Soundscapes of The Post Soviet World (2014 - Ongoing)

Soundscapes of The Post Soviet World is an ongoing ethnographic sonic art project that aims to reveal the soundscapes of the contemporary Post Soviet countries. Using field recordings, sonic diaries, and theoretical insights, it questions how the newly formed soundscapes unveil themselves to the societies (or are unveiled by the governing bodies), how they are experienced and possessed by individuals and masses. Since the early 1990s, the newly reformed Post Soviet states have established themselves as independent autonomous countries, however the rate of the economic, social and political development has varied across each state since. Affected by capitalism, economic variables, religion, free speech, press and other factors, the former Soviet states have been developing new hybrid identities, which are yet to be discovered through sound. Considering the fact that all of the countries existed as one unit less than thirty years ago, my creative aim is to understand whether these independent states exist as a cross-cultural network, and whether they still share the same soundscapes, or whether they have also become sonically autonomous.

Some of the findings have been published by Leonardo Music Journal, The Politics of Sound Edition, in 2015. Some of the recorded material is also used in my live sound performances. To find out more about the project and the library of collected recordings, contact: sandra@unmute.co.uk

Below are some soundscapes from the Sounding Lithuania library of the project: