The new Norient book Home is Where the Heart Strives explores what place means in relation to music and sound. 85 contributors from 38 countries map their sonic landscapes of migration, war, queerness, and home through essays, poems, articles, artworks, photos, and songs. From a metalhead smuggling banned tapes across the Syrian border to an oasis in the mountains of Bogotá where people gather to vogue, we are looking for places where differences don’t dissolve but resonate. Pre-order now via e-mail.
Imprint
[NB009]
Home is Where the Heart Strives
Philipp Rhensius, Janina Neustupny, Thomas Burkhalter, Hannes Liechti, and Vinzent Maria Preuß (eds.)
with contributions by Sally Garama, Faravaz Farvardin, McKenzie Wark, Ronja Falkenbach, Tanasgol Sabbagh, Majd Shidiac, Raphael Kariuki aka DJ Raph, Sergio Salazar, Suvani Suri, Gisela Swaragita, Rehab Hazgui, Kadallah Burrowes, Thasil Suhara Backer, and more thinkers and artists worldwide.
four colors, softback
16,5 × 23,5 cm, 312 pages
ISBN: 9783952544464
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56513/VLGZ1905
Infosheet (PDF)
Pre-Order Now +++SPECIAL PRICE+++
You can pre-order your copy directly via e-mail Find also other books and vinyl on the shop’s sites.
EUR 24.– / CHF 24.– [Special Pre-Order Price]
About the Editors
Philipp Rhensius aka Alienantionist is a writer, musician, sociologist, musicologist, poet, and editor for Norient. His work is driven by the idea that feeling the chains is the first step towards emancipation. He runs the music label Arcane Patterns, hosts a show on Noods Radio, and writes a monthly column in the newspaper taz. At Norient, he collaborates daily with writers, thinkers, musicians, and artists from 62 countries and curates the column «Sonic Worlding.»
Janina Neustupny is a communications allrounder and cultural agitator based in Bern, Switzerland. She has been responsible for the communication strategy, as well as press and public relations for the Swiss Music Prizes of the Federal Office of Culture (FOC). Janina has also contributed to sustainable and participative music festivals like Cycloton - Tour de Suisse en Musique and SLOW, and served as a curator at Kino in der Reitschule Bern. Since August 2022, she has been managing communications and press for Norient.
Thomas Burkhalter , Ph.D., is an anthropologist, multidisciplinary artist, and writer from Switzerland. He is the founder and director of Norient. Burkhalter has co-directed documentary films, including Contradict (Berner Filmpreis 2020, Al-Jazeera Witness), and created AV/theater performances. He is the author and co-editor of several books, such as Local Music Scenes and Globalization: Transnational Platforms in Beirut (Routledge) and The Arab Avant Garde: Musical Innovation in the Middle East (Wesleyan University Press). In 2025, Burkhalter's focus lies on his new music/AV duo, Melodies In My Head, and the podcast Long Take: Life as an Artist.
Hannes Liechti lives in Bern, Switzerland, as a popular music scholar/lecturer, curator, cultural producer, and content editor. He is the head of KULT Music Agency at Bern Academy of the Arts HKB. Since 2021, he is part of the executive board of the concert organizer bee-flat and in 2024 he was elected as a member of the Cultural Commission of the City of Bern. Liechti teaches history of popular music at Paderborn University, Germany. From 2013–2024 he worked as a producing manager and as a curator/editor for Norient. He co-published Seismographic Sounds: Visions of a New World (2015) and co-curated the corresponding exhibition on global pop.
Vinzent Maria Preuß studied cultural anthropology at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg and is now based in Berlin. His work circles around the anthropology of the future, science fiction studies, and music in virtual worlds. He is a(or the?) Publishing Editor for the Norient Space and Head of Film Selection for the Norient Festival, and also produces documentaries for German television.
