Uploaded June 2019 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
crosstowntraffic2018.wordpress.com
This presentation took place as part of the conference Crosstown Traffic: Popular Music Theory and Practice, which was hosted by The University of Huddersfield from September 3 - 5 2018. This event combined the IASPM UK&Ireland Biennial Conference, the 13th Art of Record Production Conference (ARP), an ISMMS conference, and the additional participation of Dancecult.
A recurrent theme within popular music studies has been discussion of how the field can integrate different disciplines and professions, for example exploring both music and its context; involving both practitioners and researchers; and encouraging interdisciplinary and collaborative work. Many different issues make such approaches challenging, and various different popular music focused subject organisations have developed somewhat independently of one another. This conference brought four such groups together, to exchange knowledge, collaborate, and encourage crosstalk.
/// SUPPORT
Popular Music Studies Research Group (PMSRG), University of Huddersfield research.hud.ac.uk/pmsrg/#
Centre for Music, Culture and Identity (CMCI), University of Huddersfield
research.hud.ac.uk/institutes-centres/cmci
The International Association for the Study of Popular Music UK and Ireland Branch (IASPM UK & Ireland)
iaspm.org.uk
Association for the Study of the Art of Record Production (ASARP)
artofrecordproduction.com
Dancecult Research Network (DRN) studies into electronic dance music culture
dancecult-research.net
International Society for Metal Music Studies (ISMMS)
metalstudies.org
/// ORGANIZERS
IASPM UK&I: Rupert Till
ARP: Katia Isakoff, Shara Rambarran
ISMMS: Karl Spracklen
Dancecult: Graham St. John
University of Huddersfield: Jan Herbst, Austin Moore, Lisa Colton, Toby Martin, Catherine Haworth, Mark Mynett
/// CREDITS
This online project was edited, collated, and made available online by Chris McConnell, Jack Zissell, and Colin Frank.
/// PRESENTATION DETAILS
Another Take: The use of multi-tracks and video documentation in the study of record production.
Alex Stevenson
/// ABSTRACT
Despite the emergence of ethnographic scholarly activity in the study of record production, various barriers remain for researchers wishing to undertake fieldwork inside recording studios. Access to these spaces often relies on not only gaining the trust of the producer, engineers and musicians, but also commonly requires being an active participant in the creative or technical process (Bates, 2008; Thompson & Lashua, 2014). This paper therefor aims to explore the potential benefits of an alternative research approach by utilising access to digital multi-track recording sessions alongside video documentation of the recording process. Analysis of these sources will be supplemented by interviews with the musicians and production personnel in an attempt to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the processes that took place within the recording studio. Forming part of a PhD research project exploring machine aesthetics in contemporary popular music performance, this paper will focus on a specific case study; Manchester-based trio GoGo Penguin and their recent album ‘A Humdrum Star’ (2018), recorded at Low Floor studios, Manchester during the summer of 2017. Describing themselves as ‘recreating electronic music on acoustic instruments’ (Chris Illingworth, quoted in Blue Note, 2016), specific areas of interest will be the physical interactions of the musicians with their instruments, including their use of ‘various DIY twists’ (Rob Turner, quoted in Blue Note, 2018) to their acoustic instruments to achieve electronic sonic characteristics, together with consideration of the mediation of the recording technology used the production process and its impact on the perceived authenticity of the musical performance.
crosstowntraffic2018.wordpress.com
This presentation took place as part of the conference Crosstown Traffic: Popular Music Theory and Practice, which was hosted by The University of Huddersfield from September 3 - 5 2018. This event combined the IASPM UK&Ireland Biennial Conference, the 13th Art of Record Production Conference (ARP), an ISMMS conference, and the additional participation of Dancecult.
A recurrent theme within popular music studies has been discussion of how the field can integrate different disciplines and professions, for example exploring both music and its context; involving both practitioners and researchers; and encouraging interdisciplinary and collaborative work. Many different issues make such approaches challenging, and various different popular music focused subject organisations have developed somewhat independently of one another. This conference brought four such groups together, to exchange knowledge, collaborate, and encourage crosstalk.
/// SUPPORT
Popular Music Studies Research Group (PMSRG), University of Huddersfield research.hud.ac.uk/pmsrg/#
Centre for Music, Culture and Identity (CMCI), University of Huddersfield
research.hud.ac.uk/institutes-centres/cmci
The International Association for the Study of Popular Music UK and Ireland Branch (IASPM UK & Ireland)
iaspm.org.uk
Association for the Study of the Art of Record Production (ASARP)
artofrecordproduction.com
Dancecult Research Network (DRN) studies into electronic dance music culture
dancecult-research.net
International Society for Metal Music Studies (ISMMS)
metalstudies.org
/// ORGANIZERS
IASPM UK&I: Rupert Till
ARP: Katia Isakoff, Shara Rambarran
ISMMS: Karl Spracklen
Dancecult: Graham St. John
University of Huddersfield: Jan Herbst, Austin Moore, Lisa Colton, Toby Martin, Catherine Haworth, Mark Mynett
/// CREDITS
This online project was edited, collated, and made available online by Chris McConnell, Jack Zissell, and Colin Frank.
/// PRESENTATION DETAILS
Another Take: The use of multi-tracks and video documentation in the study of record production.
Alex Stevenson
/// ABSTRACT
Despite the emergence of ethnographic scholarly activity in the study of record production, various barriers remain for researchers wishing to undertake fieldwork inside recording studios. Access to these spaces often relies on not only gaining the trust of the producer, engineers and musicians, but also commonly requires being an active participant in the creative or technical process (Bates, 2008; Thompson & Lashua, 2014). This paper therefor aims to explore the potential benefits of an alternative research approach by utilising access to digital multi-track recording sessions alongside video documentation of the recording process. Analysis of these sources will be supplemented by interviews with the musicians and production personnel in an attempt to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the processes that took place within the recording studio. Forming part of a PhD research project exploring machine aesthetics in contemporary popular music performance, this paper will focus on a specific case study; Manchester-based trio GoGo Penguin and their recent album ‘A Humdrum Star’ (2018), recorded at Low Floor studios, Manchester during the summer of 2017. Describing themselves as ‘recreating electronic music on acoustic instruments’ (Chris Illingworth, quoted in Blue Note, 2016), specific areas of interest will be the physical interactions of the musicians with their instruments, including their use of ‘various DIY twists’ (Rob Turner, quoted in Blue Note, 2018) to their acoustic instruments to achieve electronic sonic characteristics, together with consideration of the mediation of the recording technology used the production process and its impact on the perceived authenticity of the musical performance.
