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LISTENING

Listening is the perceptual foundation for the complex social activity we call music. Listening also describes empathetic intercultural engagements, persistent digital surveillance, machine learning, and even neuroimaging techniques. "Who listens and what do they hear?" are research questions that require multiple modes of inquiry to answer. This area organizes MEL's work in psychology, technology, and cultural and media studies into three themes: Perceptual Listening, Cultural Listening, and Machine Listening.

CULTURAL LISTENING

Romani Drummers Project (Current)

This project documents, preserves, and celebrates the rich tradition of zurla and tapan performance in North Macedonia. The study examines the significance of zurla and tapan in the daily lives of Romani musicians. It draws attention to the ever-evolving musical landscape, where genres like tallava have become integral to Romani celebrations. This project seeks to develop positive Romani representations by promoting their heritage as the traditional performers of these instruments.

Below are interviews with three Romani musicians discussing their history and connection to this tradition. The interviews are from a festival we organized in Ratevo, North Macedonia in 2022. The full video of the festival can be found in the Providing section.

ABDI SULJUMANOV

Zurladjia from Stumica

SUARES SALI

Tapanjia from Veles

SAMIR KURTOV

Zurladjia from Petrich

2016 Purcell, R. and R. Randall, Eds. 21st Century Perspectives on Music, Technology, and Culture: Listening Spaces. Palgrave Macmillan (Basingstoke, UK)

2013 Randall, R. Torture and Punishment Through Music. In J. Edmondson. Music in American Life. (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood).