David Chesworth is an Australian-based artist and composer. You can contact him here.

David Chesworth is a key figure in Australia’s experimental arts scene, working across music, performance, and installation. As co-founder of Essendon Airport, he helped define a distinctive minimalist, post-punk sound, while early solo recordings such as 50 Synthesizer Greats established a pared-back, concept-driven approach to electronic music, marked by irony, humour, and experimentation.

His practice spans experimental operas, ensemble works, and large-scale public sound installations, united by an interest in how sound operates within cultural and social contexts. Albums including The Unattended Serge reflect an ongoing engagement with the expressive potential of electronic systems.

In collaboration with artist Sonia Leber, Chesworth has created immersive works presented at the Venice Biennale and Sydney Biennale. Combining sound, voice, and moving image, these projects explore sites shaped by social, technological, and geological change, moving between the real and the speculative.

Alongside this, he has led the David Chesworth Ensemble, with performances across Europe, the UK, and the USA. He also played a formative role in Melbourne’s artist-run culture as coordinator of the Clifton Hill Community Music Centre in the early 1980s, a key hub for experimental and interdisciplinary practice.

His somewhat diverse chronology goes something like this: Early experimental pop (late ’70s to early ’80s), Electronic music (always), Post-classical ensembles (1990–2012), Experimental opera and performance (1989–2004), Public art soundscapes with Sonia Leber (2000–present) and Video artworks with Sonia Leber (2013–present).

Music Groups: Essendon Airport (1978–1983, 2004–present), Whadya Want (1984–1986), Dave and Phil Duo (1979–1981), Drive Time with Bill McDonald (1982–new performances forthcoming) and David Chesworth Ensemble (1994–2012).

Early self-initiated recordings were released on Innocent Records run by David and Philip Brophy. Most have been reissued through Chapter Music, with others through PLANAM (Italy) and B.T.E. Records (Spain). Most recordings, including Chapter Music’s reissues, are available via David’s Bandcamp site (link below).