Sound and truth: interdisciplinary research in sound and music composition

Abstract

This article examines some aspects my recent interdisciplinary research on sound phenomenology and musical composition, which explores philosophical, cultural, social, and political issues and engage a subjective and multipolar dialog with technology. New forms of technologically mediated listening, new processes of producing, manipulating, and transforming sound shape our lives and occupy our physical and existential living spaces. Wittgenstein suggests that sound is only the surface of music and that the musical work conceals something more profound that can hardly be described by logical-philosophical models or scientific theories. As an illustration of my compositional work, I discuss some ideas of my work The Refrigerator (2014), digital oratorio that thematizes my experience of torture during the military dictatorship in Brazil and reflects on Camus existential philosophical concept of absurdity. Husserl’s phenomenology of time consciousness supports my research on sound phenomenology focused on electroacoustic music. Based on Kuhn’s concept of scientific paradigm, I draft the idea of an electroacoustic paradigm as disciplinary matrix of contemporary music. I examine the concept of apparatus from the points of view of Agamben and Flusser as a key notion for understanding the current phase of capitalism and the structures of communication and creativity of the cybernetic society. Finally, I discuss Heidegger’s view of truth as the essence of art. Art help us to develop a new understanding of the being that moves from a modern aesthetic experience of an art object to a post-modern approach to the work of art. The university is a privileged environment to observe interdisciplinary connections between artistic disciplines and the intersections between art, technology, and society. The university’s role is not only to interpret and spread scientific and humanistic knowledge but to embrace cultural diversity by offering multiple perspectives for advancing research and critical thinking.