about

Benjamin Duester is a cultural sociologist working at the intersection of material culture, leisure and sustainability. Currently a postdoctoral researcher at Georg August University Göttingen, he works for the project Sound Knowledge funded by the European Research Council which explores alternative epistemologies of sound and music in Oceania. He holds a PhD from Griffith University and is a founding member of the SSHRED research network that investigates skating, sustainability, health and environmental design. For SSHRED, he is developing a zine called Green Pressure as platform to raise awareness for projects repurposing skateboarding’s waste in creative ways.

Ben will publish his first monograph with Bloomsbury in late 2024, a comprehensive analysis of the cassette’s economic and cultural significance for music production, distribution and consumption in the new media age. Eight years in the making, this book compiles the expertise of more than eighty stakeholders and DIY practitioners active in music scenes across Australia, Japan and the United States.

Curriculum Vitae