EP#59: Vibrators, Pauline Oliveros and Queering Sound: In conversation with Senem Pirler

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Senem Pirler is a New York based, Turkish born, sound artist and academic whose practice is all about connection; Whether it's humans, plants or seemingly inanimate objects, Senem has a knack of finding ways to question profound ideas around identity, belonging and being present in the world.

Inside this week’s episode, Isobel gets the chance to hear how Senem started training as a classical pianist, then worked as a sound engineer and, eventually, studied for a PhD in electronic arts at Rensselaer under none other than the late Pauline Oliveros. In 2018, Senem was the recipient of The Malcolm S. Morse Graduate Research Enhancement Award to support her in honouring the work of her mentor Oliveros and Deep Listening.

Girls Twiddling Knobs is hosted and produced by Isobel Anderson with production support from Jade Bailey and Francesca O’Connor and is a Female DIY Musician Production.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
{0:00} Intro
{5:06} Let’s meet Senem Pirler
{9:44} How she got started in music technology and sound design
{13:38} Working with Pauline Oliveros
{25:49} Entanglement and Queer Theory
{30:40} Collaborations: ‘Unearthly Vibrations’ and ‘Moved in Light’
{44:46} Senem’s software recommendations
{49:13} Episode Summary

Other Notes:

• Correction: Senem connected the Neve Console.
• Instead of performing 'The Witness', Claire Chase, Susie Ibarra and Senem performed Pauline's other score titled '13 Changes'. Watch the video documentation here >>
  
  

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Find out more about Senem and her work >>

Find out more about the Pauline Oliveros documentary >>

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Girls Twiddling Knobs was hosted by Isobel Anderson and produced by Isobel Anderson and Jade Bailey from Nov 2020-Jan 2026 and will remain live on all major podcast platforms throughout 2026. 

We are grateful to the British Library who have archived the podcast in their Sound and Vision Collection.

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