Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
School of Music
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
This dissertation develops an interdisciplinary framework for experimental sound and music practices that connect artistic creation with scientific and environmental research. The framework emerges from projects developed within Louisiana State University’s Eco-Systemic Sound Lab and examines how sound can help interpret ecological systems, biological processes, environmental histories, and human relationships with more-than-human worlds. The research proposes a methodology for transforming scientific and environmental materials into artistic experiences. Field recordings, biosignals, interviews, and ecological data become the basis for compositions, installations, performances, and immersive media. The dissertation analyzes five principal case studies. These include the sonification of heart signals from Gulf killifish embryos; Whale Karaoke, an interactive work combining human voices, machine learning, and whale vocalizations; Listening with Hippos, developed from ethnographic and sonic research in Colombia’s Magdalena River basin; the African American burial grounds and Atlas of Heritage Trees projects, which explore relationships among sound, landscape, memory, and cultural heritage; and the Welikia Soundscape Engine, which uses ecological research and field recordings to imagine historical soundscapes of New York. Across these projects, sound functions as artistic material, research method, interface, and means of public engagement. They consider how artistic interpretation can make scientific and ecological processes perceptually accessible while preserving their complexity and uncertainty. The dissertation concludes by proposing the Eco-Systemic Sound Lab as a flexible model for collaborative artistic research through experimental sound practices, creating new possibilities for ecological understanding, creative inquiry, and public participation.
Date
7-28-2026
Recommended Citation
Roman Echeverri, Carlos Gustavo, "The Eco-Systemic Sound Lab: Experimental Sound and Music and the Interplay of Art, Science, and the Environment" (2026). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 7173.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/7173
Committee Chair
Allison, Jesse T.
LSU Acknowledgement
1
LSU Accessibility Acknowledgment
1
Included in
Audio Arts and Acoustics Commons, Interactive Arts Commons, Interdisciplinary Arts and Media Commons, Musicology Commons, Other Music Commons