348 research outputs found
‘Past’ masters, present beats: exponential sound staging as sample-based (re)mastering in contemporary hip hop practice
No full textPrevious research dealing with sample-based music production has favored notions of musical borrowing in sampling over the sonic rationale of the practice—that is, the appeal of past ‘sonic signatures’ to samplists and the processes involved in incorporating them within contemporary phonographic constructs. This appeal can be attributed not only to recording and mixing approaches, but also to mastering strategies. A more recent phenomenon in hip hop music production involves practitioners creating their own material for subsequent sampling and infusing it with convincing phonographic qualities, to satisfy a sample-based aesthetic that until recently has relied heavily on the past. In this sample-based context, the lesser attention given to the sonic ‘object’ calls for a focused investigation of the variables involved in the fusion of ‘past’ (or previously constructed) and present phonographic processes. This inquiry focuses on the merging of ‘staging’ illusions as a subset of such variables, questioning how full-range masters function as source content in sample-based engineering and production processes. The examination explores how hip hop producers negotiate the dimensions of ‘depth,’ ‘height,’ and ‘width’ imbued into masters when used as sampled sources, and the ways in which beat-makers stage previously-constructed mix architectures into newly-juxtaposed sonic illusions
Bass | the wider frontier: low-end stereo placement for headphone listening
No full textThe placement of low-end spectra in popular mixes has ranged from dogmatic centrality to extreme staging, but current developments in production workflows, stylistic evolution and increasingly personalised modes of consumption have resulted in alternative—if less polarised—approaches to low- end production. The authors question how contemporary practitioners ‘sculpt’ bass in their mixes, the strategies that are deployed to secure translation, and the relationship between innovation in the bass spectrum and sensible mix architecture. The aim is to investigate the aesthetic and pragmatic causality behind the phenomenon, but also to examine and theorise on the creative possibilities for future bass staging
Hip-hop time machine - re-imagining the ‘phonographic’ in sample-based hip-hop record production: research design for contemporary forms of creative audio practice
No full textThe article embarks on a two-fold investigation, examining the aesthetic implications of sample-based record production using re-imagined phonographic sources, and exploring applied research design for contemporary forms of music-making. Challenging traditional models of musicological analysis, the author demonstrates how multi-methods research leverages the study of ‘meta’ genres of creative practice
Making records within records: manufacturing phonographic ‘otherness’ in sample-based Hip Hop production
No full textBorne out of a wider exploration of hip hop music practices that substitute copyrighted samples with the creation of original source content, the chapter questions what qualities render new sonic constructs into phonographic objects that are aesthetically desirable for—and usable in the context of—sample-based hip hop record production. Furthermore, if all digital audio recording can be described as a form of sampling, then what mechanisms, processes, and practices imbue sonic signatures of phonographic ‘otherness’ into these objects, and how can this ‘otherness’ be defined? Extending beyond a deterministic approach that simply maps signal flow variables to the forging of phonographic signatures, the chapter deploys an autoethnographic approach to illustrate the effect of phonographic ‘context’ on contemporary beat-making. By synthesizing the technical with the aesthetic, the chapter uncovers nuanced mixing phenomena at the heart of how this ‘otherness’ is negotiated and constructed in practice, extending our understanding of record production as (a form of material) composition
Sample magic: (Conjuring) phonographic ghosts and meta-illusions in contemporary hip-hop production
No full textSampling has been criticised as “a mixture of time-travel and seance”, “the musical art of ghost co-ordination and ghost arrangement”, and a process that “doubles (recording’s) inherent supernaturalism” (Reynolds 2012, pp. 313-314). Yet out of all the sample-based music forms, hip-hop receives the lion’s share of attention in popular music literature; critics are puzzled by its appeal, scholars identify a plethora of problems in its function, and practitioners and audiences alike are mesmerised by its effect. Rap producers attribute an inherent ‘magic’ to working with past phonographic samples and fans appear spellbound by the resulting ‘supernatural’ collage. The author examines the music’s unique recipe of phonographic juxtaposition, exploring the conditions of this ascribed ‘magic’, investigating gaps in perception (Lehrer 2009) between emotional and intellectual effect, and deciphering parallels in the practice and vocabulary mobilised against a range of genres in performance magic
Prefazione [a: Michail Kuzmin, Le stagioni dell'amore, Bari, Stilo, 2020, 172 pp.]
No full text"Kuranty ljubvi" (Le stagioni dell'amore) è un piccolo, ma poeticamente significativo, contributo alla produzione letteraria del Simbolismo russo nel segno della sintesi delle arti. Michail Kuzmin, uno dei più importanti scrittori di quell'epoca, è l'autore del ciclo poetico-musicale e delle partiture."Kuranty ljubvi" (The seasons of love) is a small but poetically significant contribution to the literary production of Russian Symbolism in the context of the synthesis of the arts. Michail Kuzmin, one of the most important writers of that era, is the author of the poetic-musical cycle and of the scores
Dei delitti e delle pene nella traduzione di Michail M. Scerbatov
No full textAfter more than two centuries, this work presents the Russian version of “Dei delitti e delle pene” by Cesare Beccaria, translated by Prince Michail M. Šcerbatov. The edition, conducted on the autographed manuscript, is presented with the original Italian text. In the introductory study, the author traces the fundamental stages of the diffusion of Beccaria’s work in Russia, focusing in particular on the figure of Michail M. Isaev, scholar and translator of the masterpiece by Beccaria, who was the first to re-propose the modern organisation of the “Fifth” edition. The author gives an account of the version proposed by Šcerbatov, investigating its textual genesis and evaluating some aspects of the language used by the translator - first of all the lexicon used for the rendering of philosophical-political and legal terms
Hip-hop pedagogy as production practice: reverse-engineering the sample-based aesthetic
No full textHip-hop music practice contains a rich matrix of creative methods within its paradigm, which can inform and inspire music production pedagogy. The techno-artistic trajectory of rap production consists of numerous performing, engineering and production phases, while it may also involve self-contained developmental practices, such as the creation of intermediate content for sampling. The well-documented issues affecting phonographic sampling have given rise to alternative approaches, inviting both live musicianship and a dependence on synthesized sonics within hip-hop practice. As a hybrid production vehicle par excellence, Hip-Hop provides a fertile context for the application of diverse techniques in pursuit of inter-stylistic aesthetics. The article explores the spectrum of creative opportunities that lie between live performance, the sample-based process and notions of 'composition' as encompassed within the hip-hop paradigm. The aim is to identify under-represented aspects of contemporary music production and unexploited synergies in popular music curricula that may benefit from further integration
Reimagining the ‘phonographic’ in sample-based hip-hop production: making records within records
No full text‘Reimagining the ‘phonographic’ in sample-based hip-hop production: Making records within records’, deals with the poetics of hip-hop record production making use of originally constructed sample material, rather than previously released phonographic content.¹ The idea behind the research project was borne out of a practical conundrum during the author’s record-label tenure with EMI Music (Greece) as an artist/producer. The national/major-label profile highlighted issues in sample-based music-making in an acute way, illuminating a tangible gap between underground beat-making and mainstream hip-hop practice: the majority of creators who find themselves between the two extremes appear starved of access to raw phonographic sources, with some seeking innovative ways to practice the artform whilst avoiding licensing implications related to copyrighted sample use.² Inspired by the author’s parallel academic career, the examination of the phenomenon has taken the form of a practice-based doctoral research project, grounded in the musicology of record production, and accompanied by an independent instrumental album-creation process, which supplies the applied investigative context. The largely autoethnographic approach relates the personal in creative practice to the larger cultural (aesthetic) phenomenon, and the research is further supported by interviews with expert practitioners, as well as phonographic (aural) and literary analysis. The theoretical and practical findings drawn out of the research illuminate an unexamined practice with profound impact upon popular music culture.
The research narrative is therefore capable of reshaping our understanding of creative beat-making in the flux of a shifting legal and pragmatic landscape. Furthermore, the non-linear, juxtaposed, and arguably metamodern dimensions of the practice readdress current/historical debates about Hip Hop, putting sonic materiality at the forefront of the discussion, and challenging the methodological strategies deployed thus far for the study of contemporary, electronic, and Afrological music forms. As such, there is an identifiable need for a thorough exploration of, and theorising upon, this form of record production practice. From Dr. Dre, through to De La Soul, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Boards of Canada, Statik Selektah, Marco Polo, Griselda Records, and Frank Dukes, sample-based hip-hop producers have creatively renegotiated the landscape surrounding sample use through alternative production approaches. These techniques deploy the creation of interim sampling content for subsequent use in what can be described as a form of ‘meta’ phonographic process: an innovative phenomenon with important creative implications powering some of today’s biggest hits and—arguably—an evolutionary strategy facilitating the future development of the genre (and sample-based music as a whole). In the aesthetic pursuit of what makes a newly created source ‘phonographic’ in the context of sample�based Hip Hop, the project addresses the way in which we consider how the sonic past interacts with the music present, and extrapolates upon the way in which such a musical practice may mirror a metamodern zeitgeist in other arts, and culture as a whole
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