THE SONG TRAPPER (2025)
Moving Image, Virtual Performance and Spatialised Sound.
The Song Trapper is a linear narrative work taking place within a world where voice and song has vanished, leaving only echoes behind. Based on a short story and poem by Jakob Kudsk Steensen, it follows the journey of a mute protagonist, the Song Trapper, who collects and remixes these echoes in order to understand its surroundings. Along its journey the Song Trapper encounters Nökken, a water spirit who tries to teach the Song Trapper how to sing. However, frustration soon unfolds as despite enthusiastic efforts, it repeatedly fails which leads to an epic adventure of self questioning and contemplation through Steensen’s virtual worlds.
This terrain is built from previous fieldwork by Steensen, including underwater volcanoes, desert lakes, swamps and crystalline wetlands and previous virtual worlds by Steensen; The Ephemeral Lake (2024), Berl-Berl (2021-22) and Liminal Lands (2021)
The digital character of the Song Trapper is a 3D transformation of Steensen’s personal ink and water-colour drawings, whilst accompanying sound includes vocal mixing from performer Lyra Pramuk and environmental and musical composition by sound artist Matt McCorkle. This combination of character with music, verse and world, song versus code being an ongoing focus of Steensen that can be traced back to other works like Terratic Animism (2015) and RE-ANIMATED (2019).
Virtual Stills: Jakob Kudsk Steensen, The Song Trapper, 2025. Moving image, virtual performance and spatialised sound.
Louis Vuitton Fondation Installation
16 October 2025 - 02 March 2026
Curated by Claudia Buizza and Ludovic Delalande
Paris, France
Invited to participate within the Louis Vuitton Fondation’s 17th edition of its Open Space programme, The Song Trapper by Jakob Kudsk Steensen, premieres the first of many virtual characters by the artist, and a first chapter towards his immersive operatic and video game project titled, Evoker.
Physically within Louis Vuitton’s Gallery 8, the 4-channel video is supported by vertical LED screens that mimic stained glass windows, and are a site specific response to Gallery 8’s chapel like qualities. Sound is further mapped onto the Gallery’s architecture, using video game technology Steensen has specialised over many years and what the artist refers to as ‘a spatial instrument’.
Elsewhere covering the walls of Gallery 8 include marsh-green-blue-brown hues that draw upon Steensen’s travels to swamp, marshes and lake waters. A custom scent made in collaboration with Yann Vasnier adds to these ecological reference, its inspirations draws from amphibians, seaweed and rust-like ingredients.
Installation Views: Jakob Kudsk Steensen, The Song Trapper, 2025. Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris France.
Original Watercolour and Ink sketch for The Song Trapper: Jakob Kudsk Steensen 2024.
Creating The Song Trapper: Text, Code, Animation, Song
As in video games, environments transform with the Song Trapper’s gestures and vice versa; movement, sound, and landscape come together in rhythm that is led by a first person poetic narrative text by the artist. This text by Steensen is foundational for all elements within the artwork - animating The Song Trapper’s world, movement, and sounds, much like we need to animate our physical world in order to make sense of it.
Virtual performance and choreography for example, was directly influenced by Steensen’s spoken words whilst on set with actor Iris Thomsen, and rehearsed in real-time through supporting volumetric motion capture at BrainBar Studio with Producer Mikael Jaeger Jensen.
Original Watercolour and Ink sketch for Nökken: Jakob Kudsk Steensen 2024.
The Song Trapper; PRESS & MEDIA
The Song Trapper, GameScenes October 2025.
Open Space #17 Jakob Kudsk Steensen, The Song Trapper, E-Flux October 2025.
Artwork Credits
Jakob Kudsk Steensen, The Song Trapper 2025
Moving image, virtual performance, spatialised sound (20 mins, 55 seconds).
Fragrance created in collaboration with Yann Vasnier, perfumer at Givaudan.
Supported by Fondation Louis Vuitton.
© Jakob Kudsk Steensen 2025.
Production Credits
Character Art, Virtual Worlds and Video - Jakob Kudsk Steensen.
Motion Capture Actor – Iris Thomsen.
Lead Sound Artist - Matt McCorkle.
Vocals and Vocal Composition – Lyra Pramuk.
Motion Capture Producer – Mikael Jaeger Jensen.
Technical Lead – Wouter Weynants.
Technical Character Artist – Pierre Moulin.
Technical Producer – Andrea Familari.
Installation Production - Arter.
Co-Producer - Liz Kircher.
Project Producer/Studio Management - Alex Boyes.
Fragrance created in collaboration with Yann Vasnier, perfumer at Givaudan.
Curated by Claudia Buizza and Ludovic Delalande.