Rancier Co-Edits Volume on Turkic Soundscapes

Dr. Megan Rancier, Lecturer of Ethnomusicology, has released her volume surveying the music in the Turkic-speaking world, co-edited with Razia Sultanova. The book, "Turkic Soundscapes: From Shamanic Voices to Hip-Hop," was financially supported by TURKSOY (The International Organization of Turkic Culture) and the Kazakhstan Embassy in London. A book launch event took place on March 10 at the Yunus Emre Institute in London.

Dr. Rancier has been working on this project for the past five years, exploring the stories and music of Turkic peoples around the world through the history of linguistics and genetic ancestries. The book examines the Soviet Union and increasing globalization which have resulted in the emergence of new viewpoints on classical and folk traditions, Turkic versions of globalized popular culture, and re-workings of folk and religious practices to fit the new social needs. The result of the book is a well-balanced survey of music in the Turkic-speaking world, representing folk, popular and classical traditions equally, as well as discussing how these traditions have changed in response to growing modernity and cosmopolitanism in Europe and Central Asia.