52Hz Sound Cabinet

52Hz Sound Cabinet is an interdisciplinary sound art research initiative founded in 2016 by sound artist and composer Xingyu Li. The platform focuses on exploring modes of listening beyond conventional music, investigating how sound is perceived within spatial, ecological, and cultural contexts.

Working primarily through field recording, environmental sound collection, and spatial composition, 52Hz Sound Cabinet conducts long-term research-based projects that document rare, endangered, or overlooked acoustic phenomena in natural environments, while developing new artistic frameworks for listening.

Since the Amazon Rainforest Sound Expedition Project, the initiative has undertaken a range of site-specific sound research programs, including the documentation of vernacular musical traditions across Xinjiang (Listening Journey to the West) and the sailing-based underwater recording expedition Global Ocean Listening Voyage launched in 2024.

Using mobile recording systems across diverse geographical and cultural landscapes, these projects contribute to the creation of evolving sound archives, later translated into multi-channel installations, immersive performances, and interdisciplinary artworks.

52Hz Sound Cabinet approaches sound as both a physical phenomenon and a cultural medium, integrating scientific inquiry with artistic practice to reconsider the role of listening within contemporary ecological and technological environments.