Tuners

Soundscapes of migrants and silence in Stockholm

Human beings are sensuous beings, whose experiences are mediated by the sensory filters we call bodies. In our daily existence, the senses are not mere passive receptors but embodied vectors of social interactions between individuals, environments and objects. The senses stream two-way information across a hybrid network of human and non-human actors, individuals and society, subjects and objects; ultimately, they allow us to make sense of the world by making our bodies porous. A sensuous practice vital for human life (both individual and social) is place-making; as spatial creatures, humans transform space into place by giving meaning to it. In particular, in the untamed sensory mayhem of the information society, “home” is an invaluable piece of the world where space and time can be controlled. Home is both a revolving door between the individual and society; a window where the private can look out on the public (and vice versa); and a refuge where both individual and group identities can be assembled, maintained and nourished.

Specifically, out of the five senses, I argue that sound is a powerful yet underestimated vector of home-making practices and conflicts. Unlike sight, hearing is always on: it epitomises the porosity of the body and it is a priority lane for the world to enter us. Furthermore, it is embedded in space: resonances, reverbs and echoes inform us of the material surroundings we inhabit. Also, acoustic meaning is embedded in time, for unlike photographs, acoustic signals only acquire meaning throughout their duration and interaction with other objects and our hearing system; sound shapes the temporality of our lives. Lastly, hearing is always relational: much like touch, it is always directed towards objects in the world, even when we listen to our own thoughts. Thus conceptualised, sound initiates our space-time embedded conversation with the world, making it possible to build home in meaningful soundscapes.

However, what happens when the vital strive for home-making through sound — such is the case of immigrants who seek to make new homes far away from home — is framed within a society that praises and enforces silence as the herald of a secular religion? Such is the case of Stockholm, where gentrification intertwines with a pervasive urban planning strategy to fight noise and prioritise quiet areas as safe, healthy and desirable features of the city. Borrowing from Bourdieu’s concepts of capital, I suggest that immigrants — considered as a specific example of people who try to re-make home through homely soundscapes — are potential carriers of atmospheric power, which in its acoustic articulation is a pool of symbolic and material resources that allow individual to domesticate spaces by composing, orchestrating or receiving soundscapes that emanate homely vibes.

I adopt a phenomenological theoretical frame in which I develop an arts-based methodology to study the acoustic home-making strategies of immigrants in Stockholm, and how they relate to the overarching quietness narrative. Specifically, I implement soundwalks to assess the key sounds in the participants’ daily lives, and participant listening to interpret the meanings attached to specific sounds of home. In parallel, I record a reflective audio diary to give an account of my own embodied sound experience, both as a researcher and as a musician. ​