Decolonizing Listening

Quotation

«In 1991, Susan McClary, advancing new models for feminist music analysis, noted that in considering the intersections of gender, sexuality, and music, we might reach a point of production un-knowing, where we are ‹no longer sure of what MUSIC is› (McClary 1991, 19). Decolonizing musical practice involves becoming no longer sure what LISTENING is.»

This quote is excerpted from Dylan Robinson’s book «Hungry Listening: Resonant Theory for Indigenous Sound Studies» (Minneapolis 2020, 47). It is part of the virtual exhibition «Norient City Sounds: Delhi», curated and edited by Suvani Suri.

Project Assistance: Geetanjali Kalta
Graphics/Visual Design: Upendra Vaddadi, Neelansh Mittra
Audio Production: Abhishek Mathur
Video Production: Ammar

Biography

Dylan Robinson is a xwélmexw (Stó:lō/Skwah) artist, curator and writer. From 2015–2022, he served as the Canada Research Chair in indigenous arts at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. His book, Hungry Listening (University Minnesota Press, 2020), examines Indigenous and settler colonial practices of listening, and was awarded best first book by the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association, Canadian Association for Theatre Research, and the Labriola Centre American Indian National Book Award. Follow him on his Website.

Published on September 29, 2023

Last updated on April 02, 2024

Topics

Colonialism

Listening

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Norient City Sounds: Delhi

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In the Face of Noise Pollution

Quotation

by Pale Blue Dotter,

beatnyk

«Even in the face of the noise pollution that has been taking over the city, the birds have found a way to continue singing…»

This quote is excerpted from the notes to «The City at Dawn», a sound piece by Pale Blue Dotter and beatnyk as a part of the virtual exhibition «Norient City Sounds: Delhi», curated and edited by Suvani Suri.

Project Assistance: Geetanjali Kalta
Graphics/Visual Design: Upendra Vaddadi, Neelansh Mittra
Audio Production: Abhishek Mathur
Video Production: Ammar

Biography

Pale Blue Dotter thrives at the intersection of music and art. Interweaving melody, spoken word, and field recordings with movement-based listening, she interprets philosophical concepts as sound pieces, live performances, and installations. Follow her on Instagram, Spotify, SoundCloud, or on her Website.

Biography

beatnyk is an inert engineer, sporadic musician, and electronic sound artist residing in Delhi, whose work and interest lie in exploring the natural interplay of non-human sound and human noise in a landscape through generative patches and coded algorithms. Follow him on Instagram, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, or Linktree.

Links

Pale Blue Dotter and beatnyk: «The City at Dawn» (Norient)

Published on September 29, 2023

Last updated on September 29, 2023

Topic

Nature

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Norient City Sounds: Delhi

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In the Time of Qawwali

Quotation

by Anubhuti Sharma

«Qawwali carries within itself the memory of another city. It becomes equally ephemeral, belonging to a bygone epoch and an elsewhere place. It is the unfolding of such a memory that activates our desire for a Delhi which is not there; like the great Mughal miniaturists, these voices paint images of time with sound.»

This quote is excerpted from Anubhuti Sharma’s essay «Folds of Time: Delhi in the Memory of Qawwals». This essay is part of the virtual exhibition «Norient City Sounds: Delhi», curated and edited by Suvani Suri.

Project Assistance: Geetanjali Kalta
Graphics/Visual Design: Upendra Vaddadi, Neelansh Mittra
Audio Production: Abhishek Mathur
Video Production: Ammar

Biography

Anubhuti Sharma is an independent researcher and musician from Delhi. She completed her PhD in theater and performance studies from the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2018. She worked on the music of Kumar Gandharva and interrogated the idea of knowledge and freedom in Hindustani music in the 20th century. As a practitioner, she is keenly interested in studying different forms of music and building an innovative critical pedagogy for Hindustani music.

Links

Anubhuti Sharma: «Folds of Time: Delhi in the Memory of Qawwalse» (Norient)

Published on September 29, 2023

Last updated on September 29, 2023

Topic

Tradition

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Norient City Sounds: Delhi

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