Sonic Encounters

Across the world, the call to prayer rings out from mosques and is heard in daily life by Muslim communities. Diana Chester set out to capture that sound by making recordings in the field, and this book describes the journey. It looks at the questions and difficulties that came up during the work, the equipment and methods used to make the recordings, and the process of turning ethnographic research into a creative work. It also considers the ethical responsibilities that come with studying and recording Islamic communities in different countries.

The book approaches these matters through sound studies, using it to examine how artistic research and ethnographic practice operate when the material is religious recitation. Its focus is on the methods themselves and on how a researcher listens, records, and represents a sacred sound.