Emily Zurowski
Manchester-based Sound Designer & Composer

Emily is a Scottish composer, sound designer, and performer based in Manchester. She is an active collaborator with the award winning documentary filmmakers Maire Tracey and experimental filmmaker Beck Cooley. She has recently produced a five-part podcast on migrant voices in Manchester with funding from the Home Office, and a long-form audio piece called Secret Lake Stories, which paints an intimate sonic portrait of the Secret Lakes, their immediate environment and the people who love them.

She works as an associate lecturer at dBs Institute and Spirit Studios, where she designs course materials, assesses applications and teaches at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Emily is passionate about composition and currently releases music under the artist name MODEMA - her debut track Running Back, co-produced by Joel Anthony Patchett, received praise from Clash Magazine and BBC Radio 6 Music:

Notably, Emily's collaborative track with Ecuadorian composer Joaquin Cornejo has accumulated over 10 MILLION streams to date. She is an accomplished audio practitioner with further experience in live recording, mixing, editing, and engineering across a range of medias. She holds a BA in Creative Music Technology and an MA in Interactive Music and Advanced Studio Production from the University of Salford.

Emily has worked as a session musician with prominent artists such as The Orielles (keys, synth, vocals), who she toured with nationally and internationally for a number of years, performing at festivals like SXSW and Green Man Festival. As part of her work with The Orielles, she had the opportunity to open for both New Order and Pulp. She has also toured across the UK with Manchester band W. H. Lung and performed with them most recently at Green Man Festival in August 2025. As a solo artist, Emily supported established US singer-songwriter Julie Byrne at the iconic Glasshouse venue in Gateshead. She also performs as part of experimental electronic duo Becoming Air, who debuted at NightGarden Festival in 2025. Emily hosted the radio show Hypnagogia on Reform Radio for a number of years and has produced mixes for Voices Radio and NTS Radio. She regularly DJs at venues like YES and Renae (downbeat, experimental, electronica, and left-field pop).

Her current interests lie in community-focused projects, using the arts as a vehicle for social change, and exploring experimental methods of creating audio. Take a look at some examples of her work below and find her contact details at the bottom of the page.