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THE UNIVERSITY OF HULL School of Arts How do electronic musicians make their music? Creative practice through informal learning resources. being a Thesis submitted for the Degree of MA in Music by Research (25004) in the University of Hull by Wai Kuen Wan (BEng University of Leeds, BA Leeds Metropolitan University) June 2017 Contents Abstract iv Introduction 1 Context and literature review 7 1. Compositional approaches 16 1.1 Curation 17 1.1.1 Context of materials 17 1.1.2 Juxtaposition 19 1.1.3 Assemblage 20 1.1.4 Personal sound archive 22 1.2 Sound manipulation 24 1.2.1 Custom modular tools 25 1.2.2 Destruction and degradation 28 1.2.3 Manipulating recorded performance 30 1.3 Indeterminacy and serendipity 31 1.4 Specificity of objectives 34 2. Conditions for creativity 40 2.1 Motivation 41 2.1.1 Self-serving 42 2.1.2 Enthusiasm 44 2.1.3 Commercial success 46 2.1.4 Reactionary responses 50 2.2 Personal growth 53 2.2.1 Exploratory learning 53 2.2.2 Early experiences 56 2.3 Discography for reflection 59 ii 2.4 Duration and nature of composition 61 2.4.1 Intensive work practice 62 2.4.2 Promoting objectivity 65 2.4.3 Learning vs making 66 3. Technological mediation 70 3.1 Attitudes to technology 70 3.1.1 Homogenisation of technologies 71 3.1.2 New ideas do not require new technologies 74 3.1.3 Obsessing and collecting 76 3.2 Tools for realisation 80 3.2.1 Proficiency and fluency with instruments 83 3.2.2 Opacity and affordance - enslaved to the (quantised) rhythm 86 3.3 Redefining technology 89 3.3.1 Subversion – extending the lexicon 90 3.3.2 Active Limitation 94 3.4 Instruments and their influence 97 3.4.1 Resisting conformity 98 3.4.2. Computers are a hindrance 102 3.4.3 Old and characterful 104 Conclusion 109 Bibliography 112 Appendix A: Amon Tobin 121 Appendix B: Boards of Canada 125 Appendix C: Squarepusher 129 Appendix D: Four Tet 133 Appendix E: Artists Biography 136 Appendix F: Example of Nvivo Data Collection 138 iii Abstract The paper will explore the creative practices of professional electronic musicians through their interviews published in consumer materials, commonly perceived as informal learning resources. Drawing on data gathered from music technology and music culture-related publications including magazines, newspapers, online sources, video, and radio, the study will consolidate 154 existing interviews, given over a seventeen-year period. The aim of this study is not to provide a complete illustration of electronic music production, but rather offer points of significance that hold meaning in the context of creative practice. iv Introduction On the evening of 16th May 2012, the Electronic Beats Festival in Graz is underway inside a converted industrial factory hall. The audience is mesmerised by a majestic audio-visual performance at the Helmut List Halle; it is hosting electronic musician Amon Tobin’s performance of ISAM, a spectacular hi-tech visual score featuring a large multi-dimensional cubic sculpture and synchronised 3D projection mapping, creating a breathtaking multi-sensory narrative. The hall is filled with the foreboding rhythms of pounding mechanical hydraulics, only to be sporadically interrupted by beautiful crystalline stabs with bursts of liquid nitrogen. The assault of heavy electronic drums, are interspersed with occasional fractals of exoteric percussion. The menace of a ‘Reece’1 bass line fills the hall, juxtaposed by bittersweet granular flutters of angelic voices and celestial motifs. Like the biomechanical illustrations of Hans Rudolf Giger, these peculiar sounds are paradoxically mechanical yet organic.2 This is not vernacular dance music as one might experience at a conventional electronic dance music (EDM) event; dancing is replaced by reassuring movements to rhythm, against an imposing futuristic dystopian soundtrack. The sonic abstracts are largely unidentifiable but familiar, reminiscent to those not dissimilar to cinematic Foley sound designs. These sounds are not of those derived from conventional musical instruments, yet they are profoundly expressive with the ability to evoke a broad spectrum of emotional responses. Expectation is built through complex layers in rhythm and evolving timbral textures inviting the listener. Melody and tonality does not take precedence, but rather rhythm and timbre – a departure from the traditional reliance of tonal compositional styles that use to define composers of popular Western music (Neill, 2002: 3). The deployment of abstract sounds is evident throughout Tobin’s music yet we do not really understand its nature and how they are derived – we can only assume it to be 1 Reece refers to the bass sound used on Kevin Saunderson’s 1988 track ‘Just Want Another Chance’ released under his ‘Reese’ pseudonym. The sound became highly influential amongst Drum and Bass genres when it was sampled. 2 Hans Rudolf Giger is a Swiss surrealist painter best known for his paintings of biomechanical creations. For more information see: http://www.hrgiger.com [Accessed 4/9/2015]. 1 the product of technological mediation with limited understanding of the creative process. Traditional musical instruments can often be identified by their idiomatic characteristics whereas the sounds in Tobin’s music are less easy to define. His work exemplifies electronic music production styles that are perceptibly complex and diverse in both sound and programming. How do these electronic musicians create their music? This paper aims to explore creative practice through the experience of professional electronic musicians, where insight into enactments of creativity will be obtained by analysing accounts related to similar phenomenon taken from published interviews with professional electronic musicians. These will be collated from existing consumer music technology and music-related publications including magazines, newspapers, online webzines, podcasts, video and radio interviews. Although thematic commonalities are likely to emerge through layered accounts, the research does not intend to provide an overarching generalisation on creative practice in electronic music production, but rather illustrate points of significance that hold meaning. The research will adopt a qualitative approach using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), along with ideas drawn from discourse analysis. IPA is a method widely used in health and psychology studies but has since been adopted in areas of musicology, music therapy, and pedagogy (Pothoulaki, MacDonald, and Flowers, 2012: Slater, 2016). It concerns ‘understanding personal lived experience [of a person’s relationship and] involvement in a particular event or process (phenomenon)’ (Smith, Flowers, and Larkin, 2009: 40), to provide a detailed method of exploring creative practice as ‘a social process rather than through a final and fixed musical product’ (Martin, 2014: 7). Whilst it is not necessary for the researcher to have ‘insider’ status (Styles, 1979 cited in Smith, Flowers, and Larkin, 2009: 42), most qualitative research is usually conducted from this perspective. IPA requires one to imagine the position of those being researched since there are interpretative, psychological, and idiographic components to be considered. As a practitioner who has worked in various areas of electronic music production since 1996 (DJing, studio engineering, remixing, and production), an IPA approach enables me to access personal experiences and pre- 2 conceptions to identify significance in the data. It allows variant responses to be considered through eidetic reduction to arrive at ‘the essence’ of an experience (Smith, Flowers, and Larkin, 2009). Traditional IPA involves sample collection via interviewing participants or focus groups however, this study will instead adopt a method using IPA with interviews sourced from existing consumer publications and materials. Sound on Sound (SOS), Future Music (FM), The Wire, and Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) have previously featured production-related interviews with the musicians considered in this paper, whereas other sources offer broader discussions on related areas albeit under self-promotional contexts. There is justification in examining these materials since they are influential ‘at every level of music-making and in every sector of the music industry’ (Théberge, 1997: 94). They play a significant role in disseminating ideas, and provide insight into professional practice; Thompson (2012) identifies these as valuable sources of knowledge to support informal learning and pedagogy. The interviews will be consolidated to create a sample set of 154 interview transcripts totalling approximately 298,000 words to provide a rich source for analyses. Whilst primary research would introduce parity in the questions posed to the interviewees, no original interviews will be exclusively conducted since it detracts from what we can learn from these materials. Furthermore, time and labour constraints determined that an interview method for data collation is beyond the scope of this study, and postponed for future research opportunities. The accounts collated for the sample set reveal contrasting interviewer and interviewee relationships in their dynamics, and different interview approaches against shifting contexts. There are instances where interviewees were less congenial in disclosing their trade practices in detail. Furthermore, musicians often loathe promotional activities but are, to some extent, amenable to discussing their music and practice. To help us see ‘beyond the sentence’ (Schiffrin, Tannen,