Ben Tweel is a singular voice bridging medical science and sound art. By day, he’s an Associate Professor of Otolaryngology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, bringing a clinical understanding of auditory perception to his work; by night, he composes immersive post-ambient soundscapes as Build Buildings, alongside intermedia artist Molly Gochman. 

For makemake, that practice comes to life via a listening station of CONTINUUM by Build Buildings and Gochman, situated at National Sawdust’s main entrance: a slow-motion acoustic journey of shimmering textures and organic string manipulation, creating a welcoming sonic threshold as our doors transition to fully accessible entry and greeting every guest with restorative, visionary music from the moment they arrive.

ABOUT MAKEMAKE FESTIVAL

makemake debuts this year as National Sawdust’s annual festival inviting artists to imagine futures - making, remixing, rethinking.

Named after the dwarf planet that reshaped how we define a world, and the Rapa Nui creator deity of fertility - makemake is about generating new forms: of art, of access, of community.This is a festival that celebrates imagination, and the radical invitation to ratify accessibility by design, not as an afterthought. This is a festival that centers the belief that care is crucial, and that equity is essential. This is a festival for everyone, but especially for those who want to shape what comes next. Expect immersive performances, evolving technologies, ecstatic raves, late night conversations, and unexpected collisions between artists, technologists, activists, and communities. Rooted in disability-led design and imagination, this is a space where access is a creative engine reshaping how we gather, sense, and move together. Through a lens of tech optimism, we explore how emerging tools can expand agency, deepen connection, and unlock new forms of expression. Expect spaces designed for care, curiosity, and connection. Expect to move, to question, to co-create.

Late one afternoon, my son and I took a short walk to Prospect Park, Brooklyn, to sit together at Monuments to Motherhood, the elegant looping bronze sculpture by Molly Gochman. At the sculpture, we listened and made a series of recordings of small string and reed instruments. I wanted the ambient sounds of the environment to filter into the recordings so they wouldn’t have the sterile sound of a studio, but rather the warm ambience of the site.

I crafted these recordings into a series of loops, mirroring the sculpture. Each of these loops had differing lengths that would overlay each other, cycling asynchronously so the patterns created would never repeat. These were layered with field recordings and Molly’s contact microphone recordings to create constantly shifting waves of harmony and gentle rhythm, never settling into locked phrasing. My goal was to make atmospheric music that would become the space around her piece.

Revisiting the site with Molly later, I realized how well this process reflected her piece. We each had crafted a potentially rigid medium into organic loops that relied on each other for support to create a warm, enveloping whole. I hope this music gives to the listener what Molly’s work gives to the viewer.