SONORITY is an ongoing artistic framework and pseudonym initiated by composer and vocalist Johanna Elina Sulkunen in 2017.
Sonority explores the human voice and its resonance as both instrument and compositional system. At the core of Sonority lies a deep investigation of the layers of existence— to experience and express through sound.
Voice and sound serve as direct channels for expression and connection with others. Voice itself resonates across multiple dimensions, piercing the spheres of the private and the public, within the body and its physical and spiritual presence, within the surrounding physical environment (nature), and within society.
Sonority works often investigate the political, ethical, and aesthetic implications of sound, voice, and silence.
Since 2018, SONORITY has unfolded through recordings, performances, and concert installations, continuously evolving as a platform for sonic exploration and embodied listening. These themes have resulted in audiovisual tours, album/art releases Koan, Terra, and Coexistence, an audiovisual multiplatform work Hibiki, interactive workshops, and lectures. Works have been presented in Europe and Asia.
On stage as a soloist with voice and live electronics, Sulkunen often collaborates with interdisciplinary artists, incl. audiodeveloper multichannel audio, scenography, and as a duo with a visual artist, Tapani Toivanen.
Works
SONORITY / HIBIKI exists both as a stage performance and as a site-responsive installation. The performance responds to the architecture, acoustics, and material conditions of each location. The setup is modular and adaptable in the room from bigger stages / black box to more experimental set- ups.
Conceptual Framework
Johanna Elina Sulkunen’s work investigates the voice as a physical, relational and perceptual phenomenon. Rather than treating voice primarily as a carrier of meaning, the work approaches vocal sound as material: vibration, texture, rhythm and resonance moving between bodies, technologies and spaces.
Improvisation plays a central role. Compositional structures emerge through interaction between voice, electronic processing and spatial sound, allowing each performance to develop as a responsive system rather than a fixed score.
The works often explore how listening precedes interpretation. By working with phonetic fragments, non-semantic vocal gestures and subtle shifts in sonic texture, the performances open spaces where perception operates before language stabilizes meaning.
Across the different SONORITY works, this investigation unfolds through different methods: immersive audiovisual performance, multichannel sound environments, installations, and participatory vocal practices.
Individual projects may draw on specific conceptual references or research contexts. For example, Hibiki,「ソノリティ」 (2025) explores cross-cultural phonetic perception and ideas related to the Kiki–Bouba phenomenon, while other works focus more on spatial listening, resonance, or collective vocal presence.
The overall practice asks how voice can function as a shared sensory field rather than a fixed linguistic system.
CONCERTS / PERFORMANCES SOLO
An audiovisual performance combining voice, electronics, and generative visuals.
The format is scalable, adaptable from intimate club stages to larger halls and immersive spaces.
Book and get in touch
johanna.sulkunen@gmail.com
WORKSHOPS
'Connecting through voice' In the workshop 'Connecting through Voice' participants will use their voices in simple, inclusive vocal exercises to explore resonance and collective expression. 'Behind the scenes' Learn about the compositional ideas, concepts, materials, tools, visual coding and scenographic elements- materials, that bring the workshop’s sensory world to life.
Book and hear more johanna.sulkunen@gmail.com
Bio
Johanna Elina Sulkunen is an experimental vocalist, composer, and improviser based in Copenhagen. Initially recognized as a distinctive voice on the alternative jazz scene, her work today moves fluidly between electronic music, jazz, free improvisation, and the contemporary avant-garde.
Through vocal improvisation, extended vocal techniques, live electronics, and interactive visuals, she challenges the boundaries of voice as an instrument and compositional tool while expanding the role of the (jazz) vocalist within a broader socio-cultural framework. For Sulkunen, the voice resonates on multiple levels: within the body and its physical and spiritual presence, in nature, and within society.
Her portfolio includes several Danish Music Award (DMA) nominations, working grants, commissioned works, and numerous interdisciplinary collaborations within theater, dance, film and.
Since 2018, she has developed SONORITY, an evolving framework for immersive audiovisual works including Koan, Terra, Coexistence, and Hibiki. The projects move between concerts, installations, and workshops, and have been presented across Europe and Asia.
Her works often investigate the political, ethical, and aesthetic implications of sound, voice, and silence. Her latest album, COEXISTENCE, is based on qualitative field recordings made between 2020 and 2022. Only one question as a starting point: "What would you say if the whole world would listen?" The work evolved as an album and a booklet is made of auditive reflections and fragments of included interviews with immigrants, homeless individuals, sexual minorities, and asylum seekers—the project reflects on how voices function as tools for participation in society, while also revealing how some voices are amplified and others marginalized or silenced. Emerging themes such as happiness, identity, freedom, and home highlight shared human values that transcend cultural boundaries.
