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Sonic Signatures is an interdisciplinary collaboration of scholars and music-makers who come together to explore how music makes cities. More specifically, they argue that the musical encounter, composed of an array of production and consumption practices, takes on particular and essential meaning at night. Thinking about music as an encounter allows one to appreciate the value and power of migration within the act of music-making.
The majority of voices amplified in the book come from so-called “migrants,” understood as someone who was born in one country and currently lives and works in another. Yet, these words, migration, migrant and migrancy, are more expansive than that as they indicate a range of movement, politics and place-making.
Contributions from Emilie Amrein, André de Quadros, Nick Dunn, Pol Esteve, Jillian Fulton-Melanson, Jacqueline Georgis, Masimba Hwati, Ailbhe Kenny, Seger Kersbergen, Brendan Kibbee, Áine Mangaoang, Derek Pardue, Nick Prior, Austin T. Richie, Willians Santos, Sipho Sithole, Gibran Teixeira Braga, Katie Young.
A great, engaging transdisciplinary contribution to nightlife studies, music and the city.
'Sonic Signatures is a compelling and multifaceted exploration of what urban soundscapes at night mean for migrants. Edited by Derek Pardue, Ailbhe Kenny, and Katie Young, the collection distinguishes itself from previous literature on cities and night time through its unique points of view and articulations as well as its innovative approaches and analyses to investigating the multisensorial aspects of darkness.
Overall, Sonic Signatures offers invaluable insights on how music serves as a tool of cultural resilience, allowing migrants to maintain connections to their roots while adapting to new environments. The concept of the “sonic signature” emerges as a space where memories are encoded, and resistance is articulated, illustrating the deep connection between music and historical consciousness. The authors’ explorations of night-time as a time of creativity, solidarity, resistance, and cultural expression provides fresh perspectives on the significance of the nocturnal. This novel approach of engaging with the night as a cultural space uncovers the hidden narratives of marginalized communities, demonstrating how the night can be a canvas for social transformation and sonic expression. Furthermore, the unique transdisciplinary structure of the book enriches the exploration of music and migration among a diverse range of contexts. It argues that music is not just a form of entertainment but a means of cultural resistance, enabling marginalised communities to assert their existence and adapt to new surroundings. The breadth of insights on the nocturnal musical experiences of migrant communities from South Africa to Germany to Brazil to Japan and further beyond provide much needed and comprehensive contributions to understanding how music serves as a medium for both adaptation and resistance within various migratory contexts.'
List of Figures
1. Sensorial Belonging and Urban Migration: An Introduction to Sonic Signatures
Derek Pardue
PART 1: COLLABORATION
2. Music, Memory and Migration at Night: Relational Ways of Knowing through Arts-Based Collaborations
Katie Young and Ailbhe Kenny
3. Resonating Restrictions: Dreaming with EDM ‘In-between’ Casablanca and Montreal
Jillian Fulton-Melanson
Interlude 1. ‘How “Free” Is the Free Africa Festival?’
Willians Santos and Derek Pardue
PART 2: STREET SOUNDS
4. Nocturnal Polyphony: Mobile Music-Making as Urban Composition
Nick Dunn
Interlude 2. ‘Tokyo After Hours’
Nick Prior
PART 3: HISTORICITY
5. Manolo D’Aro Postmortem: The Eternal and the Futurible in the Musical Landscapes of Francoist Experiential Capitalism
Pol Esteve Castelló
6. Dancing Down Memory Lane: (Re)experiences of Cape Verdean Nightlife in Rotterdam
Seger Kersbergen
Interlude 3. Karingido: Vigilante Tricksters and Feedback-Loop Approaches to a Liberation Struggle
Masimba Hwati and Austin T. Richey
PART 4: BELONGING
7. Lisbon Under Construction: The Nocturnal Stylings of batida do gueto
Jacqueline Georgis
8. (Be)Longing: Irish Musicking and Place-Making in Oslo, Norway
Áine Mangaoang
Interlude 4. ‘New York Ne Dort Pas’
Brendan Kibbee
PART 5: DISCORD
9. Urban Outcasts and the Defiant iSicathamiya Music
Sipho Sithole
10. Rooms for Resistance: Migration and Social Markers of Difference in Berlin Queer Underground Electronic Music Scene
Gibran Teixeira Braga
Interlude 5. Sounding In, Sounding Out: Remembrance and Resistance at the Border
Emilie Amrein and André de Quadros
Notes on Contributors
Index