The Attic presents The Sonic Turn — International Conference · Nov 14–15, 2025

Spotlight

The long read, interviews and stories that we focus on.

MEMORY AND IDENTITY

Transitional Justice and Spaces of Memory. Case study: The Virtual...

On the stigmatisation of Roma identity, transitional justice and retributive law, with The Virtual Museum of Romani Culture as case study.

Delia Grigore

THEATRE OF THE MIND

Sonic Dramaturgy - Between Radiophonic Art and Audio Fiction

An insight into the multifaceted world of sonic dramaturgy, an art form positioned at the confluence of radio art and sonic fiction.

Dragoș Rusu

POLITICS OF IDENTITY

Political Legitimacy, National Identities, and Cultural Pursuits in...

Established in 1976 and lasting until 1989, this festival appeared in the immediate aftermath of the Romanian communist regime’s inclusion of nationalistic elements into its official socialist ideology.

Claudiu Oancea

SONIC HISTORIES

A Century of Manele: a Sonic Excavation of Romania’s Most Popular...

An exploration into the history of the Romanian-Romani ethno-pop music genre manele.

Shaun Williams

FROM THE ARCHIVES

None of Us Know the Words: Lessons from the Mid-20th Century...

Contesting the vitality of a multicultural, multi-ethnic America, this article offers a glimpse into the Mid-Twentieth Century American music.

Ian Nagoski

SONIC ACTIVISM

How to Perform an Anti-fascist Collective From Sound

This essay examines the idea of the collective and collaboration in relation to, and in resistance against, fascism and populism.

Salomé Voegelin

ANTHROPOLOGY OF SOUND

Thick Listening: Listening in the Thick of It

This contribution introduces the concept of "thick listening" to better understand the pluriform, relational, and unstable quality of listening in everyday situations.

Holger Schulze

SOUND SPACE MEMORY

Mnemosonic Topographies - Sensory Epistemology Between Sound,...

The article proposes a sensory epistemology, where the act of listening becomes a form of witnessing, healing, and reimagining.

Manja Ristić

SONIC WARFARE

When You Hear Them Sound - The Weaponization Of Acoustics

A concise exploration of sound as weapon and instrument of control, coercion, and myth-making, from Jericho to Gaza, Beirut and Belgrade.

Cosmin Nicolae

ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

Favourite Albums of 2022

We asked some of our friends and collaborators to share their favourite albums of 2022.

Dragoș Rusu

ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

Favourite Albums of 2021

We asked some of our contributors, collaborators and friends to share their favourite albums of 2021.

Dragoș Rusu

FOCUS ON

Excavated Shellac: An Alternate History Of The World’s Music

Excavated Shellac focuses on music recorded across the non-Anglo world, offering a taste of the music being made in myriad communities at the dawn of recorded sound.

Garth Cartwright

IN CONVERSATION

Everything You Are About To Hear Is Absolutely Real

At the edge of two (imaginary) worlds of electronic music, academic and popular, M. C. (Martin) Schmidt and Drew Daniel from Matmos discuss their work.

Miron Ghiu

IN CONVERSATION

Lăutărie Then and Now: Inside Romania's Romani Musical Heritage

Conversations with four lăutari from different backgrounds and generations about the journey of the Romanian-Romani music genre known as "muzica lăutarească".

Shaun Williams

CULTURAL HERITAGE

The Polyphonic Search for Authenticity in a Balkan Country

From archaic phonos to “Made in Romania“, here's a look on how the term “Balkan” is used in the construction and perception of rock music and manele.

Claudiu Oancea

SONIC HISTORIES

Romani Music in Communist Romania: Propaganda, Control, and Resistance

Over four decades of communist rule in Romania, Romani professional musicians known as lăutari lived a paradoxical existence.

Shaun Williams

SONIC TRIGGERS

Sounds of Desire: Slot Machines, Dopamine, and the Architecture of...

Sounds of desire are not merely cultural artifacts, but potent neurobiological stimuli interacting with profound predictive and affective systems.

Dragoș Rusu

THE SOUND OBJECT

The Politics of Adhān Aesthetics

An exploration into how the adhān (Islamic calls to prayer) operates as a political sound object, emphasizing sound production, spatial dissemination, and socio-political control.

Mohamad Zatari