Welcome to Shellectronica

Logo for Steve Pretty's Shelllectronica, featuring a shell with electronic circuit elements and audio sliders.

Ancient seashells meet modern electronics in a hypnotic collision of sound, science and performance.

Shellectronica is a solo project by composer and performer Steve Pretty — best known as the bandleader of Hackney Colliery Band, host of the podcast Steve Pretty On the Origin of the Pieces, and composer for TV and theatre — exploring what happens when you take one of the oldest instruments on earth and run it through some of the newest technology.

Dive into a world of sonic experimentation where the raw acoustic sound of conch, triton and frog shells is transformed into meditative, evolving soundscapes live in real time through harmonisers, loopers, and granular effects.

No samples. No backing tracks. No synths.

Just shells — played live, processed live, built into immersive, meditative, evolving soundscapes on the spot.