A Huge Reservoir of Life

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A Huge Reservoir of Life
A Huge Reservoir of Life

The first form of communication was not language but vibration. Listen to an audio essay featuring the biologist Juan José López and sound artist Ludwig Berger who sonify species that soon threaten to become completely extinct – if we don’t listen.

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Quote: Juan Lopez
Photo: Klang Moor Schopfe

5 Video Clips from the U.K.: The Naff in Sound

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5 Video Clips from the U.K.: The Naff in Sound
5 Video Clips from the U.K.: The Naff in Sound

So-called naff music is considered as lacking in style or taste. It’s not the kind of music you’d claim to be a fan of, but Alex Rigotti finds it to be a hidden side of national British identity.

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Design: Maria Uthe
Sound: 5ive & Queen, Mr Blobby, Cher Lloyd, Tinchy Stryder feat. N Dubz

Funkot, Gabber’s Distant Cousin from the Far East

Snap Image by Maria Uthe
Funkot, Gabber’s Distant Cousin from the Far East
Funkot, Gabber’s Distant Cousin from the Far East

One day, when sitting in an angkot minivan in Bogor, our writer had a weird encounter that made her ears ring; it was funkot, a mix of gabber and Indonesian folk. An essay inspired by the music of Animistic Beliefs who will perform at MUTEK festival 2023.

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Design: Maria Uthe

Like Super Mario Bumping His Head on Obstacles

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Like Super Mario Bumping His Head on Obstacles
Like Super Mario Bumping His Head on Obstacles

A body walks through the city while listening to a DJ mix. The switching between sites is like switching between tracks is like switching between worlds. An essay poem inspired by a mix of the New York-based artist Zarina.

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Design: Ali Sayah

Norient Playlist 8/23: Bishkek & Central Asia

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Norient Playlist 8/23: Bishkek & Central Asia
Norient Playlist 8/23: Bishkek & Central Asia

Listen to this mix of dance music from Central Asia. For this, our Bishkek-based contributor compiled a rather diverse playlist of dance music from Kazakh and Kyrgyz musicians, both pop and trending and underground.

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Sound: Jax, PADRE

Der Rundfunk als Waffe

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Der Rundfunk als Waffe
Der Rundfunk als Waffe

Warum bezeichnet Irans Revolutionsführer Ali Khamenei Israel als «bösartigen Krebstumor, der entfernt und vernichtet werden muss»? Über die persisch-sprachige Nazipropaganda im Rundfunk und ihre bis ins 21. Jahrhundert spürbaren Folgen.

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Sound: Casanora

Norient Playlist 7/23: Seoul

Norient Playlist 7/23: Seoul.
Norient Playlist 7/23: Seoul
Norient Playlist 7/23: Seoul

From dreamy, hypnotic ballads, to fragments of classical piano, to glitchy and playful electronica ¬– Arexibo has promised a playlist that forgoes a consistency with genre and instead, blends together distinct artists to create a love letter for Seoul.

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Sound: KIRARA

Going to Town With Listening

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Going to Town With Listening
Going to Town With Listening

Alex Rigotti explores the city of Bern, Switzerland, using only their hearing – and in doing so, uncovers new worlds of understanding perception and the environment.

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Design: Ali Sayah

Listening Through Others

snap artwork by Frederico Floeter
Listening Through Others

Curator and researcher Bhavisha Panchia crafts a thoughtful review of Gilles Aubry’s «Sawt, Bodies, Species: Sonic Pluralism in Morocco», detailing that the book is a conscious revisit of what it means to listen to and through sonic and musical heritage.

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Norient: From Tastemaking to Multimodal Storytelling (Part 1)

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Norient: From Tastemaking to Multimodal Storytelling (Part 1)
Norient: From Tastemaking to Multimodal Storytelling (Part 1)

What role and methods can a privileged Western person adopt when curating contemporary music from a global perspective? In his ongoing endeavor to understand the world through music and sound, Norient founder Thomas Burkhalter suggests 13 curatorial principles.

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Being on the Right Side of History

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Being on the Right Side of History
Being on the Right Side of History

For Iranian metal musician Nikan Khosravi, music is a way to articulate protest. Having lived under state repression, metal, as he explains in this personal essay, helped him to stay candid with himself and to express his dark feelings.

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Sound: Casanora