Category: Global Sonic Cultures

My memories live in the club. Not as recordings, but as moments that pulse behind my ribs. One night at HERE, a DJ played this unlabelled reggaeton-hyperpop hybrid, and something broke open. Three strangers grabbed each other and screamed the chorus in sync, like it was a prayer. There’s no video, no tracklist. But I…

I was editing a project and hit a wall. I had too many tracks layered — granular textures, spoken word, synth pads, a field recording from a bus stop. The session looked like a sonic traffic jam. I soloed one sound, then another, then another. I couldn’t tell what was necessary anymore. My instinct was…

Someone in class said, “Auto-Tune ruins music.” I didn’t argue out loud, but I wanted to. I grew up listening to Cher’s Believe on loop. That robotic shimmer? It didn’t sound fake to me. It sounded like someone crying through a machine, trying to be strong. Later that night, I went down a rabbit hole.…

During a workshop on texture in sound design, our tutor played a collection of high-definition, ultra-polished samples — sparkling synths, clean drums, flawless reverb tails. Technically perfect. But emotionally? They felt hollow. I kept thinking, “Why does this leave me cold?” That night, while working on my own track, my USB interface glitched midway. The…