“Experience” and “interpretation” ––reuniting the two pillars upholding contemporary theories of self. This essay uses the concept of sound to challenge the Western essential form of knowledge and engender a thoughtful consideration of non-lexical, experiential knowledge-types.

Music in presidential politics: The singing voice as a tool in the articulation of power. (Ethnomusicology)

January 20th, 2021, Joseph Biden Jr. is inaugurated to the 46th presidency of the United States of America. On the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., this ritual performance is one of power and political difference: the motion from one administration to another. Voice, as both an act and object, forms a central part in the articulation of power. Among the speeches and gestures were three patriotic vocal songs, performed by iconic American artists. As Nicholas Cook notes, “politics is…

Introduction

“Adío…” The haunting word grows from silence, shivering with vibrato as it recedes. “Adío, kerida” returns with greater conviction, its voice cracking with flamenco ornaments. A single clave accompanies her with its rhythmic tresillo, only to become the Turkish wahda. From the silence of this dramatic opening comes a Spanish guitar, morphing again into its Turkish twin, the qanún. Soft shakers, a whispering Turkish ney, and a double bass join. A gentle male choir follows the voice in her serpentine melodic sighs. After a few short verses, she finishes the song alone: “…me l’amargates tu.”

“You made my life…

Authors: Julien Pallière, Lea Bibeau-Guimont, Julien Greschner, Fred Malecki
Date: March 2019

Abstract: Results from a three-month field study on listening habits across various demographics in East Africa. The goal of the project is to investigate trends in demographics between individuals and their listening habits. The project more largely attempts to approach musical listening habits as a marker of globalization. Conducting 31 in-depth interviews across rural and urban Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, we collected and analysed data regarding demographic attributes of each interview participant (age, gender, connectivity, location, etc.). Despite a small sample size, strong trends were observed across all…

Isomorphisms between Tone and Time

The musical domains of tone and time are commonly distinguished when discussing sound art. Different cultures and their musical traditions can be discerned by the various perspectives and systems they employ when engaging with these domains. There is evidence to support that various musics from around the world exhibit structural similarities across their manipulations of tone and time. These similarities can be mapped in the form of isomorphic or identical models. While perceptually, these domains appear strikingly different, the existence of such isomorphisms hints at the possibility that they share fundamental commonalities in the ways they are processed cognitively.

Several…