Jayne Dent

I am an interdisciplinary artist, musician, composer and PhD researcher, currently based at Open Lab. My work explores the intersection between folk art, spirituality and developing technology, working primarily with interactive and immersive audio-visual installation, live electronic/vocal performance and e-textiles.

I am interested in exploring modes of making and storytelling, experimenting with genre and speculating on what kinds of stories will exist and how they may be told in the future. Under the name ‘Me Lost Me’ I have released three albums and toured the UK DIY scene since 2017 with my live ‘future-folk’ music, with notable performances including at the BBC Proms alongside the Voices of the River’s Edge Choir, at Sage Gateshead for BBC Radio 3’s After Dark Festival and opening for Richard Dawson at a sold-out Barbican Centre, London. In 2021 I received the Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Award for Composers, and my latest album ‘RPG’ released on Upset the Rhythm was named 4th best folk album of the year.

Often collaborating with colleagues across disciplines, I have made work in a variety of contexts, in music venues and galleries, in digital and public space. In addition to my self-directed practice, I’ve worked in composition and sound design for contemporary dance performance, theatre and radio/podcasts, and produced pieces of public art/composition commissions for heritage and arts organisations across the North East.

In my work as a facilitator and workshop leader, I teach skills in song writing, experimental composition, electronic music, e-textiles, field recording and music production techniques. Having worked with a variety of community groups and organisations to produce original collaborative pieces of public AV work, I try to present creative practice as an accessible and achievable thing for all, emphasising play and curiosity both in my work alone and with others.

“Stripping folk back to its bones while letting it’s future echoes bleed out” - The Guardian