Key insights from the articles

Audio Paper Plan

Learn about Audio Papers: https://seismograf.org/fokus/fluid-sounds/audio_paper_manifesto

https://intransition.openlibhums.org/issue/934/info

1. From the review of Ping Volume One in DJ Mag
   
   • The compilation emerged from a Discord in joke. The term “pingy ones” used in a radio show turned into a community language, memes, inside character (“Ping Devil”). DJ Mag+1
     
   • The sound is described as “an approach rather than a genre”. The “ping” is a percussive element (hospital-heart-monitor-esque) used as anchor instead of a kick-drum. DJ Mag+1
     
   • The review emphasises the aesthetic: stripped-back space, architectural room, experiments, the lineage from “weightless” style (Mumdance & Logos) but branching out. DJ Mag+1
     
   • Important: community + sound correlate. The compilation said to be “shaped by years of dialogue between a community of artists and listeners who were drawn to the same sounds & ideas before they had a name.” DJ Mag
     
2. From the interview with Mumdance (“It Starts With a Ping” – Clash Magazine)
   
   • The interview highlights the role of online communities and sonic exchange in generating new production possibilities. Clash Music
     
   • The way Mumdance frames the “ping” as not just a sound but a logic: a structural way of organising rhythm and space instead of conventional genre formulas.
     
3. From the article about why music producers are starting their own Discord communities (Water & Music)
   
   • Discord offers synchronous + asynchronous communication (voice, text, video) in one place, giving communities a hybrid mode of engagement. waterandmusic.com
     
   • It enables horizontal and vertical communication: peer-to-peer (artists, community) and artist-to-fans. waterandmusic.com
     
   • Platform affordances: direct fan interaction, production feedback loops, control over community, but also moderation challenges, scaling issues. waterandmusic.com+1
     
4. Additional context: the piece from Pitchfork (“The Future of Music Fandom Is on Discord”)
   
   • Shows how Discord has become a key space for intimate artist-fan / creator-community relationships, for niche music scenes, especially during/post pandemic. Pitchfork
     
   • Highlights the blurred roles: fans become collaborators, community becomes part of the music creation ecosystem.

Structure/script plan

Introduction

I am going to explore xyz

Pose question

Why is discord a necessary space for post genre musicians?

What is post genre?

A theme that I’ve noticed when digging into the origins of music I’m a fan of (Ping Music, Iglooghost, pc music) is genres emerging on discord. I think discord as a space has become more used by artists since lockdown

Noises

Expand on answers

I think the internet in general, particularly in message boards and discord, encourages the evolution of music niches, where genres can become so abstracted that terms are no longer available for them, necessitating these communities to come up with names to differentiate and group the music together.

Discord holds a space for horizontal communication between artists and fans, particularly since lockdown, where fans who might have only participated in the live music scene had that taken away, resulting in them moving towards online spaces (such as discord). This horizontal communication structure encourages otherwise tentative artists, who may feel anxious to publish their music, to share their work in this community, providing a space for feedback and growth, as well as collaborative development of particular themes in terms of production.

noise

Talk about ping music, quotes from mumdance interviews, talk about the responses in the discord server

Demonstrate Characteristics of ping through sound

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think these online spaces offer a really unique melting pot of ideas for emerging artists to engage in, particularly in this current age of passive consumption of digital media, for example tiktok, instagram reels. Discord encourages participation and critical thinking

A quote from Mark Fell that I like:

‘This does prove that there is an element of gear geek going on, as well.

Oh yeah, when I was a kid I was completely obsessed. Because I had no money, I’d read music technology magazines. I knew exactly the structure and synthesis architecture of nearly all the synths that were released in the 80s without ever having touched one, just because I was so obsessed by them.

What happened to me was I spent a long time craving synthesizers, and then I met someone while I was at university who was from a much more affluent background than me, and he had a studio and lots of equipment. And all he used to do basically was talk about what equipment he was going to buy and he never made any music. And I think that’s still probably the case, he’s probably still hoarding equipment. I kind of learned a lesson about the pitfalls of being obsessed with equipment, so I tend to use just one piece of equipment. When I do use an external module, it tends to be just one module per track or per album, so like on Atavism for example, Yamaha made a thing that’s called FS1R synthesizer, which is a rack mount, so that more or less does all the sounds on Atavism. Apart from the percussion sounds.’

‘You’re giving away all your secrets here.

Well, they’re not secrets! Like I’m not particularly worried about people knowing what I use or how I do it. I think, ‘let them have a go’. [laughs] And they’ll come up with something different. Like I think most of the music I make, I kind of start out as trying to copy things. Like when Mat and me first started making music, it was like, ‘oh, let’s copy a bit of Mike Ink, let’s copy a bit of Thomas Brinkmann, let’s copy a bit of New York house’. And we tried to copy these things and did a very bad job of copying them and came out with something a bit different. I’m not really interested in being territorial or protective about what it is I do. So if anyone emails me I’ll give a hopefully very full answer about how to do what I do, technically. People should teach each other and if those people pick up the technology and do something better, then that’s really good.’