Music in Detention and Interrogation: The Musical Ecology of Fear

Luke Windsor explores the use of forced listening to music in detention and interrogation and points to the creation of ambiguity and uncertainty as a central effect. Windsor engages with several cases of psychological warfare during previous wars and highlights interrogation practices as described by the CIA and he seeks to identify the location of the boundary between the real and the imagined. The exploration of these cases, where music is used as a sound weapon, leads to a broader discussion of, first, the application of music in influencing behavior and, second, the ethics of the use of music in, for instance, marketing.