Seite - 14 - in Mobile Culture Studies - The Journal, Band 3/2017

14 Mobile Culture Studies. The Journal 3 2o17 Rainer Kazig, Damien Masson, Rachel Thomas | Atmospheres and Mobility a small-scale level. Despite this important capability, commented walks have their limits. One of these limits is due to their experimental character that goes along with the deficit that it is not possible to grasp with these approaches the way atmospheres are “naturally” integrated in everyday life. More classic research designs, like interviews (Kazig 2013b), observations or participant observations, on the other hand, make it possible to access atmospheres as part of everyday life. However, these approaches very often go along with the above-mentioned deficit to capture the relational character of atmospheres only imprecisely. The sensory qualities of the environment are often described in quite a general manner, and their link to the state of the individuals is not systematically analysed. This short confrontation of two empirical approaches should serve to underline the necessity to establish a broader methodological discussion about atmospheric methods in order to foster the empirical branch of research on atmospheres. Although this special issue on atmospheres and mobilities does not have a methodological focus, its eight papers illustrate the variety of methods and empirical approaches that are used in this field and can contribute to feeding such as discussion. The contributions This issue brings together eight contributions with different linguistic (English, French and German), disciplinary (anthropology, architecture, geography, musicology, sound studies) and conceptual backgrounds. Far from being exhaustive, it illustrates nevertheless a wide variety of approaches and research questions at the intersection of mobility studies with research on atmospheres. The issue follows a path in three movements. It starts with three contributions, grounded upon sensory anthropology backgrounds, and dealing with sonic atmospheres, soundscape and music. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, Birgit Abels’ paper focuses on musical atmos - pheres of an annual cultural festival – the Regatta Lepa festival – of the sea-nomadic Sama Dilaut community in Malaysia. The event is characterised by a specific gong music that is performed on board of the moving boats of the Sama Dilaut and that wraps the site of the fest- ival in a thick cloud of sound. Abels illustrates with her paper – that is built on the conceptual background of the German approach of the New Phenomenology – the analytical strength of the concept of atmospheres to make tangible the interconnectedness of music, mobility and the holistic and inclusive experience of this place making musical event. Besides a detailed explo - ration of this dynamic process, the paper can be considered as a fundamental contribution for the understanding of music as a place-making practice. Patricia Jäggi’s article looks into the transmission of sonic atmospheres through inter- national radio broadcasting, and its social, cultural and sensory roles. Constructed both on German-speaking and French-speaking bodies of research on atmospheres, this paper puts this concept in relation with the German concepts of Anmutungsqualität and of Gefühlstönung, that are common in history of radio research. This conceptual comparison shows the importance of using atmospheres to understand the aesthetic relationship to radio, as this concept allows to understand both aesthetics of production and of reception, which the others do not. Using a combination of methodologies involving sensory ethnography, Jäggi develops an approach