Dr Fiorenzo Palermo

Biography

Dr. Settimio Fiorenzo Palermo studied sonic art under the guidance of Hugh Davies, a renowned composer, performer, instrument inventor, and musicologist. After earning an MA in sonic art with a focus on concrete and sound poetry, he catalogued the Hugh Davies Collection at the British Library, supported by the Saga Trust. He later completed a PhD on Davies’s work, supervised by Dr. John Dack.

Dr. Palermo has presented his research internationally and has been invited by prestigious institutions such as the British Library and the Victoria & Albert Museum to discuss his findings. He co-curated the Sho-Zyg exhibition at Goldsmiths, University of London, showcasing some of Davies’s instruments and archival items, along with performances and presentations of Davies’s pieces. He has also published his academic research from the perspective of “critical organology,” which examines musical instruments through socio-cultural and political lenses.

In addition to his work on sonic art, Dr. Palermo is interested in popular music, particularly in the areas of gender and sexuality, as well as the intersection of far-right politics. He is currently working on an article exploring the concept of the queer closet in popular music, drawing on queer theory and the work of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick. Additionally, he is preparing a book chapter on the Italian rock band Zetazeroalfa, examining their engagement with fascism and fascist politics in their music and the practice of “cinghiamattanza,” a dance-fight performed by their audience. This chapter will be part of an edited volume that Dr. Palermo is co-editing with Dr. Nadav Appel for Bloomsbury

Teaching

Dr Palermo is the module leader for MUS3110 Contemporary Debates in Music Cultures and Business where he discusses current topics at the intersection of music, politics, and technology such as the rise of populism, music in the Anthropocene, and music and AI. 

He also teaches on MUS2110 Cultures and Business of Music where he addresses topics like the sociology of music, and music and the nation (nationalism, music and migration, music and community)

Dr Palermo welcomes PhD students who are interested in the study of popular music and experimental music