Koloniales Leiden in Lied und Wort.

The Berlin Phonogramm-Archiv and the Lautarchiv of the Humboldt University of Berlin house early sound recordings made, among other places, in German prisoner-of-war camps and in German colonies between 1899 and 1954. These recordings were intended to preserve musical traditions of different world cultures for the future. Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that many recordings were also made in the logic of colonial knowledge production. A significant part was also recorded in situations shaped by colonial power relations, with people sometimes being forced to sing, speak or play musical instruments against their will. In some recordings, they expressed criticism of the recording »authority« or described painful experiences they had made within this framework. Based on selected recordings and secondary literature, this paper contextualizes the experiences of the recorded people, especially in recordings from German colonies, as instances of colonial »suffering. « [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]