With this year’s Convergence Sessions (Convergence 2016) fast approaching, here is the third of the three films shot at last year’s event, focusing on what people value in collaborators – and how collaboration is changing. The film features Ashley Paul (musician), Bill Brewster (DJ and music writer), Barnaby Steel (visual artist), Cecilia Stalin (vocalist, composer and educator), Will Gulseven (Cypher PR), and Christopher Haworth (researcher). Many thanks to the interviewees!
With Convergence 2016 approaching, it seemed like a good moment to post the second of the three films shot at last year’s Convergence Sessions, focusing on how people acknowledge the value of music – and how this is changing. The film features interviews with Bill Brewster (DJ and music writer), Cecilia Stalin (vocalist, composer and educator), Ashley Paul (musician), Barnaby Steel (visual artist), Chris Cooke (journalist), Michelle You (cofounder, Songkick), Eric Karsenty (partnership marketing, EMEA, Sonos), and David Stubbs (music journalist and author). Many thanks to the interviewees!
This is the first of the three films shot at Convergence 2015, focusing on changing roles and relationships in the music industry. It features interviews with Chris Cooke (journalist), Christopher Haworth (researcher), Eric Karsenty (partnership marketing, EMEA, Sonos), David Stubbs (music journalist and author), Will Gulseven (Cypher PR), Michelle You (cofounder, Songkick), Ben Gomori (DJ and music writer), and Cecilia Stalin (vocalist, composer and educator). As the speakers observe, the internet has created a direct link between stars and their fans, as well as helping grassroots artists to connect to each other. But while this has made it easier for musicians to get their names (and tracks) out there, it may have made it harder for them to get them heard. Watch the full video for thoughts on topics from home recording to artist management.
At 20.15, Slackk took to the decks to provide the night with its musical finale: a 42-minute set featuring tracks by Inkke, Dark0, Shriekin’ and other stars of the instrumental grime scene. It was great to see people dancing at an academic event. Afterwards, he returned to the stage with Winterlight and Glitch Lich for the electronic music producers panel chaired by Luis-Manuel Garcia.
The second musical performance of the night was a beautiful live set from Tim Ingham of ambient shoegaze electronica band Winterlight. This followed a generative noise performance from Glitch Lich and a talk on club culture by Luis-Manuel Garcia. As you’ll see from 17:33 to 23:07, Tim used one of Anna’s data visualisations as a backing projection for one of his tracks, giving the audience an opportunity to reflect on the importance of social connections in music. Tim returned to the stage later in the night for the electronic music producers panel with Luis-Manuel Garcia, Chad McKinney (Glitch Lich), and Paul Lynch (Slackk).
Those that were able to attend our live event on 6 June 2014 will doubtless remember the astonishing opening performance from Glitch Lich, with Chad McKinney onstage in London and Cole Ingraham joining remotely from Shanghai. The video is now available to view online. If you want to catch Chad in conversation with other electronic music producers and leading electronic music researcher Luis-Manuel Garcia, you can also check out the video of the panel that took place on the same night.
The highlight of the live event we ran in London on 6 June this year was the panel discussion between grime producer Paul Lynch (Slackk), ambient producer Tim Ingham (Winterlight), generative noise musician Chad McKinney (Glitch Lich), and ethnomusicologist Luis-Manuel Garcia (click here for Luis’s fascinating talk on club culture, from earlier in the night). After the event wound up, we headed off to Boxed, Slackk’s regular clubnight in Dalston, headlined on that particular occasion by the incredible Spooky Bizzle.
In common with the other talks and performances of the night, the panel was video-recorded; scroll down for a transcript.
Also available from the Open University podcast site.
Attendance at the workshop we organised in May was by invitation only, but the project team’s presentations were video recorded. In this edited version, we explain how and why we have been researching London’s electronic music scene and the valuing of electronic music.
Also available from the Open University podcast site.
Back in June, we held our first public event, with live music performances, talks, and free food. The talks and performances were recorded and soon they will all be available online. We’re starting with Anna’s, Byron’s, and my introduction to the Valuing Electronic Music project as a whole. In this talk, we explain how and why we have been studying the value of electronic music, and reveal a little of what we’ve found out so far.
Also available from the Open University podcast site.
Those who were able to attend our live event at the Lexington on 6 June 2014 were privileged to hear a typically engaging and thought-provoking presentation from leading ethnographer of electronic dance music, Luis-Manuel Garcia. In it, Luis explored what he called the ‘particular form of togetherness that happens at electronic music events’, which he related to the areas investigated by the Valuing Electronic Music project.
Like all the talks and performances of the night, Luis’s presentation was recorded – and now it’s available for view.
Also available from the Open University podcast site.
Valuing Electronic Music 