Sonic Bodies: Reggae Sound Systems, Performance Techniques, and Ways of Knowing Contributor(s): Henriques, Julian (Author) |
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ISBN: 1441144293 ISBN-13: 9781441144294 Publisher: Continuum OUR PRICE: $47.47 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: September 2011 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Music | Genres & Styles - Pop Vocal - Music | History & Criticism - General - Music | Genres & Styles - Rap & Hip Hop |
Dewey: 781.646 |
LCCN: 2011003536 |
Physical Information: 1" H x 5.9" W x 8.9" (1.35 lbs) 392 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: The reggae sound system has exerted a major influence on music and popular culture. Out on the streets of inner city Kingston, Jamaica, every night, sound systems stage dancehall sessions for the crowd to share the immediate, intensive and immersive visceral pleasures of sonic dominance. Sonic Bodies concentrates on the skilled performance of the crewmembers responsible for this signature sound of Jamaican music: the audio engineers designing, building and fine-tuning the hugely powerful sets of equipment; the selectors choosing the music tracks to play; and MCs(DJs) on the mic hyping up the crowd. Julian Henriques proposes that these dancehall vibes are taken literally as the periodic motion of vibrations. He offers an analysis of how a sound system operates - at auditory, corporeal and sociocultural frequencies. Sonic Bodies formulates a fascinating critique of visual dominance and the dualities inherent in ideas of image, text or discourse. This innovative book questions the assumptions that reason resides only in a disembodied mind, that communication is an exchange of information, and that meaning is only ever representation. |
Contributor Bio(s): Henriques, Julian: - Julian Henriques is Director of the Topology Research Unit, Convenor of the MA Scriptwriting program, and former Joint Head of the Department of Media and Communications at Goldsmiths University, London. He is author of Changing the Subject (Routledge,1998), and Sonic Bodies (Bloomsbury, 2011), and his sound sculpture titled Knots & Donuts (2011) is on display at the Tate Modern. |