SAMPLES

Überwältigende Gestaltverläufe: Build-Up & Drop sowie geschichtete Synthesizer-Patterns in Psytrance DJ-Sets

2023-09-04T15:32:57+00:00

This paper explores the embodied experience of listening to build-up & drop and layered synthesizer patterns in DJ sets of electronic dance music (EDM). The analysis draws on phenomenologist philosopher Hermann Schmitz's work and his conception of the »corporeal dynamic of tension and swelling«. I rely on Gestalt Theory to differentiate between the ›simple Gestalt‹ of build-ups & drops prevalent in EDM pop and the ›complex Gestalt‹ of layered synthesizer patterns often implemented in psytrance (short for psychedelic trance). Furthermore, I illustrate how these Gestalt enable distinct overwhelming aesthetic experiences and experiences of collectivity by exploring the dynamics of tension and swelling. With my analysis of a psytrance DJ set, I argue that both simple and complex Gestalt significantly determine the creation of a DJ set as well as its reception by the crowd on the dancefloor. They provide scope for examining diverse aesthetic strategies pertaining to different genres and they constitute a vital component of a (yet-to-be-developed) methodology for analysing EDM DJ sets.

A Rapping Witness, Stumbling Stones and Jewish History: Musical Remediations of Memories from the Times of National Socialism

2023-06-30T19:59:20+00:00

As primary witnesses of the Holocaust fade away, contemporary memory culture grapples with challenges in how the younger generation can remember the era of National Socialism. In the post-witness era (Popescu & Schult 2015), this article explores how hip-hop can serve as a medium for remembrance. Building upon the theoretical framework of remediation proposed by Bolter and Grusin (1999) and subsequently adapted by cultural memory studies scholar Astrid Erll (2017), this article examines three hip-hop songs as case studies to investigate the processes of remediation within hip-hop music: firstly, »Identität« (Identity) by the Jewish rapper Ben Salomo (2016), currently based in Berlin; secondly, »Stolpersteine« (Stumbling Stones) by the German rapper Marco Helbig, also known as »Reimteufel« (Rhyme Devil) (2012); and thirdly, »Edek,« written and produced by Kevin Pollard, featuring the rapper Kapoo and the Polish Holocaust witness Janine Webber (2018). Combining music analysis, semi-structured interviews, and discourse analysis, the article analyzes how physical materials like buildings and memorials, different kinds of music and silence, as well as the act of witnessing are remediated within the songs. By introducing these four types of remediation, the article aims to advance the syntheses between musicology and cultural memory studies, emphasizing that the concept of remediation can encompass musical, and thus audible, aspects.

Spotify vs. Bandcamp. Die Plattformisierung von Musikkulturen.

2023-04-24T21:34:43+00:00

This paper examines the dynamics of »platformization« in the realm of online music distribution at the intersection of sound and technology culture through the examples of Spotify and Bandcamp. From an interdisciplinary perspective, various mechanisms and actors involved in the specific platform networks are described, put in relation to each other and compared. Furthermore, reference is made to theoretical discussions outside the field of music culture and the current development of this field is highlighted as a paradigmatic example of tendencies in digital cultures in general.

Ausgewählte Neuerscheinungen 2023

2023-12-22T15:58:37+00:00

Ausgewählte Neuerscheinungen 2023 – Zusammengestellt von Lukas Proyer

Dagmar Abfalter und Rosa Reitsamer (Hg.) (2022) »Music as Labour – Inequalities and Activism in the Past and Present.«

2023-10-20T14:42:31+00:00

Manuel Troike – Rezension zu Dagmar Abfalter und Rosa Reitsamer (Hg.) (2022) »Music as Labour – Inequalities and Activism in the Past and Present.«

Jan-Peter Herbst (Hg.) (2023). »The Cambridge Companion to Metal Music.«

2023-11-12T12:23:02+00:00

Elena Bös – Rezension von Jan-Peter Herbst (Hg.) (2023). »The Cambridge Companion to Metal Music.«

Chris Kattenbeck (2022). »Beats. Bauen. Lernen. Manifestation, Konstitution und Entwicklung künstlerischer Handlungsfähigkeit beim Beatmaking.«

2023-12-22T15:41:14+00:00

Michael Ahlers – Rezension zu Chris Kattenbeck (2022). »Beats. Bauen. Lernen. Manifestation, Konstitution und Entwicklung künstlerischer Handlungsfähigkeit beim Beatmaking.«

Terri Thal (2023). »My Greenwich Village. Dave, Bob and Me.«

2023-12-22T15:36:15+00:00

Richard Limbert – Rezension zu Terri Thal (2023). »My Greenwich Village. Dave, Bob and Me.«