Dr Leah Kardos
Faculties, departments and locations
- Kingston School of Art
- Department of Performing Arts
- School of Arts
- Kingston Hill
- Design, Arts and Creative Practice
Senior Lecturer in Music
- Email:
- [email protected]
About
I'm a Senior Lecturer in Music at Kingston School of Art, Kingston University London, where I teach on the BA (Hons) in Music Technology and the MA Music courses. I manage the Visconti Studio (a teaching, research and knowledge exchange facility, co-founded in 2016 with producer Tony Visconti) and serve as Course Leader of the MA Music and MA Music Production courses.
I work across music, writing, and research. My monograph Blackstar Theory: The Last Works of David Bowie was published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2022. My 33 1/3 book on Kate Bush's Hounds of Love was published in 2024. I write regularly for The Wire magazine. As a composer and producer, I release music with Bigo & Twigetti and UPPM, and work on media commissions. I'm currently editing the forthcoming Bloomsbury Handbook of David Bowie and serve as an associate editor for the Journal of Popular Music Studies.
In 2019 I founded the Kingston University Stylophone Orchestra (KUSO), a community ensemble sponsored by British instrument manufacturer Dubreq, bringing together staff, students, alumni, and local residents. KUSO's debut album Stylophonika was released in 2022; a limited edition cassette, Live at Visconti Studio, followed in 2023.
Across all of this, my work circles a set of shared questions: what can sounds mean beyond their musical content? How does the studio shape the work that passes through it? What happens when material filters through human bodies, histories, and technologies? How do recordings hold memory? Who gets to compose, and with what?
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (Creative Practice) - University of Queensland, 2009-2014.
- Post-Graduate Certificate of Education - University of Greenwich, 2008.
- BMus(Hons) - University of Queensland, 1998-2002.
- A.Mus.A (Associate Music Diploma (Australia)) - AMEB, 1997, Pianoforte, Distinction.
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
Domains
I teach across undergraduate and postgraduate music, music technology and production courses, and supervise doctoral researchers. I lead/have led modules in studio production, audio post-production, composition, and professional practices in the music industry. I'm committed to inclusive approaches to assessment and curriculum design, and through initiatives like the Future Skills module I connect students with external partners and live industry briefs. I hold Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).
Qualifications
- Record production and studio craft
- Music technology and synthesis
- Audio post-production and sound design
- Research supervision in popular musicology and creative practice
Course director
Courses taught
My research treats the recording studio as a site of creative authorship. I work across popular musicology, creative practice research, and the musicology of record production, with a focus on how sounds, technologies, and production practices can express and suggest ideas.
Current projects include editing the Bloomsbury Handbook of David Bowie, and research into the uncredited contributions of women who worked in London recording studios from the 1960s to the 1990s. My published monographs examine the final works of David Bowie (Blackstar Theory, Bloomsbury Academic, 2022) and Kate Bush's Hounds of Love (33 1/3, 2024).
Through Visconti Studio and the Kingston University Stylophone Orchestra, I'm also engaged in practice-led research exploring inclusive, community-centred approaches to music-making with technologies and effective knowledge exchange.
Qualifications
- Popular musicology
- Composition and sound design
Specialisms
- The musicology of record production
- The music and legacy of David Bowie
- Studio-based creative practice research
- Women's histories in recording studio culture
Scholarly affiliations
- University of Queensland, Australia (alum)
- NYU Steinhardt, Music Technology (visiting scholar 2015)
- Western Kentucky University, Music (visiting artist 2014)
My professional practice connects studio-based creative work, industry partnerships, and public scholarship. Through the Visconti Studio, I maintain relationships with audio technology manufacturers and professional studios that generate equipment, sponsorship, and collaborative opportunities benefiting teaching and research. I work as a composer, sound designer, and producer, and collaborate with artists on international commissions in the contemporary art sector. My books and journalism generate regular invitations for keynotes, media appearances, and public events.
Qualifications and expertise
- Studio management, commercial recording, and facilities development
- Public scholarship and arts journalism
- Community music-making and ensemble leadership
Professional and scholarly affiliations
- Associate Editor, Journal of Popular Music Studies (Field Notes)
- Regular contributor, The Wire magazine
- Society for Music Production Research (SMPR)
- International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM)
- 21st Century Music Practices Network (C21MP)
- Senior Fellow, Advance HE (SFHEA)
- Community Partner, Audio Developer Conference
Publications
Book Review of 'Switched on: Bob Moog and the Synthesizer Revolution' by Albert Glinsky
Kardos, Leah, 2023, Technology and Culture (64), 3pp 1003-1005, Published
Making room for 21st century musicianship in higher education
Kardos, Leah, 2018, Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education (17), 1pp 1-14, Published
Book Review of: 'Playing with something that runs : technology, improvisation, and composition in DJ and laptop performance' by Mark J. Butler
Kardos, Leah, 2017, The World of Music (new series) (6), (2017) 2pp 157-159, Published
Bowie musicology: mapping Bowie's sound and music language across the catalogue
Kardos, Leah, 2017, Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies (31), 4pp 552-563, Published
How music technology can make sound and music worlds accessible to student composers in Further Education colleges
Kardos, Leah, 2012, British Journal of Music Education (29), 2pp 143-151, Published
Kate Bush's hounds Of love
Kardos, Leah (2024). London, U.K.: (Bloomsbury Academic) [Published]
Blackstar theory: the last works of David Bowie
Kardos, Leah (2022). London, U.K.: (Bloomsbury Academic) [Published]
The analogue music studio: education and research as heritage-in-process
Kardos, Leah and van Elferen, Isabella (2024). In: Volioti, Georgia, Barolsky, Daniel G, (eds.), London, U.K.: Routledgepp 212-228 [Published]
The curious musician
Kardos, Leah (2017). In: Ruthmann, S. Alex, Mantie, Roger, (eds.), Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Presspp 317-322 [Published]
Activating Digital Creativities in Higher Music Education
Kardos, Leah (2015). In: Burnard, Pamela, Haddon, Elizabeth, (eds.), London, U.K.:pp 223-240 [Published]
PLANET BOWIE: Multiple creativities in practice
Kardos, Leah(2015). [Published]
Can you hear me? Analysing the recurring sonic and musical gestures in David Bowie‘s recorded works
Kardos, Leah(2015). [Published]
You can't hide beat: a collection of David Bowie cover versions created using samples from his own famous recordings
Kardos, Leah(2015). [Published]
The sonic vernacular: considering communicative timbral gestures in modern music production
Kardos, Leah(2015). [Published]
Exploring the temporalities of a musical idea
Kardos, Leah(2014). [Published]
The invented identities and multiple creativities of David Bowie
Kardos, Leah(2013). [Published]
Folio of compositions and critical commentary
Kardos, Leah (2014), PhD thesis [Accepted/In press]
The unknown celebrity
Redmond, Sean and Kardos, Leah (2019) [Published]
Rococochet
Kardos, Leah (2017) [Published]
Waiting at Rosamond Rd
Kardos, Leah and Alexander, Ariane (2015) [Published]
Three Preludes
Kardos, Leah (2013) [Published]
Machines
Kardos, Leah (2013) [Published]
Kick for String Orchestra
Kardos, Leah (2013) [Published]
The Closeness of Distance
Kardos, Leah (2012) [Published]
Feather Hammer
Kardos, Leah (2011) [Published]
Gallery of work
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KUSO and Tony Visconti in the studio (Dec 2019)
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KUSO at the Stanley Picker Gallery (April 2019)
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Presenting Bowie Musicology (ACMI Melbourne 2017)
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Winter school 2019 with producer Chris Kimsey and Sol Collective
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Producer Chris Porter with Flight Brigade and student interns (2017)
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Performing Feather Hammer, 2012
Photo by Justin Hannaford
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Performing Machines, 2015
At the Servant Jazz Quarters, London
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d-Voxx performing at Visconti Studio (21CMP Study Day 2017)
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Interviewing Tony Visconti (Dec 2016)
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Interviewing Tony Visconti and Woody Woodmansey (Feb 2018)
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Kingston University Stylophone Orchestra (photo by Marcus Clackson 2021)
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promo for Stylophonika (by Marcus Clackson 2021)
Videos of my work
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Core
from Feather Hammer - 2011
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The emancipating power of samplers & sequencers in the work of Kate Bush during the early-to-mid 80s
Video essay on Kate Bush's use of music technology between 1980–85
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Dublin Bowie Festival 2023:
This video of my presentation at Whelans on the 15th January at the 2023 Dublin Bowie Festival was filmed by Billy Cahill.
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'Akoustiki' by the Kingston University Stylophone Orchestra
music video directed by Kasia Kaczmarek
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Episode 43: Tony Visconti & Chris Kimsey
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Space Oddity (Cover) - Kingston University Stylophone Orchestra
The Kingston University Stylophone Orchestra, performing an arrangement of David Bowie's 'Space Oddity'. Arranged by Leah Kardos. Produced by Tony Visconti. Recorded at Visconti Studio, Kingston, September 2019.
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Visconti Studio Presents WINTERSCHOOL 2019
Pure Analogue Practice Research with producer Chris Kimsey - Feb 2019
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Open Again Eventually
from Bird Rib (2020)
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Deedee
from Bird Rib (2020)
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Black holes, black music, black arts, black hearts & button eyes
Video essay: Analysis of David Bowie's song 'Blackstar' (2015)