The Technology of Music Production and the Internet: to what extent has the Democratisation of

Technology Informed the Course of Contemporary Club Music?

Proposal

Introduction

Advances in technology have influenced society enormously. This becomes apparent if we examine the
role that technology – particularly the internet - has played on shaping everything from medicines to
political discourse. It has been suggested that the internet has a democratising effect upon access to
certain technologies (Froomkin, 2003; p. 859) as well as on dance music production (Hesmondhalgh, 1998;
p. 236). This essay will critically examine how the internet and other technologies have informed the
production of contemporary Club music.

As my topic focuses on contemporary music, broad researching will be required – particularly within the
context of the effect of the internet on society – including analysis of how music production has become
democratised due to advances in technology.

My research question ‘to what extent has the Democratisation of Technology Informed the Course of
Contemporary Club Music?’ has a clear premise and locus. I will be examining record labels that have
influenced the formation of this genre, including London-based Night Slugs and its sister label Los Angeles-
based Fade to Mind. I will also reference specific artists and try to establish the influence they have had
on Club music. As this essay’s focus is production, I will be examining producers as opposed to DJs,
although many artists in this genre function as both. These labels and artists will be assessed in the context
of the democratisation of technology.

Club music may prove difficult to define. The term ‘Club’ does not refer to all dance music but is an
acknowledgement of the influence of Jersey and Baltimore Club – US-originating styles of dance music.
Club has been described as ‘dance music that isn’t too bothered about what the house and techno […] lot
are up to’ (Baines, 2018), and this may be a good place to begin. Additionally, the producers have been
described as of a ‘disparate, international genus […] taking club music and turning it avant-garde.’
However, it is worth conceding that the ‘genre’ could be considered ‘nebulous’.

Several sub-questions will be examined with specific interest:

How did dance music production – with specific reference to UK Sound System Culture in the 2000s -
function before the internet was as widely available?
How has the internet democratised access to information and resources within the context of Club music
production?

How does ease of access to resources, such as digital equipment, samples and learning resources, affect
the process of producing contemporary Club music?

How has the internet enabled Club artists to connect and collaborate?

Literature Review

Due to the contemporary nature of this topic, my research has required me to draw together multiple
threads from different areas. The primary role of this academic literature will be to background my
subject, helping me to contextualise my main research, as well as creating opportunities to expose and
analyse topics for later investigation.

The democratisation of technology is the primary focus of much of this literature. For example, In
Habermas@Discourse.Net: Toward a Critical Theory of Cyberspace, A. Michael Froomkin outlines the
internet as an inherently democratising force ‘since before the web was invented’ and alludes to how
technology has enabled less tech-savvy users to create web pages without any knowledge of coding.
Although Froomkin is concerned with the web and its users, his notion of removal of ‘technical barriers’
to creativity due to improving technologies is potentially relevant to music production (2003; p. 859). This
ease of use could have resulted in the emergence of new globalised music scenes, such as Club.

Kim Cascone alludes to a similar kind of democratisation when he states that technology – specifically the
internet – can enable the layman to gain a ‘good, basic understanding’ of what he terms ‘computer music’
(2000; p. 12). Although this point is different from Froomkin’s - as it focuses more on how the internet has
democratised learning - it demonstrates how the internet has influenced the culture of music production.
What may be comparable to Froomkin’s example would be the wider availability and ease of use of Digital
Audio Workstations (DAWs), a notion that is not specifically covered in either of these texts.

In The British Dance Music Industry: A Case Study of Independent Cultural Production, David
Hesmondhalgh states how ‘The appropriation of digital technologies of production by musicians is felt by
many […] to have democratised music-making’ (1998; p. 234). As the title suggested, Hesmondhalgh is
relating this specifically to dance music production. Moreover, he alludes to ‘a significant democratisation
of British subcultural music production’ partially due to ‘the widespread availability of production
technology, symbolised by the metaphor of the 'bedroom studio' […] [and] relatively affordable […]
compact digital recording technology’ (p. 236). Although this is relevant, the journal’s place in time – being
that it was authored in 1998 – means that it may not capture more recent changes in the technology of
music production, which may inform contemporary Club music. As such, the contemporary context seems
worthy of further investigation.

A more contemporary source which covers this topic is The Future of Music by David Kusek and Gerd
Leonhard. In one section, it is noted how it is ‘possible for musicians to write, arrange, record and master
albums on CD in the comfort of their home studios […] at a cost of less than $5,000, including all
equipment and software.’ (2005; p. 143). When considering this in conjunction with Hesmondhalgh’s text,
it could be suggested that there is a trend towards further democratisation through affordable
technologies. However, technology has improved since 2005, so this area may be apt for further study,
especially in the context of Club music.

Jeremy Gilbert and Ewan Pearson focus on the democratising of access to music making equipment in
Discographies: Dance Music, Culture and the Politics of Sound. Unlike Hesmondhalgh, they relate
democratisation to the culture of dance music, which promotes ‘self-sufficiency, anti-capital, [and] the
use of cheap and accessible equipment’ (1999; p. 118). However, as this text was authored in 1999, it may
be of less relevance to my contemporary topic.

A key theme in these texts is how access to technology has become more democratised due to better and
cheaper equipment. However, how this has informed the production of Club music is something that will
be critically examined in greater depth later.

Remixology: Tracing the Dub Diaspora by Paul Sullivan, was authored in 2014 meaning it describes a more
contemporary view of dance music. This text foregrounds UK Dance Music (p. 137) - an influence on
contemporary Club music – and specifically mentions production techniques in Grime (p. 137). As Sullivan
contextualises dance production, he gives useful insight into how these scenes and their producers
functioned before the internet was so widely used, and when technology was less democratised.

Furthermore, Sullivan specifically mentions Night Slugs, stating how the label ‘[has] captured some […] in-
between music’ (p. 144). The music being referenced here is 2-step Garage, Dubstep and Grime, however,
as a label Night Slugs’ influences extend beyond the shores of the UK, even if it is grounded in UK Sound
System culture, meaning that Sullivan does not fully capture the essence of the label. Nonetheless, ‘in-
between music’ is a good place to begin and this challenges me to explain the formation and context of
this music in greater depth. This will enable me to understand how the internet and technology influenced
the formation of Club music.

As all these texts are journal articles or books, their veracity seems in little doubt, and they will ground
and contextualise my research when I examine more subjective sources – such as artist interviews – during
my full essay.

Methodology and Ethics

For my methodology, I will be critically analysing a wide range of sources. I will be examining primary data
from artists and producers regarding my research question and sub-questions. This will include some data
from before the internet existed, some data from when the internet was not as widely in use and some
contemporary data. I will also evaluate articles – primarily from internet publications – from the same
time periods and compare them with the primary data. These articles may focus on democratisation and
the internet broadly, but ideally, they should all be close to my main question’s locus. This evidence and
analysis will reference academic literature as to ground my research in more reliable texts. This
methodology should enable me to answer my research question accurately.

As my topic does not require me to conduct any research involving interacting with any groups or
individuals, there are no ethical considerations.

Timeline

13th November 2017 – 1st January 2018

• Finding further sources, both Internet-based and academic.

• Collating these sources and planning and finalising my methodology.

2nd January 2018 – 14th January 2019

• Planning the full dissertation section by section.

• Reviewing my plan to ascertain whether more research is required.
• Undertaking any extra researching.

15th January – 15th February 2019

• Writing the first draft.

• Showing the dissertation to tutors to gain feedback.
16th February – March 12th 2019

• Proofreading the first draft.

• Implementing tutor feedback.
• Collating my bibliography and citations.

13th March – 20th March 2019

• Final changes and proofreading.

21st March – 25th March 2019

• Final submission

Concluding Thoughts

My dissertation will critically investigate the relationship between technology, the internet and the
production of Club music. I will examine both academic literature and more contemporary and primary
sources, enabling me to construct a broad explanation of how these phenomena influenced my area of
interest. Furthermore, my outlining of sub-questions will enable me to focus and stratify my data, enabling
me to answer my topic question.

In the same way, the internet has influenced every area of modern society; I expect to find that the
internet - and its role as a democratising force – as well as the broader democratisation of technology, are
inseparable from the creation of Club music.

Bibliography

Journal Articles

Froomkin, A. (2003). Habermas@Discourse. Net: Toward a Critical Theory of Cyberspace. Harvard Law
Review, 116(3),

Hesmondhalgh, D. (1998). The British Dance Music Industry: A Case Study of Independent Cultural
Production. The British Journal of Sociology, 49(2).

Cascone, K. (2000). The Aesthetics of Failure: “Post-Digital” Tendencies in Contemporary Computer

Music. Computer Music Journal, 24(4).

Books

Kusek, D. and Leonhard, G. (2005) The future of music. Boston: Berklee Press.
Gilbert, J. and Pearson, E. (1999) Discographies: Dance Music, Culture and the Politics of Sound. London:
Routledge.

Sullivan, P. (2014). Remixology: Tracing the Dub Diaspora. London, England: Reaktion Books.

Online Source

Baines, J. (2018). What on earth is deconstructed club music?. [online] Red Bull. Available at:
https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/deconstructed-club-music-understanding-the-avant-garde-dance-sound
[Accessed 4 Nov. 2018].