Alien Sound in the Context of Soundscapes

This article presents an interdisciplinary study of the applicability of the phenomenon of alien sound in the context of soundscapes—as a point of rupture where the familiar auditory order is called into question. Drawing on the responsive phenomenology of Bernhard Waldenfels, concepts of acoustic ecology, and sound research methodology, the authors analyze how geophony, biophony, and anthropophony interact in an era of climatic, urban, and technological transformations. Particular attention is paid to the processes of sound displacement and muffling, leading to a loss of auditory sensitivity and a kind of cultural “deafness” to the environment. Through an analysis of the artistic practices of Katie Paterson, John Akomfrah, Jacob Kierkegaard, Christina Kubisch, and others, as well as her own sound project dedicated to the ash dump site of TPP-17 in St. Petersburg, this article demonstrates how sound art can return repressed sounds to the audible zone and transform the act of listening into a form of critical and ethical action. The strangeness of sound, revealed through artistic practices, is presented not as an anomaly, but as a way to recognize acoustic and cultural discontinuities that elude conventional instrumental and analytical approaches.