Students from all Berlin universities are welcome to join the course, along with Erasmus students. To register, simply email Maebh at the email address shown above and show up to the first session.

Student credits, participation, etc.

For your active participation (aktive Teilnahme) you will get a certificate of participation, which is a "Prüfungs- und/oder Teilnahmebescheinigung am Fachbereich Philosophie und Geisteswissenschaften."

Please note that you have to clarify with your own course leader or responsible person, or with your Erasmus office, how many credits (Leistungspunkte or ECTS) you can get for this course.

Students in the masters "Musik, Sound, Performance" can take this course as part of Modul 5.

Fictional Soundscapes

This seminar introduces listening techniques, such as deep listening, and explores how the use of microphones and sound editing software can help realise the creative potential of sound art — namely, the creation of fictional soundscapes. By deepening our understanding about the nature of field recordings, we will collectively explore the notion of what
constitutes 'reality' in our aural experiences and produce a body of work to be broadcast on the student radio station, Couch FM.

Recent theories around interspecies communication and post-humanistic literature have demonstrated that representational signs can exist beyond the human mind and our systems of meaning. Examples range from anatomical signs, such as the black mamba’s black mouth functioning as a warning, to signals integrated within social contexts to determine meaning, as
observed in social species such as primates. This type of communication has the potential to expand our connection with our environments and our relationship with various forms of knowledge. Genuine interest in, and study of, the habits and behaviours of non-human life forms can inform innovative thought strategies and alternative ways of perceiving reality. Sonic objects, such as field recordings, facilitate listening to and understanding the variety of rhythms and juxtapositions found in complex ecosystems.

Pedro Almiro

Pedro Almiro is a musician, composer and sound artist whose work explores concepts of presence, resonance, and the liminal spaces between what is heard, felt, and imagined. With a focus on rhythm, field recording and research of ecological and affective dimensions he stretches the awareness given to sound and listening in his compositions, installations and soundtracks. He holds a BA in Jazz drums from ESMAE of Oporto, Portugal, and a MA in Improvisation from the HMT Leipzig, Germany. In his practice, the drums are not merely seen as a timekeeper but as a generative force, transforming percussive energy into textured soundscapes, engaging in electronic processing and cross-disciplinary collaborations. After the release of Iodine Eye and Raw Sun, he releases Solar Fabrics with Facada Records to further solidify his solo portfolio as a performer. Mid 2026 will bring the piece Quando os Lobos Uivam to the ZKM in Karlsruhe, which presents a “choir of wolves” realised through the use of field recordings of the Iberian Wolf gathered in collaboration with biologists and AI specialists from Grupo Lobo, in Portugal. This piece further promotes more-than-human perceptions and their dialogue with the human.