Rubén Bañuelos (Tijuana, MX) is a sound artist, creative technologist and independent researcher based in Basel, where he investigates the performance and non-performance of acoustics through hybrid instrument-installations, primarily his CLSTR0 cluster. His work bridges acoustic and electronic media while maintaining a deep commitment to percussion as a foundational medium.

He is the producer and a core member of Disintegrator, an independent think tank, sitting in the widening gaps between technological, theoretical, and creative states of the art. Rubén holds master’s degrees from the Musik-Akademie Basel (under Christian Dierstein) and ESMUC Barcelona (under Miquel Bernat), as well as a B.M. from The Boston Conservatory. 

Since 2024, his research Disembodiment as a Performative Spectrum employs CLSTR0 to explore environments where performativity is fluid, mediated by algorithmic entropy and interactive visuals via TouchDesigner. This research project is supervised by Christian Dierstein, Michel Roth, and Svetlana Maraš. With Domenico Melchiorre (Lunason) as an external mentor of his academic research, an instrument called CLSTR1 has been developed. 

His work has been featured in festivals like Sónar (Barcelona), and the Darmstädter Ferienkurse, as well as workshopped under the mentorship of Steve Goodman (aka Kode9).