Thomas Burkhalter Dr. Thomas Burkhalter [*1973] is an ethnomusicologist, music journalist and cultural producer from Bern (Switzerland). He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Norient.com. He is working as a research associate at the Academy of Arts Berne and the University of Basel (Seminary of Cultural Studies and European Ethnology). Thomas2 Thomas Burkhalter runs the research project «Global Niches – Music in a transnational World» at the Zurich University of the Arts. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of norient – Network for Local and Global Sounds and Media Culture. His first book «Local Music Scenes and Globalization: Transnational Platforms in Beirut» was published with Routledge (New York) in 2013. His co-edited book «The Arab Avant Garde: Musical Innovation in the Middle East» is going to be published with Wesleyan University Press in November 2013. Burkhalter produced and tours with the audio-visual performances «Sonic Traces: From the Arab World», «Sonic Traces: From Switzerland» and co-directed the documentary films «Ghana is the Future – XL Teaser» (2014) around the Ghanaian rappers FOKN Bois, and «Buy More Incense» (2000) about Indian and Pakistani musicians of second and third generation in the UK. He wrote academic and journalistic articles and produced radio features on music, culture and politics in Beirut, Istanbul, Cairo, Bamako, Duschanbe, Belgrade and other cities for academic journals, books, Swiss and German newspapers, magazines and radio stations (e.g. Popular Music and Society, New Zurich Newspaper, Swiss National Radio DRS2, Die Zeit, SWR2). As a curator and concert organiser (e.g. Norient Musikfilm Festival), curator of CD-Compilations (e.g. «Golden Beirut: New Sounds from Lebanon», Outhere Records), cultural funder (music committee of the Canton of Bern, Switzerland (since 2010), committee of ArtLink, and board of trustees of the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, 2002-2010), and tour agent (Bhangra band DCS, 2002-2004), he places great emphasis on transdisciplinary approaches between theory and practice. In 2013, Thomas Burkhalter and Peter Guyer (Recycled TV AG) started the film and multimedia project «Sound Translations». → Posts by Thomas Burkhalter on Norient.com → Book from Thomas Burkhalter on Amazon.com