THOMAS SEBASTIAN KÖHN
Dr. Thomas Sebastian Köhn
Guitarist, composer, and musicologist
Thomas Sebastian Köhn is a German-Swedish guitarist, composer, and musicologist whose work moves between artistic expression and academic research. Whether performing, composing, or investigating the cultural significance of music and sound, he is interested in the ways music and listening shape our experiences of the world.
Music
As a guitarist and composer, Köhn creates instrumental music rooted in blues and jazz, with an emphasis on melody, improvisation, and expressive sound.
His music is intimate and atmospheric, moving between carefully developed compositions and spontaneous musical exploration. Rather than focusing on technical virtuosity, he approaches the guitar as a melodic voice, allowing space, dynamics, and subtle variations in tone to shape each performance.
Much of his music is developed and recorded in an old smithy in rural northern Germany. This setting has become an important part of his artistic practice: a place for experimentation, recording, and the development of a personal musical language.
Alongside solo guitar performances, Köhn explores arrangements with bass and drums, bringing his compositions into different musical contexts.
Research
Köhn holds a PhD in Musicology and works at the intersection of Sound Studies, Cultural Memory Studies, and the sociology of space.
His research examines how sound, music, and listening shape social environments, cultural practices, and processes of remembrance. A particular focus of his work has been the role of sound in Holocaust remembrance and the ways auditory experiences contribute to the formation and transformation of memory.
His doctoral dissertation, Rapping the Shoah, explores representations of the Holocaust and National Socialism in hip-hop from Jewish perspectives, examining how popular music becomes a medium for negotiating historical memory and cultural identity.
In his research on musical and sonic memory spaces, Köhn has investigated the relationships between sound, spatial configurations, and remembrance practices, drawing on interdisciplinary approaches from musicology, sound studies, and spatial sociology.
His academic work also addresses the political dimensions of music, including the relationships between popular music, ideology, and collective identity.
Two Perspectives on Sound
Music and research represent two distinct but complementary parts of Köhn's work. While his academic practice seeks to understand how music and sound operates within social and cultural contexts, his artistic work explores what can emerge through the act of making music itself. Both are informed by a sustained curiosity about listening, musical expression, and the possibilities of sound.
Publications
Köhn, Thomas Sebastian. 2021. “Rapping the Shoah: (Counter-)Narratives and Judaism in German Hip-Hop.” Music & Politics 15 (2).
Köhn, Thomas Sebastian. 2023. “A Rapping Witness, Stumbling Stones and Jewish History: Musical Remediations of Memories from the Times of National Socialism.” SAMPLES – Jahrbuch der Gesellschaft für Popularmusikforschung/German Society for Popular Music Studies (GfPM) 21, 1–23.
Book Chapters
Köhn, Thomas Sebastian. 2023. “›Geschichte spüren‹: Körperlich-materielle Kollisionen und individualisierte Erinnerungen an den Zweiten Weltkrieg im Hip-Hop-Track ›Stolpersteine‹ von Der Reimteufel.” In: Ralf von Appen und Peter Klose (Hg.): „All the Things You Are“ – Die materielle Kultur populärer Musik. Beiträge zur Popularmusikforschung, Band 47. Bielefeld: transcript Verlag, 225–250.
Schoop, Monika E., Thomas Sebastian Köhn und Martin Ringsmut. 2024. “Musik und Zeug*innenschaft – Erinnern an die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus in der ‚Post-Witness Era‘.” In: Michael Fuhr und Cornelia Gruber (Hg.): Musik, Erinnern und kulturelles Gedächtnis – Music, Remembering and Cultural Memory, 51–86.
Forthcoming
Köhn, Thomas Sebastian. Forthcoming. “Improvising to a Witness: Exploring Sampled Memories of the Holocaust and National Socialism in a Hip-Hop Track Through Artistic Practice.” Popular Music.
Köhn, Thomas Sebastian. Forthcoming. “Auditive Erinnerungsräume: Klang und Stille im Spannungsfeld erinnerungskultureller Bruchstellen und räumlicher Überlappungen in der Gedenkstätte Bergen-Belsen.” In: Schoop, Monika E., und Thomas Sebastian Köhn (Hg.): Auditive Erinnerungskulturen: Die Rollen von Musik und Sound für das Erinnern an die Zeit des Nationalsozialismus. Bielefeld: transcript Verlag.
Schoop, Monika E., und Thomas Sebastian Köhn (Hg.). Forthcoming. Auditive Erinnerungskulturen: Die Rollen von Musik und Sound für das Erinnern an die Zeit des Nationalsozialismus. Bielefeld: transcript Verlag.
Schoop, Monika E., und Thomas Sebastian Köhn. Forthcoming. “Auditive Erinnerungskulturen: Klangliche Auseinandersetzungen mit der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus.” In: Schoop, Monika E., und Thomas Sebastian Köhn (Hg.): Auditive Erinnerungskulturen. Die Rollen von Musik und Sound für das Erinnern an die Zeit des Nationalsozialismus. Bielefeld: transcript Verlag.
