معرفی
Kaj Ahlsved is a Senior Researcher at the University of Eastern Finland, affiliated with the School of Humanities, Philosophical Faculty. Since January 2025, he has been working on the SOMECO – Sonic Mediations and Ecocritical Listening project, funded by the Research Council of Finland. He holds a PhD from Åbo Akademi University (2017), where his research focused on music in sports contexts, particularly recorded music in Finnish team sports.
Education:
- PhD in Musicology, Åbo Akademi University, 2017
His research centers on ethnomusicology, music in sports (especially football and ice hockey), sonic mediations, ecocritical listening, and activist music research. He explores how music constructs national identity, supporter agency, and gendered narratives in sports, with a strong focus on Finnish cultural practices. His work bridges academic research with public engagement, music criticism, and social activism.
His recent publications analyze football chants, ice hockey soundscapes, and feminist interventions in sports music. He investigates how media, DJs, and fan cultures shape the sonic environments of sports events, contrasting spontaneous supporter singing in football with curated, mediated sound in ice hockey.
Scientific Awards:
- Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy’s Bernadotte Scholarship (2021)
- Corresponding Member of the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy (2024)
A dedicated educator and public intellectual, Ahlsved has held roles in arts and vocational education and works as a freelance music critic for Swedish-language press in Finland. He is a founding member of the Research Association Suoni and was part of its activist music research project (2021–2024). His visiting research at Umeå University (2021–2023) further underscores his national and Nordic scholarly engagement.
Labs and Research Groups:
- SOMECO Project Team (2025–2027)
- Research Association Suoni (2021–2024)
