Producing Music

Russ Hepworth-Sawyer, Jay Hodgson, Mark Marrington, Russ Hepworth-Sawyer, Jay Hodgson, Mark Marrington

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9780415789226
• eBook ISBN: 9781351815093
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Media Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

During the last two decades, the field of music production has attracted considerable interest from the academic community, more recently becoming established as an important and flourishing research discipline in its own right.

Producing Music presents cutting-edge research across topics that both strengthen and broaden the range of the discipline as it currently stands. Bringing together the academic study of music production and practical techniques, this book illustrates the latest research on producing music.

Focusing on areas such as genre, technology, concepts, and contexts of production, Hepworth-Sawyer, Hodgson, and Marrington have compiled key research from practitioners and academics to present a comprehensive view of how music production has established itself and changed over the years.

1

Introduction

Russ Hepworth-Sawyer, Jay Hodgson, and Mark Marrington

Welcome to Volume 2 of the Perspectives on Music Production series, Producing Music. As with our first book of the series, Perspectives on Music Production: Mixing Music, this volume explores a specific topic pertinent to the Music Production Studies field, in this instance, production itself. In sourcing Producing Music we have gathered a wide range of material concerning the nature of “music production” at the present juncture. As editors, we have not necessarily aimed to align its content with any particular position as regards how music production should be discussed within the academic arena. For example, the book does not assert that a “musicological” perspective should exclusively define the terms of the debate, even though some of the chapters herein might be deemed to draw upon such ideas as they have been represented in recent literature. While our call for chapters for the present volume obviously had to defer to existing frameworks and contexts that have defined the discipline of Music Production Studies over the last decade or so, we have been keen to remain open to fresh perspectives on what an academically-situated discussion of a music production topic might potentially consist of.

For this new volume, we have also taken a different approach to that of our first book (Mixing Music) in that we have grouped together chapters using four specific headings designed to reflect an observable thematic unity amongst particular author contributions. As such, Part 1 contains chapters which discuss music production in relation to specific stylistic and genre-focused contexts—hip hop, metal, classical music, bossa nova and so on. Part 2, by contrast, draws together chapters on the basis of their tendency to address specific technological contexts of music production, both old and new. In Part 3 we have placed three chapters together that engage in theoretically informed discussions of music production practice, including inter-disciplinary perspectives deriving from the field of narrative studies, theories relating to collaborative practice (co-production) and philosophical perspectives concerning the ontology of the audio object. Finally, in Part 4 we present three chapters that are concerned with the wider context of contemporary production practice, exploring, for example, recent debates concerning women in music production and the oft-raised questions concerning educationalists’ needs to represent and reflect the changing nature of music production in the commercial arena. To further assist the reader in navigating the book’s content we also present the following chapter summaries:

Matt Shelvock’s chapter, which launches the book, offers an ethnographically couched discussion of the practice of hip hop beat-making through the lens of ANT (Actor Network Theory) and SCOT (Social Constuction of Technology) with a view to providing a corrective to the tendency to use such frameworks in discussions of production practice without giving due attention to the operational strategies adopted in relation to specific technologies by recordists themselves. As such Shelvock’s chapter provides a succinct model for interrogating specific technologically driven aspects of creative practice to build upon in future research.

The debates raised in Shelvock’s work are also alluded to by Mike Exarchos (Chapter 3), who sustains the genre-specific focus on hip hop, but this time homes in on a technology central to the genre—the Akai MPC—and the role it has played in shaping the “Boom Bap” aesthetic. In particular Exarchos’s concern is to explore the relationship between subgenre aesthetics and MPC functionality, with a view to tracing stylistic changes within the hip hop genre in relation to the technology’s evolution.

In Chapter 4, Mark Marrington’s discussion of digital aesthetics in the production of contemporary metal music builds upon his earlier work exploring the impact of DAWs on creative production practice. Here metal music—and specifically certain of its more recent subgenres, cybergrind, djent and djent-step—provides a vehicle for observing the process of genre transformation that occurs when particular electronic music aesthetics engendered by DAWs are adopted within metal music practice. This general theme of the DAW’s capacity to structure creative practice is also taken up in Thomas Brett’s chapter discussing Live.

In Chapter 5, Rodrigo Vicente and Marcio Pinho move the genre focus to the Brazilian bossa nova and its development through the innovations of producer Tom Jobim and João Gilberto. What emerges from this informative discussion is the sense of the bossa nova as a musical form (particularly where its instrumentation and arrangement are concerned) whose stylistic evolution is inextricably bound up with the technical concerns of studio-based recording and the production process during this period in Brazil.

In Chapter 6 Josh Ottum presents a stylishly written critique of a seminal work in the vaporwave genre—James Ferraro’s Far Side Virtual (FSV)—which takes in (amongst other things) retro-digital production aesthetics, postmodern theory and ideas concerning record production, place, art and environment. Like djent (discussed in Mark Marrington’s chapter), vaporwave is a relatively recently evolved “cyber” genre whose development was fueled by the activities of the online production community. The music’s relative intangibility has meant that it has garnered little attention in conventional accounts of record production aesthetics and Ottum’s chapter thus constitutes a unique and valuable entry point for its consideration in the Music Production Studies arena.

Part 1’s tour of genre-focused music production is completed by Robert Toft’s engaging discussion (Chapter 7) of classical record production and the challenges facing performers who wish to record works from the past in an historically informed manner, utilizing acoustic spaces similar to those in which the music would have been heard originally. In particular, Toft discusses the approach taken by a group of recordists to creating historic soundscapes through modern studio techniques which create within the listener the sense that they are sitting in the same small room as the performers. With its detailed focus on pre-production preparation, production practices, and post-production editing and mixing, Toft’s chapter offers much food for thought for the classical recordist.

In Part 2 the focus moves to issues concerning music production and technology, beginning with Pat O’Grady’s exploration of the emergence of digital signal processing technologies designed to emulate famous analogue production tools. O’Grady’s aim is to turn a critical lens on these recent shifts that have seen the proliferation of software simulations that look backward to earlier media for music production. In particular, O’Grady offers an insightful analysis (with particular reference to UAD) of industrial discourses within music production arguing that such technologies do not democratize the field of production practice, rather they play into problematic discourses of value and aesthetics, functioning to reinforce the social order of the field of recording.

Rob Lawrence’s contribution, discussing the parameters and working practices around immersive audio applications, is of great interest in this volume. His chapter comes at a time when spatial audio has been gaining traction in many differing applications outside of the normal movie theatre or high specification recording context. New innovations, such as virtual reality, augmented reality and binaural headphones, now place an emphasis on the directionality of sound, so much so that the term “immersive” has replaced the once, rather trite term “spatial” when referring to surround technologies. Lawrence’s work looks at the processes in production and mixing to best make use of these new emerging platforms.

Continuing the focus on this topic area in Chapter 10, Justin Paterson and Gareth Llewellyn identify key production practices, which will help define the way in which producers and engineers work within the 3D audio environment and challenge existing preconceptions. For example, the notion that the stereo field provides approximately 60 degrees of width has been with producers for generations and a set of standard procedures have become widely adopted, such as the phantom mono presentation of the vocal. In this chapter, the authors consider the paradigm of translating stereo techniques to 3D and the issues therein. This is a fascinating discussion of a form of production presentation that exemplifies the cutting-edge of innovation within the field.

Thomas Brett’s chapter (11) focuses on creative practice within the DAW and in particular the workflows of electronic dance music producer-DJs based in Ableton Live. Brett views Live as a “self-contained techno-musical system” which reveals creativity in the context of electronic music production as a “recombinant art whose elements are modular and perpetually fungible.” Such analyses of contemporary of DAWs in terms of the consequences of their constituent environments for musical thought are becoming increasingly common as their integration with music production practice becomes ever more seamless and transparent. Brett’s chapter is of value not only in terms of its detailed evaluation of the workflows engendered by one particular DAW platform, here considered in terms of problem solving, but also in its revelations regarding the thinking of those high profile contemporary electronic music practitioners who work with it.

In Chapter 12 Paul Ferguson, Zack Moir and Gareth Dylan Smith offer a timely reflection on the position of research and development into solutions for real-time remote collaboration between musicians and producers. The chapter begins with an informative historical overview of the evolution of the technology and its current state of development, following which the authors examine the potential technical issues that may affect the quality and “usability” of recorded material garnered during remote recording sessions. They conclude with a discussion, drawing on their own practical experience, of the ways in which any technical and interpersonal issues might impact upon the musical experience of musicians and producers and the potential for meaningful creative collaboration using such technologies.

In the concluding chapter of Part 2, Austin Moore investigates processors and other audio equipment placed into the signal chain during the recording phase to print and impart a unique sonic signature. Through several key interviews, Moore’s findings ground and display different techniques employed to add character to key recordings. Different instruments demand different processors and these are discussed in some detail through interviews. Rounding off this chapter, Moore relates interesting views on the mix from his interviewees.

Part 3’s transition into conceptual ideas informing production practice begins with Stace Constantinou’s thought-provoking examination of the nature of what he calls the “audio object.” In particular his essay considers the manner in which this object is perceived in relation to the affordances of the DAW production environment (hence he may be profitably read alongside the chapters by Marrington and Brett in this volume) and situates his theoritizing in reference to ideas of Pierre Schaeffer. In addition to his drawing on commentary derived from interviews conducted with a number of contemporary electronic music practitioners, the author’s thinking on the subject is also informed by his own extensive practice as a sound engineer, producer and composer in a variety of media.

Robert Wilsmore’s essay on co-production in Chapter 15, which also anticipates his forthcoming monograph for the this series (with Chris Johnson), aims to establish a framework for the study of collaborative practices in music production through the identification of a series of types of practice that occur from the operations of a few individuals working closely together to the contribution of the whole world to the entirety of produced music. Following an initial discussion of the dominance of the singular producer in the literature and iconography of recorded music, Wilsmore offers four overarching types of collaborative practices (types of co-production) that break with this ideology of the singular producer and demonstrates the various ways in which joint authorship operates.

In Chapter 16 Alex Harden provides a valuable discussion of record production in support of narrative readings of recorded popular song. In particular he builds upon David Nicholls’ (2007) work on narrative theory to support an assertion that narrative readings are formed from the combination of phonographic aspects such as sonic design and staging (after Lacasse, 2000); a persona enacted by the singer and lyrics (after Moore, 2012); and, a musical environment. In addition Harden draws upon Monika Fludernik’s (2010) theory of “narrativisation” to propose that a track affords to the listener ways of narrative interpretation. With these theoretical perspectives in mind Harden then proceeds to focus on the role of record production through analyses of phonographic aspects in a range of contemporary popular repertoire in reference to four archetypal narrative parameters: setting, characterization, event-sequencing and point of view/mood.

Part 4 begins with Alex Baxter’s chapter (17) discussing music production education and a potential change that could be necessary given the abundance of powerful and commonly available technology. Baxter discusses whether the approach to teaching technology and practice now needs to be reviewed in an age where the tools of the trade are literally ubiquitous. His chapter analyses the requirements in some detail and provides ideas for the future of music production education.

In Chapter 18 Russ Hepworth-Sawyer, having now reached a certain age himself, explores, via the roundtable format, the experiences in the late 2010s of the mid-career audio professional. Interviewing three professional engineers and producers, Hepworth-Sawyer explores the challenges such engineers have faced in establishing themselves in the modern music industry. The interviewees also comment on how they gained their skills and speculate on what the future holds for younger engineers coming up behind them.

Finally, Kallie Marie’s chapter entitled “Conversations with Women in Music Production,” brings to the fore the experiences of female producers and engineers in the field of music production. Through extensive interviews with some leading US figures, Marie seeks to begin a larger conversation on the topic for the benefit of the whole industry.

Hence, like Mixing Music, the first book in the Perspectives on Music Production series, the current volume fields a wide array of topics and practitioner perspectives with a view to providing a mosaic-like overview of the evolving field of Music Production Studies. Certain of the chapters presented herein cover conceptual and theoretical questions regarding the art form of production, while elsewhere others offer accounts of creative production practice that are both experiential and anecdotal. We are confident that, viewed as a whole, these various perspectives fulfill a key objective of the POMP series, which is namely to provide academics, professionals and other interested parties with a means for gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of the situation of music production today.

Future books in the series, and calls for chapters can be viewed at www.hepworthhodgson.com

Part One

Music Production and Genre

2

Socio-Technical Networks and Music Production Competencies

Towards an Actor Network Theory of Hip Hop Beat-Making

Matt Shelvock

Introduction

This article provides a first step towards using Actor Network Theory (ANT) to analyze the core competencies of hip-hop beat production. To do this, I address the genre’s most foundational creative competencies and technologies, and I evaluate them as a network, that is, as a group of interrelated objects which engage in some type of back-and-forth exchange. As Bruno Latour (1996: 4), one of ANT’s founders, states, the concept of a network is analytically useful because:

A network notion implies a deeply different social theory: it has no a priori order relation; it is not tied to the axiological myth of a top and of a bottom of society; it makes absolutely no assumption whether a specific locus is macro- or micro- and does not modify the tools to study the element “a” or the element “b”; thus, it...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Contributor Biographies
• 1 Introduction
• Part One Music Production and Genre
• Part Two Music Production and Technology
• Part Three Concepts of Production
• Part Four The Context of Production
• Index