The Sounds of Nordic Noir

Nordic noir, the distinctive form of crime fiction from the Nordic region, has become unprecedentedly successful in this millennium. Its dark crime stories have gained a global audience, especially in audiovisual form, and it can well be said that Nordic noir has become a kind of a window onto the Nordic societies and their mental land-scapes. It mediates images and impressions of the North to the world but also to the Nordic people themselves. Music and other sounds are central constituents of cine-matic expression and, therefore, have a significant role also in audiovisual Nordic noir. However, although Nordic noir has already been studied extensively, its sonic aspects have thus far mainly been left outside analytical scrutiny. This article-based thesis investigates, how music and sound design operate as components of audiovisual expression and narration in representative examples of audiovisual Nordic noir, and more precisely, how music and sound design partake in the socially critical ethos characteristic of Nordic noir, as well as the depiction of the Nordic region and Nordicness. A mixed-method approach is applied, combining qualitative and quantitative research methods with viewpoints especially from cul-tural musicology and phenomenology. The thesis also actively participates in the current critical debate on the nature of Nordic noir. In addition to the summary section, this thesis presents four original research articles. Of the articles, three discuss particular film and television series that can be considered key representatives of audiovisual Nordic noir, focusing in each case on the first season of the series and foregrounding the soundtrack as a central factor in the audiovisual whole. The series are Wallander (Sweden 2005–2013), The Killing (Forbrydelsen, Denmark 2007–2012), and The Bridge (Bron/Broen, Sweden/Den-mark 2011–2018). The fourth research article, in turn, takes a notably larger sample, as it examines the title sequences of Nordic noir series. Thirty-three title sequences in total from nineteen different series were included in the audiovisual analysis. By expanding Nordic noir scholarship to include also the sonic dimensions of the series, the study produces new knowledge on Nordic noir as a cultural phenom-enon. It demonstrates that, in Nordic noir, sounds – music included – are an essential constituent in varied audiovisual strategies, through which the narrative content of the series is linked to the sociocultural reality outside the storyworld. In doing so, the series utilise existing conceptions of the North and the Nordic society and culture and also place them in a critical light. Thus this study also finds that, contrary to what has been stated in some instances – and despite certain observable family resemblances – Nordic noir does not have a specific distinctive sonic character, but the series are notably different in their expression regarding music and sound design – and therefore also their audiovisual appearance as a whole.

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