DubMC

An Unknown Context: New Directions for the Genre Formerly Known as “World Music”

People have called it World 2.0. Music journalists and scholars are thinking about it, the tectonic shift in the Western consumption and understanding of music from elsewhere. The transformative effect of the underground circulation of recordings, often vintage cuts from musicians heavily influenced by Western music but recreating and reimagining it in their home scene. Labels are releasing and bloggers are posting disembodied field recordings, static-filled recordings straight from taxi radios, or battered cassettes from some obscure open-air market. This kind of global music is sneaking into unexpected places, repurposed from an unknown context into a radically divergent one.

The diversity of World 2.0 sounds, as ethnomusicologist Dave Novak points out in a recent essay, share two interesting qualities.

1)      They have a kinship with Western pop aesthetics, either by drawing directly on them, using instrument or effects from them (the wah wah pedal or Farfisa organ, say), or by using traditional elements that happen to fit into Western subcultures (gritty vocals, rebellious or critical lyrics, trance-inducing structures);

2)      They are local productions, turned from analog local phenomena into a worldwide digital experience that can be downloaded, manipulated, remixed.

Novak sees in this process a departure from earlier ethnographic and commercial iterations of the global music market. This is creating new kinds of listeners/consumers, not just new versions of old recordings. As he puts it, “In online networks, earlier imaginaries of local production and musical independence are juxtaposed with technical platforms that offer unprecedented accessibility to cultural material. World Music 2.0, then, is more than just the end point of a chain of misbegotten appropriations. It is the subject of an emergent open source culture of global media.” 

By taking up music from elsewhere and transferring it to the shifting arena of the internet, something new has happened. Something unprecedented by Graceland and Deep Forest: finding and distributing lost or ephemeral global sounds with unknown contexts has a democratic element, Novak argues, that defies past appropriation, be it scholarly or commercial.

Xenomania, Abridged (and Linked Up)

It’s a cliché: The internet has utterly transformed the way Westerners hear music from elsewhere, throwing the notion of “world music” into (even more) confusion and doubt.

In his recent thoughtful essay for MTV Iggy, music writer Simon Reynolds finds a new angle on this worn story—and name-checks some interesting artists—by tracing the recent history of trans-cultural appropriation and reverberation. He points to some dynamics sparking new sound phenomena (or at least new in the West; follow the links to hear more):

• There’s a slew of genres considered shady and nasty in their home communities that have turned into hot club music in the West, thanks to European and North American DJs and producers, some of whom hail from immigrant communities.
  
  Reynolds gives the examples of Brazilian carioca funk (Zuzuka Poderosa; baile DJ mix), Angolan kuduro (the wildly popular Costuleta; DJ mix), and pan- African dance crazes like coupé decalé (Congo-born, France-based singer Jessy Matador, say)—all of which Euro and American DJs have taken a shine to, as the proliferation of mixes shows. He also points to the back-and-forth between émigrés and club kids, citing the fascinating Dutch subgenre of Bubblin’ and artists like Anti-G;
  

• The Western craving for vintage global re-imaginings of American and British pop forms, from Japanese rock (The Mops, say) and Indonesian rock to psychedelic Turkish folk bands and, of course, Brazil’s Os Mutantes;
  
  
• The intense hipster pursuit of undiscovered (especially African) recordings, of global rarities and exotic digital ephemera with all their glitches and scratches (like Sublime Frequencies’ releases of cell phone music from the Sahara—check out this track from Niger);
  
  
• The long, long history of the fascination of key jazz, pop, and rock figures with turning global traditions into sounds for the shaping (starting with Miles and ending most recently with young, hip bands like Gang Gang Dance).
  
  

For Reynolds, these trends and bands prove a central point: that just as temporal lines are blurred and increasingly ignored online in the (re-)creation of new music (retromania) “geographical boundaries are becoming meaningless,” in a Western drive to consume the culturally exotic (xenomania). And he connects this swelling, boundless appetite for the world’s music with the sad state of Western pop and rock. Groaning under the weight of their own extensive historyies—and perhaps struggling in a post-label world—the pop/rock/classical scenes need an infusion of fresh energy, as their own potential feels so used up.

In other words, global sounds—even the goofy, raunchy ones—are breathing new life into Western music.

RE: Me: Six Ways Global Musicians Can Improve Email Outreach

1.     Be a human being… 

People like hearing from friends but hate hearing from spammers. To sound more like a human and less like an email-spewing robot, identify yourself clearly.

Have an address that looks like a human uses it, and one that people will instantly (and positively) connect to you and your projects: fritz@globalmusician.com as opposed to info@globalmusician.com. Market research has shown that people react more strongly to the sender line than other elements in an email.

Give your personal name along with your band name in your signature. And try to write a personal note, not a hyped-up ad.

Some email marketing experts even recommend adding a photo of yourself (or your band, as the case may be) to emphasize the personal quality of what can feel like very impersonal communication. Use your cool, vibrant photos that show you in all your global artist glory. Or add a well-chosen video.

2.     ...And be a nice one.

Respect people’s wishes to opt in or out of your email blasts. Don’t add people—especially not contacts in the media!—without their permission. You’ll annoy them and waste their hard-earned goodwill.

Be kind enough to make things short, sweet, and easy to open. That means choosing graphic elements carefully, avoiding attachments, and thinking hard about your subject line. It may be handy to come up with a standard approach, to make it easy for your fans to know what’s inside each message. For example, you could start each subject with your band name (i.e. “GlobalMusician: Hitting the North American Road in May”).

Consider having both a to-the-point presentation of events like tour dates and track releases (bullet points are great) and a short, warm, more narrative intro paragraph. Be witty if that’s your style, but don’t get too silly. Err on the side of simplicity.

And try to find the right balance between regularly contacting your fans with cool information and inundating them with repetitive emails. Think twice before hitting send (again). Two updates about an upcoming tour may be enough.

3.     Give back.

When someone gives you their email (and thus gives you access to their eyeballs and brains if only for a second), give them something for their trouble.

Exclusive footage from a great live show, a nice mp3 every once in a while, a sneak peek at upcoming projects, a special discount or offer only for your email buddies…this kind of little treats and bonuses can make many fans feel it’s worth it to get your messages.

4.     Watch your language.

The spammers. They’ve ruined so many great words and phrases for the rest of us. Spam filters love to flag messages with certain words (“hardcore,” “FREE!!!” and even, cryptically, “Oprah”) or certain subject lines (“Check this out!”). They even suspect you if you use a salutation, certain software to generate your message, or wonky code.

The last thing you want is your carefully crafted message to land in the junk mail because certain software thinks you’re peddling dubious wares.

5.     Show your work.

Give links to your other sites, pages, and so on in full (or take a second and shorten them using a standard service like bitly if they are really long).

Spammers and crooks once again have spoiled it for everyone else, and people are wary of clicking through linked text in an email. If they see a reputable looking web address, they are more likely to follow your lead and click through to your site.

6.     Manage your list well.

Your email list is a real asset. But the richer and larger it becomes, the more troublesome it can be. When you have a couple hundred emails, sending out a blast can be annoying but still doable. Once you get to a couple thousand, managing your list becomes a huge, if not impossible, chore, especially if you want to be able to sort by various parameters (city, state, favorite food, whatever). You’re managing a database.

Once you cross that line from irritating task to complete time suck, consider using an online service, of which there are many. Independent musician-oriented sites offer email management as part of their packages, and there are also good stand-alone services that focus on email outreach. These services make it easier to design a colorful but efficient message and help you do other things that would otherwise be extremely time consuming or downright impossible, like track who opened your message.

These features allow you to experiment, if you’re so inclined, and try different approaches to see what your fans respond best to. Do they love pictures? Or do they like things plain and simple? Do certain subject lines result in less response?

You’ve got a unique group of people you’re trying to communicate with, and all the generalized marketing research in the world won’t tell you who they are. But your analytics and your own tests may.

The Gift of Focused Gab: Seven Ideas for Getting Your Music Across in Interviews

1.     Know your audience: Guess what? If a journalist is covering you, most likely she or he likes what you do. Or at least thinks it’s interesting enough to bother writing about. That means you have a pretty sympathetic ear. Relax into that.

But do your homework: find out what you can about your interviewers, their interests, and their outlets, with a quick online search, if nothing else. That way you can feel more at ease, knowing who you’re dealing with and what intrigues them.

2.     Perform: You wouldn’t give a concert while cooking a batch of rice, doing some laundry, and playing online chess. So don’t give an interview that way. It’s a performance of sorts; approach it like you would a concert. Give it your entire focus, to the best of your ability.

3.     Take the time: Ask the journalist how long she or he plans to speak with you. Then budget for at least 50% more time. So if a writer says the interview will take 30 minutes, make sure your schedule is clear for at least 45.

Block off some of that time before the interview is due to start, just in case your day gets nuts. And expect things to start late and take more time than anticipated. (This is, of course, in an ideal world, one that many touring artists don’t get to inhabit. But knowing you need some transition time may help things go more smoothly.)

4.     Get a clear connection: Again, ideally, you want to get to place that’s relatively quiet and distraction-free, where you can get decent (if not excellent) cell phone reception, or where internet speed and reliability actually allow online calls. This may be especially important if your verbal English has its rough moments, if your interview involves audio recording, or if you’re talking to a crucial media outlet.

If possible, test your connection by calling a friend beforehand. Have a back-up plan, including a way you can reach the journalist in a pinch and an alternate number or method he or she can reach you.

5.    Sum it up: Can you say what you do in ten words? Okay, how about twenty? While no one wants to hear an artist rattle off a prepared statement, you can think about ways to express what you’re up to succinctly.

If you’re working with a publicist, you should already have some clear angles and catch phrases in mind. If not, you can look at past press, talk to your agent or label, or even bounce ideas off a supportive, well-spoken fan. You’re looking for context, for useful comparisons, for brief but compelling stories, for appropriate descriptions you can use to bring the journalist into your life and work. Just make sure they’re to the point and that you avoid hype.

6.    Spell it out: Spell proper nouns, unfamiliar musical concepts, foreign language words, and other perplexing terms for your interviewer. Don’t assume the journalist knows exactly what you’re referring to. Though spelling things can break up the flow of conversation a bit, it saves everyone headaches in the long run.

7.    Answer the question: Don’t know how to respond to something? Is the question cryptic? Do what politicians do, and turn it around so that you can talk about what you think is important.

A blithe “I’m glad you asked that question” may not work for the music media, but you can ask for your interviewer to rephrase things. Or you can ask your own (polite) question back. Or you can rephrase the question yourself, and go on to answer it.

Whatever you do, say no to any variation on “I don’t know.” Respond. Open the dialogue. See if you can engage and take the conversation to another level.

globalFEST--12 Artists on Three Stages from NYC, Live Webcast on WNYC.org Tonight from 6 pm to Midnight Eastern

WNYC Radio brings the sounds and spirit of the festival to an audience beyond the music hall. Tonight WNYC presents globalFEST as a LIVE webcast at www.wnyc.org, with a behind-the-scenes preview beginning at 6 pm. Beginning Friday, January 16th, full recordings all of the artists’ performances will be available on-demand at www.wnyc.org.  In addition, during the week of January 19th, select performances will be highlighted on WNYC’s Evening Music and New Sounds with John Schaefer, which air nightly on WNYC 93.9 FM.

Concert Notes, Melvin Gibbs' Elevated Entities is the African Diaspora Inside Out

Enter drums among the people. Is that Yoruba ritual or Santeria? The man with dreads dancing a blessing. Is that Amayo, from Antibalas? It is, spill the water. Black man throatsing-beatboxing an Obamabration, who dat? Kid Lucky! Vernon Reid--The Vernon Reid--bluesifies it, brings it home, Black Rock Coalition. Gentle touch. African roots exposed. J.T. Lewis on drums. And John Medeski--The John Medeski--possessed, a counter-weight. And in the center, Melvin Gibbs, holding down the low end. But that's a computer there too, barely noticed. Gentle touch again. Oh yeah, he is nodding some direction. Don't call dat world music. Definitely Black music on Black terms. A soulful shift. Puzzle master of African diaspora, centered in America.

[Editor's note: We don't usually do concert reviews on DubMC, but it was not your same old showcase at APAP last night at the Hiro Ballroom. While conversations in workshops took a left turn as the issue of race was exposed but left without a response, the musical antidote was right beneath our collective nose.]