Urban Music Studies

Scholars Network

Weekend Societies – New Book by Graham St. John

12/02/2018 by Leonard Sprueth | Comments Off on Weekend Societies – New Book by Graham St. John

In Weekend Societies we are introduced to the emergent field of EDM (Electronic Dance Music) festivals and even-culture studies. Growing ubiquitous in contemporary social life, and providing participants with independent sources of belonging, these festivals and their event-cultures are diverse in organization, intent and outcome, EDM festivals are expressions of “freedoms” revolutionary and recreational.

Graham St. John points out an industry trend in the world dance music culture from raves and clubs towards festivals, featuring contributions from scholars of EDM festivals showcasing a diversity of methodological approaches, theoretical perspectives and representational styles.

 

 

Weekend Societies – Electronic Dance Music Festivals and Event-Cultures

Graham St. John – Bloomsbury Academic – 01.12.2017

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A Musicology for Landscape – New Book by David Nicholas Buck

03/01/2018 by Leonard Sprueth | Comments Off on A Musicology for Landscape – New Book by David Nicholas Buck

As the title suggests, David Buck’s recent publication concentrates on weaving sound into the sensory appreciation of landscape. Through conceptual and direct reference on musical notation, his work investigates landscape architecture’s inherent temporality and calls for refocusing  this under-researched aspect provided by the model of notating time. 

Being a landscape architect and educator, Buck’s work offers an innovative and contemporary approach to a wide range of landscape projects and as the founder of the “landscape architecture programme” at the University of East London, his design work in the UK and Japan has been widely published. During his PhD he focused on the investigation of alternatives for perspectival representations of space in landscape architecture through developing new notations from a synthesis with music, thus “A Musicology for Landscape” is evidently the latest in a succession of thriving works.

The book hereby addresses a difficulty within the architectural discourse, which is concerned with a lack of adequacy of the existing design tools to correctly explore the landscape’s inherited temporality. By seeking new forms of notation through the inclusion of musical notation, the book introduces three influential composers – Morton Feldman, György Ligeti and Michael Finnissy – presenting a critical evaluation of their work within music, as well as a means in which it might be used in design research. David Buck then juxtaposes musical scores with design representations by Kevin Appleyard, Bernard Tschumi and William Kent, until final examination through newly developed landscape architectural notations. Ultimately, bringing together musical composition and landscape architecture through notation, evokes a focused and sensitive exploration of temporality and sound in both fields.

David Buck – between landscape architecture and land art 

A Musicology for Landscape – 2017 – Routledge

 

17/01/2017
by R. Kuchar
Comments Off on New Book by Giacomo Bottà: Invisible Landscapes. Popular Music and Spatiality

New Book by Giacomo Bottà: Invisible Landscapes. Popular Music and Spatiality

The multilingual volume “Invisible Landscapes” comprises chapters about heterogeneous popular music practices, largely, but not exclusively, from Europe. Addressing the relation between popular music practices and political struggles, postcolonialities, dense and layered urban settings and a certain understanding of cultural … Continue reading