Unraveling Queer Sounds: Pre-colonial Voices, Postcolonial Narratives, and Hypertech‬‭ Futures

Hakemuksen tiivistelmä

Unraveling Queer Sounds: Pre-colonial Voices, Postcolonial Narratives, and Hypertech Futures is a four-year artistic research project that investigates the evolution of queer sound through historical, cultural, and speculative lenses. Drawing from queer musicology, Indigenous epistemologies, and experimental artistic practices, the project maps a timeline that connects pre-colonial musical traditions, postcolonial queer contributions in jazz and electronic music, and future-facing sound practices where machine, body, and identity merge. The project studies the sonic practices of Cherokee (Two-Spirit), Mapuche, Aymara, and Dagara communities to understand queerness in Indigenous soundscapes. It also examines postcolonial queer icons such as Ma Rainey and Billy Strayhorn, and landmark movements like Detroit techno and NYC’s Ballroom scene. These investigations will inform a twelve-piece original composition series blending global jazz, improvisation, folk elements, and electronic music. Luciana García Álvarez (she/they) will conduct archival research, ethnographic interviews with queer and Indigenous artists, field recordings, and participatory engagement with cultural scenes. Their doctoral work will culminate in a monograph-format dissertation, a studio album performed by queer musicians, and live concerts. The project uses music not only as an expressive tool but as an epistemological method for preserving and imagining queer histories and futures. This research centers Finland through its institutional affiliation with the Sibelius Academy and local artistic collaborations. It reflects Kone Foundation’s commitment to multidisciplinary, socially engaged work, advancing queer visibility, decolonial inquiry, and inclusive cultural production through sound. The artistic and academic outputs will be publicly accessible, aiming to enrich queer studies, artistic research, and contemporary music with new models of hybrid sonic expression.