Urban sounds unheard-of: a media archaeology of ubiquitous infospheres

Abstract

This article describes the exploration of urban media environments through its critical and aesthetic analysis with the help of a self-made auditory device called ‘Detektor’, which demodulates the otherwise inaudible electromagnetic signals and rhythms into audible sounds again. It proposes two case studies based on methods of media archaeology and furthermore, it conducts a rhythm analysis of ubiquitous infospheres. Finally, it will argue that the neologism of algorhythm, a combination of the word algorithm with rhythm, could be one of many media theoretical consequences of the findings described.