Shells

Born from my passion for exploring the origins of music in my podcast/show Steve Pretty on The Origin of the Pieces and other work, since about 2019 I have been increasingly obsessed by making music with conch and other shells. Hey, a midlife crisis can take many and varied forms, don’t judge…

I particularly like exploring the link between ancient and modern music technology by employing cutting-edge electronic manipulations to augment my shell performances.

This work has seen me perform on shells at the Hammersmith Apollo, King’s Place, ALSO Festival, First Light Festival (where I was Artist in Residence in 2024), Cafe Oto, Natural History Museum and many more places. I am currently working on an album of music featuring shells, but meanwhile, here are some little tasters of what I do, some of which involve my fellow conch obsessive Letty Stott.

My set with Letty Stott at Cafe Oto, London. Skip to 37.35 for the music

And here’s a fun little acknowledgement of my growing obsession at the Alternative Comedy Memorial Society in March 2023