Modulating, Amplifying, Distorting.
Cathartic Qualities of Vocalising Out in the Context of Trauma and Grief

This audio paper investigates the cathartic potential of the human voice, asking how vocalising out through modulation, amplification, and distortion can help process grief and trauma. Rather than relying solely on text-based analysis, the work foregrounds sound itself, using examples drawn from Romanian bocet, Finnish lament traditions, noise performance, and contemporary practices such as Auto-Tune and digital distortion. These case studies reveal how the voice functions both individually and collectively: as a raw outlet when language fails, as a communal resonance that draws others into mourning, and as a fractured or mediated sound that re-channels distress through technology. Alongside lived reflections, the paper engages with psychology, neuroscience, music therapy, and cultural research to show how vocalising is simultaneously physiological and cultural; shaped by bodies, traditions, and environments. By tracing the tension between disappearing ritual practices and homogenised pop aesthetics, the paper argues for the importance of preserving diverse vocal strategies while also recognising the adaptive role of digital mediation. Ultimately, Modulating, Amplifying, Distorting invites listeners to consider how different ways of sounding, whether embodied or technologically altered, can open pathways for catharsis where words fall short.

 

Bio 

Rysia Anna Kaczmar is a Polish sound artist based in London, whose work merges voice, DIY electronics, and soft sculpture to explore intimacy, grief, and transformation. Her practice spans installation, performance, and sonic research, often using the body and voice as sites of both rupture and repair. Through projects that involve hand-stitched speakers, conductive textiles, and distorted vocal performances, she examines how emotion can be transmitted, amplified, or fragmented through sound. Rysia’s work makes space for difficult feelings like loss, longing or tenderness, while questioning how cultural, spiritual, and technological forces shape the way we vocalise them. She performs under the name Lynxie Who, weaving noise, ritual, and play into fleeting fragments and sonic glimpses of the self.

 

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