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Over the past few years the arithmetic Langlands program has found applications in two quite different problems that arise in string physics. The first of these is concerned with the fundamental problem of deriving the geometry of spacetime from the worldsheet dynamics, leading to a realization of the notion of an emergent spacetime in string theory. The second problem is concerned with the idea of using automorphic black holes as probes of spacetime. In this article both of these applications of the Langlands program are described.

'Emergent Forms' is composed entirely of recorded electronic signals, which were processed to varying degrees, edited and arranged. My work on this piece started when I bought a JrF induction coil pickup, which can record electronic signals. I had no idea what the electronic signals would sound like, so I started experimenting with recording the sounds of the electronic objects around me, such as computers, microwaves, fridges, lights, phones, and many others. I then began the process of composing with these humming, buzzing and hissing sounds as the sole source material. Some of the sounds in their original state were already musical; some devices would emit a pretty hum, or sing in a major chord beneath human hearing. Other sounds at first seemed unmusical, but in some cases had surprisingly musical properties hidden within them that could be coaxed out with signal processing. I was fascinated to find that by processing a particular segment of microscopic buzzy noise, for example, I found ranges of musical harmonics that formed perfect patterns when viewed on a frequency spectrum. An idea underlying this work is thus that of 'emergent forms': the complex musical properties that seemed to emerge from noisy, unmusical signals.  Recorded between August and September 2013 in Rosebud and Newport, Victoria, Australia.  Thanks to Francis Li for listening to previous versions of this piece and providing insightful feedback, and to Miguel Angel Tolosa for publishing this piece.  [ Timothy Allen ] 

'Emergent Forms' is composed entirely of recorded electronic signals, which were processed to varying degrees, edited and arranged. My work on this piece started when I bought a JrF induction coil pickup, which can record electronic signals. I had no idea what the electronic signals would sound like, so I started experimenting with recording the sounds of the electronic objects around me, such as computers, microwaves, fridges, lights, phones, and many others. I then began the process of composing with these humming, buzzing and hissing sounds as the sole source material. Some of the sounds in their original state were already musical; some devices would emit a pretty hum, or sing in a major chord beneath human hearing. Other sounds at first seemed unmusical, but in some cases had surprisingly musical properties hidden within them that could be coaxed out with signal processing. I was fascinated to find that by processing a particular segment of microscopic buzzy noise, for example, I found ranges of musical harmonics that formed perfect patterns when viewed on a frequency spectrum. An idea underlying this work is thus that of 'emergent forms': the complex musical properties that seemed to emerge from noisy, unmusical signals.  Recorded between August and September 2013 in Rosebud and Newport, Victoria, Australia.  Thanks to Francis Li for listening to previous versions of this piece and providing insightful feedback, and to Miguel Angel Tolosa for publishing this piece.  [ Timothy Allen ] 

Examining the work of key Southeast and East Asian artists, Michael M. J. Fischer calls for a new anthropology of the arts that attends to the materialities and technologies of the world as it exists today.

Examining the work of key Southeast and East Asian artists, Michael M. J. Fischer calls for a new anthropology of the arts that attends to the materialities and technologies of the world as it exists today.

In a world dominated by the visual, could contemporary resistances be auditory? Sonic Agency highlights sound’s invisible, disruptive and affective qualities, and asks whether the unseen nature of sound can support a political transformation.

In a world dominated by the visual, could contemporary resistances be auditory? Sonic Agency highlights sound’s invisible, disruptive and affective qualities, and asks whether the unseen nature of sound can support a political transformation.