Found Sound Nation

Found Sound Nation (FSN) is a New York-based creative agency and nonprofit organization that uses music-making to connect people across cultural and societal divides. FSN is composed of musicians and artists who use collaborative sound-making as a tool of music diplomacy to help enhance communities and build bonds both locally and internationally.

Found Sound Nation

Formation	2007; 18 years ago (2007)
Founder	Chris Marianetti Jeremy Thal
Founded at	Brooklyn, New York, United States
Website	foundsoundnation.org

History

Found Sound Nation's work began in 2007 through an organizational partnership with Bang on a Can. Founders Chris Marianetti and Jeremy Thal began the work of FSN with music production and songwriting workshops at the Horizon Juvenile Center in the Bronx. The organization was incorporated as an 501(c)3 non-profit in 2015. In 2023, Jeremy Thal left Found Sound Nation to focus on music composition and production projects.^[1]

Found Sound Nation has organized numerous domestic and international workshops, performances, tours, and residencies. ^[2][3][4][5]

Notable projects

Found Sound Nation has been involved in a number of projects all over the world, with some of its largest being the annual international music diplomacy program: OneBeat, a partnership with The US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs^[6](2012-2025), the Dosti Music Project, a partnership with the Embassy of the United States, Islamabad^[7](2015-2016), Sound Bridge (2023-2024), a partnership with the Embassy of the United States, Yerevan, and The American Music Mentorship Program (2025), a partnership between the State Department and The Recording Academy®.^[8]

Programming and works

Found Sound Nation's work falls under three major themes: Cultural Exchanges, Music & Conflict, and Public Works

Cultural Exchanges

OneBeat (2012–2025)

Main article: OneBeat (music program)

A collaboration with the United States Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, OneBeat's U.S. program brought together artists from around the world to the U.S. for a month-long residency and tour program.^[9] Other programs included OneBeat Abroad, an global offshoot featuring OneBeat Sahara, OneBeat Lebanon and other international editions.^[10][11]

Music & Conflict

Horizons Juvenile Center (2011)

In connection with Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections Program, Found Sound Nation led empowering music production workshops at Horizons Juvenile Center.^[12]

Dosti (2014–2016)

Main article: Dosti Music Project

A collaboration with the United States Embassy in Pakistan, Dosti brought together eight musicians from Pakistan, India and the United States for a U.S. residency and tour.^[13]

Sound Bridge (2023–2024)

In collaboration with the Embassy of the United States, Yerevan, Sound Bridge united musicians from Armenia, Turkey, and Georgia for a creative and cultural exchange program. Since its inception in 2023, the program has brought together 24 artists from the Caucasus encouraging creative dialogue and mutual understanding through the medium of music and the sonic arts.^[14]

Public Works

APV India (2009)

Found Sound Nation's Chris Marianetti collaborated with students and teachers at Ashram Paryavarn Vidhyalaya School (APV) in the northern Indian Himalayan region of Uttarakhand to create soundscapes made from field and studio recordings.^[15]

Play Me I'm Yours (2010)

Found Sound Nation remixed and documented Luke Jerram’s public art project, Play Me I’m Yours, which placed pianos in public spaces around New York City.^[16]

Cine Institute (2012)

Found Sound Nation helped Haitian film students record and produce original music for their films and assisted them in creating a sound library for future use.^[17]

Lucerne Studio (2013)

Found Sound Nation set up a mobile ‘street studio’ to record and spontaneously compose music with musicians and passersby at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland.^[18]

FSN Presents (2014–2017)

An ongoing genre bending concert series highlighting emerging artists and composers. A recurring program was hosted at Redhook's Pioneer Works.^[19]

Big Ears Festival (2014, 2015)

Found Sound Nation set up interactive Street Studios during Knoxville's annual Big Ears Festival.^[20]

Street Studio Cities (2015–2022)

Found Sound Nation partnered with producers from NYC to set up mobile “street studios” throughout the city. The producers engaged with passersby to spontaneously create improvised jam sessions that were later turned into full-length tracks and shared online. Street Studio Cities was sponsored by Harman International.^[21]