Ideas to explore with Sound Studies & Aural Cultures unit

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about cohesive soundscapes, and particularly the concept of sonic worldbuilding. other areas I’m interested in currently are Mark Fell’s ideas around process, and the ‘ping volume one’ compilation released on different circles.

In terms of sonic worldbuilding, san paolo artist Yvu who i was introduced to through Kai Winston’s Lux Cache explored the idea of ‘sound breeding’, a philosophy around crafting sound as sentient life, with synthesis playing a key role in storytelling. I’m interested in both this philosophical outlook and how he blends emotion and technique.

I am also interested in what Jabes has written for lux cache, his ideas around world building through sound design, and the relationships between space, unpredictability, and controlled chaos, in the context of rhythmically driven club music.

In terms of Mark Fell’s ideas, I like what he has written on process-oriented thinking, where he opposes being struck by divine inspiration, and instead is more interested in exploration through systems and constraint. He talks about wanting people to engage with his work on phenomenological terms, being experiential rather than symbolic, preffering to present the work to be experienced and engaged with in the present over symbolism that requires analysis.

In terms of Ping Music, i find it interesting how it has a ‘framework’ which the music is based around, allowing the rest of the production to be quite amorphous, as the ‘ping’ is the primary rhythmic driver, allowing the kick drum to take more of a backseat role. it’s interesting how some artists have used this framework to explore negative space and texture, for example Beton Brut’s track ‘Lime Bikes’, where the main sound in the mix is a sample of the noise a stolen lime bike makes, accompanied by a dotted kick pattern and a Roland clap sample.

It’s also interesting how this evolved from Mumdance’s radio show and discord listners, the genre emerged on the internet, putting it in an interesting place in relation to live music, despite its origins online i’ve heard tracks from ‘Ping Volume One’ in person at events on multiple occasions. I think it would be interesting to explore ‘Discord music’ more, and engage more in music focused Discord servers, such as the Iglooghost server and Mumdance server.