Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio has entered a new era with their new city location and an epic reimagining of James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
After years of quietly sitting in North Melbourne, MESS has relocated to the heart of the city, in the Atrium at Fed Square. It’s a game-changing move that positions the organisation in the centre of Melbourne’s cultural conversation. Studio sessions and workshops are now available at the new address, and the timing couldn’t be better: MESS is about to play a starring role in one of 2026’s most ambitious live cinema events.
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For those unfamiliar, MESS is a not-for-profit organisation housing over 1,000 eclectic and historically significant electronic musical instruments – the largest publicly available collection in the Southern Hemisphere. But calling it simply a collection misses the point entirely. MESS exists to connect people and creativity, providing hands-on access to museum-grade resources while fostering community around the transformative power of music making.
Their philosophy is this: music is for everyone, and life is too short not to make it. MESS offers inspirational and artist-led support designed to unlock the collection and get you directly involved in the creative process. From entry-level workshops to specialised sound design courses, school programmes and member gatherings, each initiative celebrates the diversity of sound and everyone curious about making it.
Beyond educational programmes, MESS hosts live performances and artist residencies. Their biannual multichannel commission series Sonorous has commissioned twenty new octophonic works to date, becoming a highlight of Melbourne’s electronic music calendar. The MESS Synthesiser Orchestra (MSO) offers mass activations of the collection, demonstrating the full potential of their extensive instrument library.
While the creative process is often isolating, MESS invites people to connect, building shared experiences that enrich Melbourne’s electronic music community. The new Fed Square location amplifies this mission considerably, allowing MESS to reach more people than ever before.
MESS meets Terminator 2
MESS’s first major outing from their new home comes courtesy of Hear My Eyes, Australia’s pioneer live cinema collective. Next February and March, the MESS Synthesiser Ensemble will help reimagine James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day for its 35th anniversary, giving the sci-fi classic its first-ever live electronic score. Pretty huge.
Belgian electronic artist Peter Van Hoesen is on composition and performance duties, transforming his typically solo live sets into an expansive ensemble piece featuring MESS’s rare vintage synthesisers and modular systems. Van Hoesen’s immersive, hardware-driven work perfectly echoes Terminator 2‘s central themes of humanity, technology, and our increasingly blurred relationship with machines.
“What excites me most about the Hear My Eyes concept is the performative aspect – it’s one thing to compose a score, but another entirely to bring it to life in front of an audience,” Van Hoesen explains. “T2 had a huge impact on me when it was released, and it remains a timeless film. My approach to this project is to create something completely electronic that amplifies the emotion and intensity already present on screen.”
Internationally renowned audio-visual artist Robin Fox completes the lineup with his signature laser artistry. Having previously collaborated with Hear My Eyes on Hellraiser, Fox’s visual language transforms cinematic environments into illuminated shows that enhance rather than overwhelm the on-screen action.
“My vision for Terminator 2 is to weave the lasers into the cinematic experience rather than overwhelm it – to make precise, deliberate choices that heighten key moments,” Fox reveals. “We’ve been exploring the motif of ‘eyes’ throughout the film, finding ways to echo that visually, and there’ll be a few immersive moments where the audience really feels pulled into the action.”
This focus on vision feels particularly apt given T2’s obsession with seeing clearly – from the Terminator’s red-tinted HUD to Sarah Connor’s prophetic nightmares. Fox’s laser work promises to expand these themes into the physical space, creating blurred boundaries between screen and audience.
Released in 1991, T2 remains one of the most influential films ever made. The film is a cultural milestone that redefined science fiction, visual effects, and blockbuster storytelling. Cameron’s meditation on humanity and technology resonates even more powerfully in 2025, an era defined by artificial intelligence and questions about what separates human creativity from machine capability.
“Terminator 2 excites everyone: cinephiles, film buffs, mainstream audiences and young viewers discovering it for the first time,” says Haydn Green, Artistic Director of Hear My Eyes. “It’s both accessible and cerebral with a perfect blend of emotion, intellect and spectacle. Next year’s T2 premiere also marks our 52nd HME screening since our inception in 2015, and it feels like a defining moment for us.”
The collaboration between Hear My Eyes, Peter Van Hoesen, MESS, and Robin Fox offers something rare: a chance to experience a cultural milestone through an entirely new perspective. Van Hoesen’s hardware-driven approach, amplified by MESS’s extraordinary instrument collection, promises to create something completely electronic that serves the film’s emotional core.
Getting involved with MESS
Sounds like something you’re into? MESS offers multiple entry points, including starter passes and memberships for immediate access to the collection. MESS also offers workshops and courses to help unlock the creative potential of over 1,000 instruments. The new Fed Square location makes dropping in easier than ever, too.
Performances of Terminator 2 run from the 26th to the 28th of February at Hamer Hall in Melbourne and on 7th March at Sydney’s City Recital Hall. Tickets are available now through Arts Centre Melbourne and City Recital Hall websites.
For the Melbourne shows, audiences will witness MESS performing just a short walk from their new Fed Square home – a fitting debut for an organisation entering its most public and ambitious phase yet.
