Sensing the City – Mapping the Beat A rhythmanalysis of music-making in Wellington and Copenhagen By Katie Rochow A thesis submitted to Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Victoria University of Wellington (2017) Abstract The idea of rhythm has figured as a key conceptual and empirical motif in current research on (urban) space, place and everyday life. Urban spaces are considered polyrhythmic fields, a compound of varied everyday life and spatial rhythms, which produce a particular, but ever-changing, complex mix of heterogeneous social interactions, mobilities, imaginaries and materialities (Edensor 2010). Music-making in the city therefore constitutes and is constituted by a plurality of urban rhythms including the movement between different locations as well as regular temporal patterns of events, activities, experiences and practices as well as energies, objects, flora and fauna which shape the music-maker’s mundane ‘pathways’ through the city. Based on current ethnographic fieldwork in the urban spaces of Wellington (Aotearoa/New Zealand), and Copenhagen (Denmark) this project proposes a way of capturing, understanding and interpreting the multi-faceted rhythmical layout of urban spaces. It will do so by introducing a rhythmanalytical methodology, which draws on interviews, participant generated photographs and mental maps as analytical tools for capturing the interwovenness of socialities, atmospheres, object, texts and images in people’s everyday lives and in this way affords opportunities for attending to the multiple rhythms underlying music-making in the city. The use of cartographic and photographic means of representing these rhythmical dimensions allows us to better attend to an affective register that is often overlooked in studies of music-making. It makes visible some of the ways in which places, from the home to the studio to the performance venue and points in-between form a connective tissue, which anchors the music-makers to the city as well as lends the city its ambience, and, more importantly, its affective charge. As such, the manner in which mood, feeling, a “sense of place,” is evoked through the visual representation of music- makers’ everyday life suggests how the scenic aspects of the city work to simultaneously frame, mediate and facilitate meaningful experiences of place. Consequently, this study documents, through a unique medley of research methods, the way in which music-making serves as a vehicle for the social production of place and the creation of an affective attachment to that place both individual and collective. ii Acknowledgements Many people, from various parts of the world have inspired, encouraged and assisted me during the course of this project, and this is the place to thank them. First and foremost I would like to extend my gratitude to Geoff Stahl, whose guidance and patience were a huge support from beginning to end. I also extend my thanks to David Cosper, who offered thoughtful advice and helpful comments during the final stages of completing the thesis. Thank you also to my friend and colleague Miriam Ross, who encouraged me to apply for a PhD scholarship in the first place. This research project would not have been possible without the generous financial support of Victoria University and the School of English, Film, Theatre and Media Studies as well as the collaboration of the School of Performance Design at Roskilde University which provided me with an office space, free coffee, fruit, and most importantly, with an inspiring research community. A very warm Tak to Anja Mølle Lindelof who made me feel welcome from the very first day. Thank you also to the many musicians from Copenhagen and Wellington who agreed to be part of this project. I am heavily indebted to their contributions, which reach from the pictorial insight into bedrooms, kitchens and rehearsal spaces to the sharing of personal anecdotes and drawings to coffees and bike rides through the city. I hope to have rendered all of their words, images, thoughts and feelings justly. But most of all I would like to say Tak, Danke and Thank You to my family and friends, here in New Zealand, Germany and Denmark who have been there for me all along the way. In particular Grace, Inge, Edith, Nikita, Amy, Victor, Ian, Wayne and Lolo for kindly listening through the ‘ups and downs’ of the PhD process; Evelyn for endless ‘Skype pep talks’; my sister Melanie for her patience, encouragement and the regular supply of German chocolates; and lastly, to my parents, who always inspired and supported my studies, travels and love for music. iii Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents .................................................................................................... iv Figures .................................................................................................................... vi Notes on the text ................................................................................................... viii Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 Part I – Space, Place and the (urban) Rhythms of music-making..................... 11 Chapter 1 - Places (for the analysis) of music ................................................... 11 1.1 (human) geographies of music ..................................................................... 12 1.2 Music in the city .......................................................................................... 15 1.3 Music and Identity ....................................................................................... 22 Chapter 2 - Making Sense of Place ..................................................................... 29 2.1 An attunement of the senses ........................................................................ 30 2.2 A social construct ......................................................................................... 36 Chapter 3 - City Rhythms ................................................................................... 43 3.1 Everyday life and Spatial Rhythms ............................................................. 44 3.2 Affective Rhythms ....................................................................................... 50 3.2.1 Approaching Affect .............................................................................. 51 3.2.2. (Ordinary) Urban Affects ..................................................................... 57 3.3 Categorizing City Rhythms ......................................................................... 62 Part II – The Rhythmanalytic Lens – A Framework for Analysis .................... 67 Chapter 4 - Methodology .................................................................................... 67 4.1 Doing Rhythmanalysis ................................................................................. 68 4.2 A Rhythmanalytical Framework .................................................................. 71 4.3 (Performing) ethnography in popular music studies .................................... 75 Chapter 5 - The Four Methods ........................................................................... 80 5.1 (Participant-) observation ............................................................................ 80 5.2 Interviews ..................................................................................................... 84 5.3 Photo-elicitation ........................................................................................... 85 5.4 Mapping ....................................................................................................... 95 iv 5.5 Rhythmanalysis in the Field ...................................................................... 102 Part III – From South to North and back again – Analysing City Rhythms . 106 Chapter 6 - Two Cities ....................................................................................... 106 6.1 Wellington’s Rhythms ............................................................................... 106 6.2 Copenhagen’s Rhythms ............................................................................. 112 Chapter 7 - Mapping Rhythms ......................................................................... 121 7.1 General procedure ...................................................................................... 121 7.2 Drawing Rhythms ...................................................................................... 123 7.2.1 Spatial Rhythms .................................................................................. 123 7.2.2. Social Rhythms .................................................................................. 134 7.2.3 Affective Rhythms .............................................................................. 139 7.3 Summary: Mapping atmospheric attunements .......................................... 148 Chapter 8 - Picturing Rhythms ........................................................................ 150 8.1 General procedure ...................................................................................... 150 8.2 Home and Away .......................................................................................