More-than-Machine Listening: Sound, Data, and Molluscs

My research critiques the anthropocentric foundations of machine listening while exploring its capacity for involving more-than-human sound-worlds in music and sonic arts practice. Applying insights from the philosophy of animality and sonic fiction into interactive music composition, this paper examines conceptual and pragmatic considerations for designing (anim)algorithms. These algorithms simulate the auditory experiences of non-human entities, creating pluriversal interfaces that merge human and non- human listening. Through a case study based on Italo Calvino’s 'The Spiral' and inspired by Vilém Flusser’s speculative malacology, a machine listening system is developed to emulate molluscan auditory mechanisms. This research reconfigures the design of machine listening, promoting a multisensory, more-than-human auditory experience.