Experimental research on how different representations of birds affect human empathy, with potential implications for conservation communication. Project website ↗
01 / SOCIOLOGY & RESEARCH
My academic motivations center on material injustice, institutional harm, and the social production of knowledge.
Current 1st-year student in the Sociology Ph.D. program at Portland State University ↗.
B.A. in Sociology with a Certificate in Social Science Data Analysis at Western Washington University (2024).
Research interests
Psychedelics & substance use; public health & health disparities; quantitative methods & demography; deviance & social control; social movements & political change; cognition & consciousness; epistemology & the sociology of knowledge/science.
Publications & active projects
Quantitative research using latent class analysis to study patterns of psychedelic use and differences in health-related outcomes.
“...normally they come for removal, and they go back with a new implant inserted”: Implant Removal and Immediate Reinsertion in Rwanda
Qualitative public health research on family planning programs in Rwanda using in-depth interviews and focus groups. Data collected Summer 2024. Funded by the National Science Foundation.
“...you feel like you are a tree, like you don’t want sex anymore.”; Family Planning Counseling About and Experience with Implant Side Effects in Rwanda.
Qualitative public health research on family planning programs in Rwanda using in-depth interviews and focus groups. Data collected Summer 2024. Funded by the National Science Foundation.
Research profiles
02 / MUSIC & AUDIO
I am a musician, producer, and audio engineer. My creative practice spans composition/arrangement, experimental sound design, live performance, and studio recording. I play drum set, percussion, keyboards, and synthesizers.
My solo music draws on film and video game soundtracks, ambient and electronic music, and conceptual storytelling. Explore selected solo releases and collaborations below; the full solo catalog is on Bandcamp ↗.
Solo albums & projects
A compilation/rework/remaster of electronic instrumental tracks (new and old). Each track invokes a sense of environment or ecology.
Organism ↗ 2022 / 2025 remaster
A long-form ambient electronic experience. Different versions of the same shared musical structure at different tempos; randomized modulation gives each version a different sonic character (like a living Organism).
The second installment of the Permutation Series.Read the project explanation ↗
An experimental electronic compositions structured around musical permutation and non-linear listenting. Read the project explanation ↗
Mtetezi ↗ 2023
A hardware-only (mainly Elektron) instrumental electronic performance. Captured as one continuous studio take with no edits.
Betula Papyrifera ↗ 2022
A hardware-only (mainly Elektron) instrumental electronic performance. Captured as one continuous studio take with no edits.
Single-take improvisations using only electronic music hardware (e.g., Bass Station II & Elektron boxes). The live performance imperfections are integrated, not rejected.
Ambient soundscapes incorporating field recordings from my time living in St. George, Utah and hiking in the surrounding area.
Blood Disk ↗ 2019
A score for a fictional video game. The game-world is a cyberpunk/horror dystopia where immortality is achieved through bio-digital technology.
An instrumental concept album with electronic, soundtrack, and jazz-fusion influences. This album explores human-kind's metaphysical evolution and the costs of this transformation.
Tantalus ↗ 2017 / 2019 remaster
An instrumental electronic composition inspired by the Greek myth of Tantalus.
Amarnth ↗ 2018
A conceptual album meditating on life/death; an expression of my coping with the death of my grandfather Keith Elvington (RIP).
Listen elsewhere
Bandcamp ↗ Spotify ↗ Apple Music ↗ YouTube Music ↗ SoundCloud ↗ TIDAL ↗ Audiomack ↗
Music Collaborations
Cold Sludge
I performed live with the band 2024 to June 2025. I mainly played keys/synths and sometimes drum set. I continue working with the band on studio recordings/projects. Bandcamp ↗ · Band website ↗
Live performance videos
Sorry To Hear It's All Going Downhill - EP
Richard sent me some found-sound tape loops. From there, we sent the recordings back and forth, each time iterating on the composition by adding layers and/or degreade the audio. This push/pull created a beautiful and erie ambient EP. Recorded and arranged from Jul. 2023 - Aug. 2024. Released Nov. 15, 2024. Apple Music ↗ · Spotify ↗
Vardo
I contributed to Vardo's live performances at TeslaCon (Wisconsin) and several recordings. The project blends folk, circus, and world-music influences.
- Once Upon a Time in the Midwest (2018) ↗ — Vardo's debut release; I contributed drums/percussion, production, recording, and editing.
- Curio (2019) ↗ — Music drawing on circus and Eastern European folk influences; I contributed drums/percussion, production, recording, and editing.
- Duende (2019) ↗ — Music with world/folk-fusion influences; I contributed drums/percussion, production, recording, and editing.
03 / VISUAL ART
Digital and physical art, photography, and visual experiments. Portfolio updates pending (for now, see instagram and album artworks).
For artwork or collaboration inquiries, see contact info.
04 / SERVICES & COLLABORATIONS
Research
- Quantitative analysis & data workflows in R
- Research and survey design
- Literature synthesis
- Research communication and editing
Music & audio
- Audio editing and sound design
- Composition and arrangement
- Mixing, mastering, and recording
- Keys, synthesizers, drums, and percussion
- Post-production and audio restoration >
For collaborations or contract work, please include a brief project description, timeline, and budget where relevant.
05 / CONTACT & LINKS
Email: n8tatem@gmail.com -or- ntatem@pdx.edu
Based in Portland, Oregon, USA · Pronouns: they/he/she (agender - no preference)