressing to composing on Amiga software, learning basic coding, acquiring a 4-track tape recorder, and eventually a PC with two channels in/out. High school was a time for experimenting with sampling, composing and writing. In my twenties, I composed and produced music both in groups and on my own. This gradually expanded into more art-based sound projects, often incorporating system designs across diverse frameworks. In my early thirties, I studied composition at the conservatory in Copenhagen, which helped me better understand my practice. After completing my studies, I pursued an MA in game design, which I finished just five years ago. Formal education has undoubtedly been important for what I do now, but I see my practice as something continually shaped by my ongoing development as an artist. My work is rooted in exploration and growth—a process that never truly ends.
How would you describe your current field and context of your art? Are there labels that you accept? Do you consider yourself to be ‘experimental’, or the ‘avant-garde’?
I would say that my practice exists at the intersection of composition and visual art, where I often approach works as living ecosystems rather than linear narratives. I am interested in game mechanics because they make me think of sound and notation in other ways - as landscapes and spaces where new forms appear and community can emerge, dissolving the traditional divisions between artist, performer, and observer. I have an ambivalent relationship with labels such as experimental or avant-garde—they carry historical weight but also impose limitations. Rather than fitting into a fixed category, I prefer to see my work as an open exploration, remaining an artist without becoming confined to a rigid idea of myself.
How do you approach the relation between theory and practice in art? Do you maybe have recommendations for a book or an article, maybe something from your writing?
For me, theory and practice exist in constant dialogue. I often find that concepts emerge through making rather than being purely preconceived. At the same time, engaging with theoretical ideas can open up new perspectives that shape how I approach a work. I don’t see theory as something external to practice but as something embedded in the process itself, forming an ongoing cycle of testing and reflection.
Do you have a favourite game? Or a game genre/mechanic?
I work at the game studio Playdead in Copenhagen, where we are currently developing a new game. It’s an exciting project, and I’m proud to be part of it. Since games are a big part of my work, I don’t play as much in my free time—but I do play a bit on the Switch with my kids, and a variety of board games with them as well. Since childhood I’ve been a huge fan of Nintendo, and I think they have set an exceptionally high and groundbreaking standard when it comes to game mechanics, especially with Super Mario (!) throughout the years.
What music do you enjoy? Is there a difference when you’re performing or listening? Any guilty pleasures?
Lately, I’ve been listening a lot to Jürg Frey—I wasn’t familiar with his work until a friend introduced me to it recently. That led me to The Wandelweiser Group, which has, so far, opened up several profound listening experiences for me. In general, I gravitate towards music with a strong spatial or temporal quality. As a composer and performer, my focus is on creating situations—a physical experience. I enjoy a wide range of music, but I don’t feel guilty about any of it.
Please, tell us a few words about your most recent project. How long it took and how many people were involved?
One of my recent projects, Livets Midte (2024), is an interactive composition that will be exhibited at ISCM 2025 in Lisbon. It is a musical garden — a 3d world, where the audience can influence both sound and visual elements through a system of rules and possibilities—interacting via a large touchscreen. The project has taken about five years to develop, and I have collaborated with a friend who is also a programmer, and eight different musicians to bring it to life.
Generally, when cooperating with others, what do you cherish the most? Have you worked with amateur creatives, or do you keep to professional artists and specialists?
Game Mechanics for Voices: The Place of Landscape album is on Bandcamp
In collaborations, I thrive when ideas emerge organically through play and exploration. I work with both professional artists and people without formal backgrounds, as this often brings fresh and unexpected perspectives into the process. In some works, such as Game Mechanics for Voices: The Place of Landscape (2025) and Lark Animations (2024), it is crucial that the musicians are trained not only classically but also as improvisors. That said, I enjoy working with open, participatory formats, where no one needs to be a ‘specialist’—and I certainly don’t see myself as one. More often than not, I feel like I’m in deep water!
What would you say is the main function of the "game" element in the pieces from Game Mechanics for Voices? Could you maybe give more details on Terrain, where dice rolls are audible? What is the role of the game in the structure of this piece?
In GMFV: The Place of Landscape, the game elements serve both as a structural device and a performative trigger. They shape the way the piece unfolds in real time, introducing uncertainty, negotiation, and emergent form. Terrain is a movement in which dice rolls determine pathways through a set of possible vocal gestures, defined by sections on the game board. The vocalists respond to the outcomes by following the paths defined by the dice, shaping the piece dynamically. The game element here is, at its core, navigation—a way for performers to move through the piece while allowing space for surprise and interpretation. It draws from systemic thinking, but the result is always musical, shaped by the unique voices and interactions of the performers in the moment.
Were you thinking about publishing Game Mechanics for Voices as a playable and purchasable board game?
No, I haven’t planned for it in that form. The notation system in Game Mechanics for Voices: The Place of Landscape is deeply tied to vocal interpretation performed by trained singers, so while it shares structural similarities with a board game, its function is inherently performative—it is a score. However, I’ve recently been experimenting with composing for non-trained voices, so perhaps something more accessible could be published in the future.
Do you see something missing from the current landscape of music/game intersection? Or something you personally would like to see more of?
I have to admit that I’m not fully up to date on the latest developments at the intersection of music and games. That said, my own practice isn’t so much about this specific intersection as it is about adopting certain structural elements from games—such as mechanics or randomness—to create something else entirely. When it comes to digital games, whether commercial or not, I’d love to see more where music isn’t just a reactive layer but an active force that defines gameplay itself—where sound is an integral part of the game’s mechanics, shaping the player’s experience in deep, systemic ways. Of course, this requires bringing musical systems into the creative process from the very beginning, rather than adding them later as an aesthetic layer.
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