The Sounding Room: Battle Elf

The Sounding Room is a rotating residency and experimental platform for artists working across sound, music, and performance.
About this Event

The Sounding Room

July–December 2026

Launching this summer as part of MOCAD’s 20th anniversary celebrations, The Sounding Room is a rotating residency and experimental platform for artists working across sound, music, and performance. Hosted in the garage of the Mike Kelley Mobile Homestead and grounded in Detroit’s histories of cultural innovation and resistance, the program invites artists to use the Homestead as a site for experimentation, collaboration, and new forms of public engagement.

Throughout each residency, artists are supported in developing and sharing new work through open rehearsals, performances, listening sessions, and workshops. Each cycle culminates in a free public performance. In partnership with Third Man Records, each live performance will contribute to a limited-edition vinyl compilation documenting the project over time.

RESIDENTS

• July - Shigeto 
• August - Zekkereya El-magharbel
• September - Battle Elf
• October - Na Bonsai
• November - Dave Hurley

Open rehearsals are tentatively scheduled for selected Thursdays and Saturdays throughout each residency cycle. Please check our Instagram for more information.

Please note that performance times are tentative and subject to change.

September Resident: Battle Elf
Saturday, October 3, 3-5pm

Battle Elf is a musical collective with a revolving lineup of sonic wanderers, formed in Detroit by guitarist Gretchen Gonzales (Slumber Party, Universal Indians). The name itself is a blend of ancient and modern; “Gonzales” traces its origins to Visigothic times, combining guntho (battle or war) and alf (elf), creating a fitting moniker for music that channels Krautrock and deep psychedelia.

Often performing at visual art exhibitions, Battle Elf activates space as an immersive, improvisational experience that blurs sight and sound, transforming it into a living, breathing entity. The band’s debut LP, 10, was released on Birdman Records, blending krautrock, cosmic psychedelia, and improvised noise elements into expansive soundscapes. In 2025, Gonzales and her musical projects brought their music to contemporary art spaces: Infinite River at the Universal Pavilion at the Venice Biennale and Battle Elf at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. Other performances include Abasement (NYC), Healing Force of the Universe (LA), Pilot Light during Big Ears Festival, and an upcoming performance at MASS MoCA for Solid Sound.

Photo courtesy of the artist.