English writer, producer, and musician Scanner (n* Robin Rimbaud) trawls the airwaves for cell phone conversations to weave into chilling ambient music recordings. Repugnant aural voyeurism? Not to Scanner, who says that technology has made the concept of privacy moot.
In Britain, he's scored a huge buzz, recording soundtracks for Derek Jarman and Neville Brody, speaking on panels with Brian Eno and Peter Gabriel, and playing with bands such as Elastica. Next, he hopes to invade US airwaves. "So much of American media is about voyeurism - talk shows, amateur porn, true-crime shows," he says. "It's increasingly difficult to conceive of truly private spaces."
