Ian Condry

Ian Condry is a Professor at MIT in the Department of Comparative Media Studies/Writing, with an affiliated appointment in Anthropology. A cultural anthropologist specializing in sound and Japanese popular culture, he founded the MIT Spatial Sound Lab in 2019 and authored two seminal books, Hip-Hop Japan and The Soul of Anime, exploring cultural globalization and collaborative creativity.

• Education: BA in Government from Harvard (1987), PhD in Anthropology from Yale (1999)

His research focuses on the “spatial anthropology of sound,” examining electronic music performance in Tokyo, Boston, and Berlin. He also investigates how music and social media enable “end-around” strategies for cultural change, bypassing direct confrontation with power structures.

Condry’s academic work spans media, nationalism, and post-disaster cultural action, as seen in articles like Post-3/11 Japan (2011) and Youth, Intimacy, and Blood (2007). Current projects include a book analyzing musicians in the post-recording industry era.

At MIT, he co-organizes the Dissolve Music festival and taught courses since 2002. He served as former Head of Global Studies and Languages and contributes to the Technology Broadcasting Corporation’s Executive Committee. Beyond academia, Condry performs as the electronic artist Leftroman and hosts the Japanese hip-hop radio show “Near and Far” on WMBR (2018–2024).