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Overview
For as long as recording and communications technologies have existed, operators have evoked the potential of sound, infrasound, and ultrasound to access anomalous zones of transmission between the realms of the living and the dead. In Unsound:Undead, contributors from a variety of disciplines chart these undead zones, mapping out a nonlinear timeline populated by sonic events stretching from the 8th century BC (the song of the Sirens), to 2013 (acoustic levitation), with a speculative extension into 2057 (the emergence of holographic and holosonic phenomena).
For the past seven years the AUDINT group has been researching peripheral sonic perception (unsound) and the ways in which frequencies are utilized to modulate our understanding of presence/non-presence, entertainment/torture, and ultimately life/death. Concurrently, themes of hauntology have inflected the musical zeitgeist, resonating with the notion of a general cultural malaise and a reinvestment in traces of lost futures inhabiting the present.
This undead culture has already spawned a Lazarus economy in which Tupac, ODB, and Eazy-E are digitally revivified as laser-lit holograms. The obscure otherworldly dimensions of sound have also been explored in the sonic fictions produced by the likes of Drexciya, Sun Ra, and Underground Resistance, where hauntology is virtually extended: the future appears in the cracks of the present.
The contributions to this volume reveal how the sonic nurtures new dimensions in which the real and the imagined (fictional, hyperstitional, speculative) bleed into one another, where actual sonic events collide with spatiotemporal anomalies and time-travelling entities, and where the unsound serves to summon the undead.
Contributors
Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Lendl Barcelos, Charlie Blake, Lisa Blanning, Brooker Buckingham, Al Cameron, Erik Davis, Kodwo Eshun, Matthew Fuller, Kristen Gallerneaux, Lee Gamble, Agnès Gayraud, Steve Goodman, Anna Greenspan, Olga Gurionova, S. Ayesha Hameed, Tim Hecker, Julian Henriques, Toby Heys, Eleni Ikoniadou, Amy Ireland, Nicola Masciandaro, Ramona Naddaff, Anthony Nine, The Occulture, Luciana Parisi, Alina Popa, Paul Purgas, Georgina Rochefort, Steven Shaviro, Jonathan Sterne, Jenna Sutela, Eugene Thacker, Dave Tompkins, Shelley Trower, and Souzana Zamfe.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781913029470 |
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Publisher: | MIT Press |
Publication date: | 06/18/2019 |
Series: | Urbanomic / Art Editions |
Sold by: | Penguin Random House Publisher Services |
Format: | NOOK Book |
Pages: | 320 |
File size: | 5 MB |
Age Range: | 18 Years |
About the Author
Toby Heys, a member of AUDINT, is Reader in Digital Media and the Head of Research for the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University. His cross-disciplinary research focuses on the ways that frequencies are utilized by governments and industry to influence, manipulate, and torture. He is the author of Sound Pressure, to be published in 2019.
Eleni Ikoniadou is a Lecturer in Media in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Kingston University, London.
AUDINT is a sonic research unit exploring the weaponization of vibration, developing cartographies of liminal waveformed perception (unsound), and investigating the ways in which frequencies are utilized to modulate our understanding of presence/non-presence, entertainment/torture, and ultimately life/death. More information can be found at www.audint.net.
Toby Heys, a member of AUDINT, is Reader in Digital Media and the Head of Research for the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University. His cross-disciplinary research focuses on the ways that frequencies are utilized by governments and industry to influence, manipulate, and torture. He is the author of Sound Pressure, to be published in 2019.
Luciana Parisi is a Senior Lecturer and runs the MA program in Interactive Media: Critical Theory and Practice at the Centre for Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths University of London.
Steve Goodman is a Lecturer in Music Culture at the School of Sciences, Media, and Cultural Studies at the University of East London, a member of the CCRU (Cybernetic Culture Research Unit), and the founder of the record label Hyperdub.
Matthew Fuller is Professor of Cultural Studies at the Digital Culture Unit, Centre for Cultural Studies, Goldsmiths, University of London. He is the author of Media Ecologies: Materialist Energies in Art and Technoculture (MIT Press), Software Studies (MIT Press), and, with Andrew Goffey, of Evil Media (MIT Press) as well as Behind the Blip: Essays on the Culture of Software and other books.
Toby Heys, a member of AUDINT, is Reader in Digital Media and the Head of Research for the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University. His cross-disciplinary research focuses on the ways that frequencies are utilized by governments and industry to influence, manipulate, and torture. He is the author of Sound Pressure, to be published in 2019.
Julian Henriques is Professor of Media and Communications at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Eleni Ikoniadou is a Lecturer in Media in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Kingston University, London.
Scott Wilson is Senior Lecturer in Music at the University of Birmingham, England.
Kristen Gallerneaux is a writer, folklorist, and artist. She has published on topics as diverse as mathematics in midcentury design, the visual history of telepathy research, the world's first mouse pad, and car audio bass battles in Miami. She is also Curator of Communications and Information Technology at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, where she continues to build upon one of the largest historic technology collections in North America.
Toby Heys, a member of AUDINT, is Reader in Digital Media and the Head of Research for the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University. His cross-disciplinary research focuses on the ways that frequencies are utilized by governments and industry to influence, manipulate, and torture. He is the author of Sound Pressure, to be published in 2019.
Eugene Thacker is Assistant Professor in the School of Literature, Communication, and Culture at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Eleni Ikoniadou is a Lecturer in Media in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Kingston University, London.
Erik Davis is an American journalist, critic, podcaster, counter-public intellectual whose writings have run the gamut from rock criticism to cultural analysis to creative explorations of esoteric mysticism. He is the author of Techgnosis: Myth, Magic and Mysticism in the Age of Information, The Visionary State: A Journey through California's Spiritual Landscape, and Nomad Codes: Adventures in Modern Esoterica.
Ayesha Hameed is currently the Co-Programme Leader for the PhD in Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Julian Henriques is Professor of Media and Communications at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Toby Heys, a member of AUDINT, is Reader in Digital Media and the Head of Research for the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University. His cross-disciplinary research focuses on the ways that frequencies are utilized by governments and industry to influence, manipulate, and torture. He is the author of Sound Pressure, to be published in 2019.
Agnès Gayraud is a French musician and philosopher born in 1979. She teaches theory at the Villa Arson (National Art School) in Nice. She has gained critical acclaim for her musical practice (as La Féline) and is a regular writer for the daily paper Libération.
Ayesha Hameed is currently the Co-Programme Leader for the PhD in Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Steven Shaviro is DeRoy Professor of English at Wayne State University. He is the author of Passion and Excess: Blanchot, Bataille, and Literary Theory and The Cinematic Body.
Toby Heys, a member of AUDINT, is Reader in Digital Media and the Head of Research for the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University. His cross-disciplinary research focuses on the ways that frequencies are utilized by governments and industry to influence, manipulate, and torture. He is the author of Sound Pressure, to be published in 2019.
Agnès Gayraud is a French musician and philosopher born in 1979. She teaches theory at the Villa Arson (National Art School) in Nice. She has gained critical acclaim for her musical practice (as La Féline) and is a regular writer for the daily paper Libération.
Steve Goodman is a Lecturer in Music Culture at the School of Sciences, Media, and Cultural Studies at the University of East London, a member of the CCRU (Cybernetic Culture Research Unit), and the founder of the record label Hyperdub.
Toby Heys, a member of AUDINT, is Reader in Digital Media and the Head of Research for the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University. His cross-disciplinary research focuses on the ways that frequencies are utilized by governments and industry to influence, manipulate, and torture. He is the author of Sound Pressure, to be published in 2019.
Steve Goodman is a Lecturer in Music Culture at the School of Sciences, Media, and Cultural Studies at the University of East London, a member of the CCRU (Cybernetic Culture Research Unit), and the founder of the record label Hyperdub.
Eugene Thacker is Assistant Professor in the School of Literature, Communication, and Culture at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Erik Davis is an American journalist, critic, podcaster, counter-public intellectual whose writings have run the gamut from rock criticism to cultural analysis to creative explorations of esoteric mysticism. He is the author of Techgnosis: Myth, Magic and Mysticism in the Age of Information, The Visionary State: A Journey through California's Spiritual Landscape, and Nomad Codes: Adventures in Modern Esoterica.
Kristen Gallerneaux is a writer, folklorist, and artist. She has published on topics as diverse as mathematics in midcentury design, the visual history of telepathy research, the world's first mouse pad, and car audio bass battles in Miami. She is also Curator of Communications and Information Technology at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, where she continues to build upon one of the largest historic technology collections in North America.
Steve Goodman is a Lecturer in Music Culture at the School of Sciences, Media, and Cultural Studies at the University of East London, a member of the CCRU (Cybernetic Culture Research Unit), and the founder of the record label Hyperdub.
Toby Heys, a member of AUDINT, is Reader in Digital Media and the Head of Research for the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University. His cross-disciplinary research focuses on the ways that frequencies are utilized by governments and industry to influence, manipulate, and torture. He is the author of Sound Pressure, to be published in 2019.
Steve Goodman is a Lecturer in Music Culture at the School of Sciences, Media, and Cultural Studies at the University of East London, a member of the CCRU (Cybernetic Culture Research Unit), and the founder of the record label Hyperdub.
Toby Heys, a member of AUDINT, is Reader in Digital Media and the Head of Research for the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University. His cross-disciplinary research focuses on the ways that frequencies are utilized by governments and industry to influence, manipulate, and torture. He is the author of Sound Pressure, to be published in 2019.
Eleni Ikoniadou is a Lecturer in Media in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Kingston University, London.
Toby Heys, a member of AUDINT, is Reader in Digital Media and the Head of Research for the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University. His cross-disciplinary research focuses on the ways that frequencies are utilized by governments and industry to influence, manipulate, and torture. He is the author of Sound Pressure, to be published in 2019.
Toby Heys, a member of AUDINT, is Reader in Digital Media and the Head of Research for the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University. His cross-disciplinary research focuses on the ways that frequencies are utilized by governments and industry to influence, manipulate, and torture. He is the author of Sound Pressure, to be published in 2019.
Steve Goodman is a Lecturer in Music Culture at the School of Sciences, Media, and Cultural Studies at the University of East London, a member of the CCRU (Cybernetic Culture Research Unit), and the founder of the record label Hyperdub.
Toby Heys, a member of AUDINT, is Reader in Digital Media and the Head of Research for the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University. His cross-disciplinary research focuses on the ways that frequencies are utilized by governments and industry to influence, manipulate, and torture. He is the author of Sound Pressure, to be published in 2019.
Table of Contents
Intra-AUDINT Email Communication-IREX2 to the Editors ix
Declassified Report to IIRIS: Excerpts from Report on The Research Unit AUDINT xi
Introduction: From Martial Hauntology to Xenosonics 1
Soma
The Bodily Sounds of the Abyss Olga Goriunova 7
The Ear Phonautograph Jonathan Sterne 11
The Music of Skulls I: Bone-Instruments Al Cameron 15
Peripheral Vibrations Shelley Trower 19
Touching Nothing Steve Goodman 23
The Cat Telephone Jonathan Sterne 27
The Pineal Ear Brooker Buckingham 31
DRNE Cartography Steve Goodman 35
Vox
Screaming Matthew Fuller 43
The Missing 19dB Lawrence Abu Hamdan 47
Machine Sirens and Vocal Intelligence Luciana Parisi 53
Falling Eleni Ikoniadou 57
Glossolalia Agnès Gayraud 61
Libraries of Voices Shelley Trower 65
The HyperSonic Sound System Toby Heys 69
The Lament Eleni Ikoniadou 73
UVO
The Jodhpur Boom Paul Purgas 79
The Bloop S. Ayesha Hameed 83
Sound of the Abyss Eugene Thacker 87
The Hum Kristen Gallerneaux 91
Alligators of Your Mind Dave Tompkins 95
Resonance Erik Davis 101
Dossier 37: Unidentified Vibrational Objects on the Plane Of Unbelief Steve Goodman 105
The Auditory Hallucination The Occulture 109
SIG
The Max Headroom Signal Intrusion Kristen Gallerneaux 115
Keep Me in the Loop Dave Tompkins 119
The Music Of Skulls II: Osteography Al Cameron 123
Backmasking Toby Heys 127
China and the Wireless Wave Anna Greenspan 131
2014: The Visual Microphone Lendl Barcelos 135
The Thing Amy Ireland 137
Large Hadron Collider: The Ultimate Underground Groove Toby Heys 141
RWD
Duppy Conquerors, Roiling Calves, and Flights to lion Julian Henriques 147
Days of Wrath Eugene Thacker 151
Revival Agnès Gayraud 153
Holojax Toby Heys 157
Digital Immortality Julian Henriques 161
Death by Euro Steve Goodman 165
Ancient to the Future Steven Shaviro 169
Rapparitions Toby Heys 173
XFD
The Solitary Practice of the Vanishing Concert Pianist Tim Hecker 179
Ghost In The Machine: Hikikomori And Digital Dualism Lisa Blanning 183
A Brief Defence Of New Age Audio Erik Davis 187
Purgatory Nicola Masciandaro 191
VR of Void Alina Popa 197
Delusions of the Living Dead Toby Heys 203
Jupiter S. Ayesha Hameed 211
Sonic Spectralities: Sketches for a Prolegomena to Any Future Xenosonics Charlie Blake 215
Kode
Blood And Fire Anthony Nine 221
Archaeoacoustics Paul Purgas 227
Nimiia vibié Log Jenna Sutela 229
The Baton Of Diaboius Georgina Rochefort 235
Nurlu Amy Ireland 241
They Echoic: Exquisite Corpse Lee Gamble 245
The Sonic Egregor The Occulture 247
Sorrow Nicola Masciandaro 251
D+P
A Sonic Autopsy of the Waco Siege Toby Heys 255
Ghost Army: The Deceit of the Battle DJ Steve Goodman Toby Heys Eleni Ikoniadou 259
Shocks On The Body: The End of Life by Sound Tim Hecker 265
Wandering Soul / Ghost Tape No. 10 Steve Goodman Toby Heys Eleni Ikoniadou 269
'We Are The Gods Trapped In Cocoons': Neural Entrainment In Get Out Kodwo Eshun 275
Muzak And The Working Dead Toby Heys 279
The Animal Whose Ear It Is Ramona Naddaff 285
Pain ©Amp Economics Toby Heys 289
Contributors 295
Index 301