UW People. Satch Hoyt.

Artist and musician Satch Hoyt’s large-scale installation is on display in Gallery 1 at Nottingham Contemporary as part of the 'Your Ears Later Will know to Listen' exhibition, as well as a solo exhibition at Beam, where we caught up with Director of Beam Jonathan Casciani for more on Satch and his work.

“Born in 1957 to an English mother and Jamaican father, Satch grew up in Ladbroke Grove, West London, a culturally rich spot in the 1970s with a large Caribbean community. At 14 after pestering his mother she purchased a Tenor Saxophone for him on pay-as-you-go. Naturally, he frequented the sound systems, sheebeens and blues parties in the neighbourhood. Although Satch left school at 15, he began an alternative education from within the community. Horace Ové, the iconic Trinidadian filmmaker, became a mentor and introduced him to avant-garde music and the arts in general. He was active in Rastafarian education groups and associated with community leaders such as the activist Rhodan Gordan and the legendary ska trombonist Rico RodrigRez. This powerful mix of music, art and activism was forged at a young age and became a lifelong focus.

By 17 he had scored his first professional gig in Hair the Musical, touring Europe for two years with cast members including the disco legend Donna Summers. He continued to work in music, most notably with Japanese musician Stomu Yamash’ta. He contributed to the score of Horace Ové's 1979 BBC film ‘A Hole in Babylon’ and played keyboards in a post-punk band called BOSS with photographer and musician Dennis Morris and Aswad bass player George Orban. A relationship then took him to Kenya where he lived for two years in Mombasa. To help pay the rent he played in tourist clubs on the coast but expanded his knowledge of African music by playing in the various local nightclubs in town.

Returning from Kenya, Satch settled in Paris for over a decade, releasing the album ‘Still Waiting for Moja’ on RCA, writing music with Grace Jones and collaborating on the flute on OTTE, a Louise Bourgeoise spoken word project amongst many others. It was during this time that the artist began to meet influential visual artists that inspired a move to New York to transition from a musician to a visual artist, artist Rammellzee was very instrumental in this move. New York welcomed Satch and he connected with influential people such as film director Spike Lee, scholar writer Robin D G Kelley, and writer and musician Greg Tate, who convinced him to join his band Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber which included illuminary musicians such as Vijay Ayer, Matana Roberts, Melvin Gibb. New York put Satch firmly on the visual arts map but it was becoming increasingly expensive and a move to Berlin came in 2009. Since then Satch has trotted the globe with exhibitions, residencies and performances in New York, LA, Cali, Sydney, Dakar, London amongst many other locations and now in Nottingham.

Satch’s large-scale installation in Gallery One at Nottingham Contemporary brings together nine paintings set within a 17-channel sound installation. The soundscape of the installation composed and played by Satch includes antique instruments taken from Africa during the colonial period currently deposited in the British Museum. Satch refers to this aspect of the work as ‘Un-Muting’ Sonic Restitution giving a voice to African instruments and cultures that were ‘silenced’ as a result of colonialism. The nine paintings in part exemplify the flow of sonic energy between Africa and the trans-national African diaspora as a result of the Black Atlantic slave trade and depict the cyclical nature of the movement of music.

Finally, if you happen to be heading to our store at Coal Drops Yard, pop into our neighbours Honest Jons Records who will be stocking Satch's limited edition 10 inch release 'Un-Muting' from July 24th on the Traza record label, or head to their Bandcamp page for the digital release. ”

His exhibition runs from 31 May–6 September 2025.
Cross Rhythmic Delay, Beam at Primary, 33 Seely Road, Nottingham NG7 1NU
https://www.beameditions.uk/exhibitions

Satch also has pieces on display in Nottingham Contemporary’s multi-artist exhibition, from Sat 31 May–Sun 7 Sep 2025.
Your Ears Later Will Know To Listen, Nottingham Contemporary, Weekday Cross, Nottingham, NG1 2GB