Copenhagen, Berlin, Brussels, London, Kolkata, Vienna, Delhi, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Amsterdam, New York, Paris: media artist and scholar Budhaditya Chattopadhyay’s new book,The Nomadic Listener, examines these contemporary cities through acts of listening. Stemming from “psychogeographic explorations” of these sites, a series of texts bring together the author’s artistic research on migration, contemporary urban experience, and sonic alienation. Throughout the text, Chattopadhyay records his surroundings in an effort to adjust to “sonic fluctuations” and a means of understanding passing events.
The resulting aural cartography of the contemporary urban experience is a reflection on the author’s own memories, associations, and desires. The Nomadic Listener also includes a series of drawings that are based on the original field recordings published by Gruenrekorder and can be accessed through a QR code included in the book.
To hear a live reading of excerpts of The Nomadic Listener by the author, visit soundcloud.com.
