about
proto-sapien is the alias of Johannesburg composer and sound artist Janus van der Merwe, working in a city whose soundtrack has never been subtle. He works across documentary, film and advertising scoring, sound design and sound art, combining acoustic instruments, synthesis and field recording.
The name rests on an uncomfortable premise: that every generation is merely a prototype for the next. Futurism, evolutionary biology and consciousness inform the work, usually without announcing themselves.
His approach to film begins with listening — to the picture, its subject and the spaces it was shot in — before a note is written. A score, as he sees it, should add an idea to a film, not underline the ones already on screen.