Alwakeel IDM As A
IDM as a “Minor” Literature: The Treatment of Cultural and Musical Norms by “Intelligent Dance Music” RAMZY ALWAKEEL UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS (UK) Abstract This piece opens with a consideration of the etymology and application of the term “IDM”, before examining the treatment of normative standards by the work associated therewith. Three areas in particular will be focused upon: identity, tradition, and morphology. The discussion will be illuminated by three case studies, the first of which will consider Warp Records’ relationship to narrative; the two remaining will explore the work of Autechre and Aphex Twin with some reference to the areas outlined above. The writing of Deleuze and Guattari will inform the ideas presented, with particular focus being made upon the notions of “minority”, “deterritorialisation”, and “continuous variation”. Based upon the interaction of the wider IDM “text” with existing “constants”, and its treatment of itself, the present work will conclude with the suggestion that IDM be read as a “minor” literature. Keywords IDM, Deleuze, minority, genre, morphology, subjectivity, Autechre, Aphex Twin, Warp Can you really kiss the sky with your tongue in cheek? Simon Reynolds (1999: 193) Why have we kept our own names? Out of habit, purely out of habit. […] Also be- cause it’s nice to talk like everybody else, to say the sun rises, when everybody knows it’s only a matter of speaking. To reach, not the point where one no longer says I, but the point where it is no longer of any importance whether one says I. Deleuze and Guattari (2004: 3-4) Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture 1(1) 2009, 1-21 ISSN 1947-5403 ©2009 Dancecult http://www.dancecult.net/ DOI 10.12801/1947-5403.2009.01.01.01 2 Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture • vol 1 no 1 Introduction Etymologically, an attempt to determine what “IDM” actually signifies is problematic.
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