Spring 2020: African Electronic Music — MUSI 4523

African cities and urban areas have long been places for some of the most futuristic sounds being created, music and sounds that reverberate between local urban identities and international avant garde music scenes. Explosive, hypnotic and ultra-modern electronic sounds meld stunning dance forms with musical theatre and articulate the urban youth experience in cities as diverse and vibrant as Kinshasa, Jo'Burg, Nairobi, Lagos and Durban. We will engage multiplex genres of futuristic music, including Congotronics, Shangaan Electro, and Gqom apocalyptic bass music, paying close attention to innovations in artistic practice, remix culture and Afrofuturism. We will explore the histories and futures of the sounds linking African beat making, technology, guitars, and the dynamics of twenty-first century amplified African cityscapes.

3 Credits

Instructor: Noel Lobely