Uploaded August 2019 | Updated September 2026, 51 minutes 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
The Production of Silence
Richard Osborne - Middlesex University
Email: R.Osborne@mdx.ac.uk
/// ABSTRACT
John Cage’s 4’33” is one of the most recognized pieces of avant-garde art. In respect of the concert hall tradition of classical music this apparently ‘silent’ piece has cornered the market in muteness. There is, however, a separate tradition of recorded silences, the majority of which occur within the field of popular music. The purpose of my talk will be to sound out and categorize these lesser-known works. Recorded silence has been used for aesthetic, political, memorial and economic purposes. It has raised questions about the sound of recording technologies, the silencing of musicians, the noise of everyday life and the right to be paid for doing ‘nothing’. It has highlighted the visual and audible differences between recording formats. It has sometimes aimed for inconspicuousness; at others it has sought to draw attention to itself. Ultimately, these silent records provide a counterpoint to and a commentary upon their more voluble recorded counterparts. I will argue that it is important for analyses of sound recording to address issues of non-sound recording. I will also play several of these ‘silent’ works.
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
The Production of Silence
Richard Osborne - Middlesex University
Email: R.Osborne@mdx.ac.uk
/// ABSTRACT
John Cage’s 4’33” is one of the most recognized pieces of avant-garde art. In respect of the concert hall tradition of classical music this apparently ‘silent’ piece has cornered the market in muteness. There is, however, a separate tradition of recorded silences, the majority of which occur within the field of popular music. The purpose of my talk will be to sound out and categorize these lesser-known works. Recorded silence has been used for aesthetic, political, memorial and economic purposes. It has raised questions about the sound of recording technologies, the silencing of musicians, the noise of everyday life and the right to be paid for doing ‘nothing’. It has highlighted the visual and audible differences between recording formats. It has sometimes aimed for inconspicuousness; at others it has sought to draw attention to itself. Ultimately, these silent records provide a counterpoint to and a commentary upon their more voluble recorded counterparts. I will argue that it is important for analyses of sound recording to address issues of non-sound recording. I will also play several of these ‘silent’ works.
