“Meri Kytö is university teacher in musicology (musiikkitieteen yliopisto-opettaja, in Finnish) at the University of Turku and associate professor (dosentti, in Finnish) in auditory culture studies at the University of Eastern Finland. Her previous publications have tackled urban space, sonic domestication, articulations of acoustic privacy, soundscapes of political protest, busking, football fans and public libraries. Currently she’s writing on sensory agency + labour and technology, background music during Christmas, listening to outer space, and she’s working on a manuscript on cochlear implants as soundscape arrangers.
From 2019 to 2022 she was part of the Academy of Finland funded research project Auditory Cultures, Mediated Sounds and Constructed Spaces, responsible of Research Strand 3: Experienced and Reclaimed Acoustic Environments: to understand people’s experiences, perceptions and actions in urban and commercial environments especially regarding ubiquitous music.”
That was my professional bio. Here’s another one:
“I’m a soundscape enthusiast. I write about how people listen. I do field recordings and at times artwork from those recordings. My research interests are in auditory cultures, soundscape studies, science and technology studies, ethnomusicology, sensory ethnography, film sound and sound art.”
Currently I am an editor of Musiikki and Seismograf Peer. I’m a member and vice-chair of the Evaluation panel no 22 (Literature, arts and architecture) at the Publication Forum (2018–2025), and in the editorial boards of Soundscape: the Journal of Acoustic Ecology, Sound Stage Screen , International Journal of Current Research in the Humanities, and Vastapaino publishing house.
I was the chair of Finnish Society for Acoustic Ecology (2017–2022), also curating the society’s online soundscape archive and have been serving on the board since 1999.
My other networks are the Finnish Society for Ethnomusicology, the Finnish Musicological Society, Ambiances Network, Aural Diversity Network, Sensory Studies Network, Urban Music Studies Network, EASA European Association for Social Anthropologists, ECREA Media Cities and Space section, Association for Cultural Studies, and World Forum for Acoustic Ecology.
You can reach me at: meri.kyto <a> utu.fi
Research projects
In my research I have been tackling
– tactics for background music in public space
– cochlear implants as soundscape arrangers
– ecocriticism in soundscape composition
– sensory attention, distraction and media technology in urban environments
– representations of the national in soundscape radio programs
– cultural intimacy in film sound design
– online frustration of neighborhood noise
– change and design of Finnish public library soundscapes
– the territoriality of busking in London
– sonic resistance during the Gezi Park protests
– apartment acoustemology and sonic etiquette
– acoustic communities of football fans
– domestication of sonic environment
– sonic representations of Istanbul in cinema
List of publications: https://merikyto.net/publications/
Meri Kytö & Keveät askeleet, a series of sound walk podcasts with researcher guests. Vastapaino publishing house, Autumn 2019.
Podcast project with immigrant association DaisyLadies, together with FSAE, Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike), Autumn 2019, http://daisyladies.fi/fi/aanimaisema-ja-podcast-projekti/
Walking sonic commons. A workshop of listening walks, discussions and documentation of sonic environments in Venice, June 2017, https://soundcloud.com/akueko/sets/walking-sonic-commons-in, see also “Walking sonic commons in Venice: an essay on auditory access“.
Turku is Listening, European Capital of Culture 2011 project, 2010–2012. (E.g. the FSAE listening map was developed during this project.)
Soundscape Stories from Finland 2009. CD publication together with Ari Koivumäki, Tampere & Turku: TAMK & SAES.
European Acoustic Heritage: Water Soundscape Composition Contest, organization and jury member, 2012–2013.
Soita mummolle [Call granny] 2014. Oral history and storytelling site for refugee elders. URL: http://www.soitamummolle.net
Pirkanmaan äänimaisemat 2009.
Some pictures from performing arts projects:
![Kivistä – puista [Of rocks and trees], sound performance with dancer Marjo Selin, Rovaniemi, Finland, 28–29 January 2010 and 30 October – 5 November 2010.](https://merikyto.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/kivista_marjo_pakattu.jpg?w=365&resize=365%2C365&h=365#038;h=365&crop=1 "Kivista_Marjo_pakattu")
![Theater: TEHDASteatteri: Mitta mitasta [Measure for measure], dir. Juha Hurme, 2004. Sound design and music.](https://merikyto.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/1076154363002.jpg?w=365&resize=365%2C365&h=365#038;h=365&crop=1 "1076154363002")
Meri Kytö home page 