What is real and what is imagined? In her text inspired by a Laurie Anderson lecture, our writer thinks of listening as a possibility to become a stranger to oneself.
«Sonic Vignettes» is a Norient Special discussing sound: One fragment, one experience, recording, one viral video, stream, one monograph or encounter at a time – all their depth, their historical and affective ramifications, with the finest experts in Sound Studies. Initiated by Holger Schulze, Rolf Großmann, Carla J. Maier, and Malte Pelleter, published as a column.
Column by Holger SchulzeMeme music went viral during the COVID-19 pandemic. Distributed via apps like TikTok, it might transform not only the way music is made, but also how it is consumed. An article about the cultural implications of an emerging digital format – and why we all might be Memecubators.
Column by Salomé VoegelinEvery physical interaction leaves traces. Yet, in online meetings, the human voice might be the only traceable feature left. In the fifth episode of «Sonic Vignettes», Salomé Voegelin reflects upon the grain of the voice as an irreducible trace of human contact and why it is endangered by AI cleaning language.
Column by Malte PelleterEven prior to the current retreat into the home office, life with screens has flattened one’s experience of time and space – but also of work and leisure. In the fourth episode of the «Sonic Vignettes» series, Malte Pelleter investigates Lofi beat streams and their utilization for self-regulation.
Column by Rolf GroßmannAI music often sounds very familiar, because it is limited to its creators’ musical horizon. In the third essay of our «Sonic Vignettes» special, Rolf Großmann asks what happens if one liberated AI «ears» from the constraints of human sensations?
Column by Carla J. MaierSound is able to merge supposed contradictions: in the audio walk «Zero, Land der Zukunft» at Dystopie Festival, our writer finds herself entangled both in dystopian and utopian worlds. Here is a short essay on listening as a mode of creating critical agencies.
Column by Holger SchulzeThe pandemic-driven changes have produced new sensory dissonances: While some urban spaces became eerily quiet, ubiquitous video calls turn the domestic into a public space flooded by multiple voices and sounds. What do these sonic worlds tell us about the social?