Academia
In 2013 I graduated from the University of East Anglia with a first-class honors degree in Music and Technology.
During this time my main areas of study were generative systems, analogue circuitry, music production, and writing music software.
Research Project
Exploring Generative Systems in Music
Abstract
In their 2005 paper A Framework for Comparison of Processes in Algorithmic Music Systems, Rene Wooller et al suggest four categories of generative systems within musical composition; linguistic/structural, interactive/behavioural, creative/procedural and biological/emergent. In this paper I aim to explore each of these generative frameworks by creating an autonomous device that can play the piano to a set of guidelines that I instil within it, adhering to each of the categories suggested above. An autonomous machine will be used so my compositions can be performed in a well made acoustic space on a good quality instrument all whilst removing the human element from each system; this will be done in order to distinguish between ‘direct control of a physical instrument and indirect control via program code’1.
I will also be exploring the history of generative techniques, finding examples for each category, presenting my own systems for each of the four defined structures and reflecting upon the process taken to achieve these tasks.
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Did Gangsta Rap Kill Hip Hop? From Crime Statistics to Commercialism
Abstract
For the past thirty years rap music has made its way into the mainstream of America, taking an increasingly prominent place in popular culture. At its start the original message of rap was one of peace, community activity and social commentary. However, the majority of rap music played on the radio today is almost a parody of its former self with exaggerated themes of violence and materialism. Although I appreciate today’s emerging subgenres such as dirty south, crunk and hiffy are not gangsta rap, there is a direct ancestry in their hard beats and violent imagery.
I aim to explore whether it was the emergence of gangsta rap that turned rap music into the pejorative style it has become today, I will do this by looking at the trends of conspicuous consumption within the hip hop industry, exploring whether violent themes encourage violent crime and will be looking into the identity of young male rappers.
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