Spring 2021: Issues in Ethnomusicology: African Electronic Music — MUSI 4523

African cities and urban areas have long been places for some of the most futuristic music being created, diverse sounds that reverberate between local identities and international avant garde music scenes. Explosive, hypnotic and ultra-modern electronic sounds meld stunning dance forms with musical theatre and fashion, articulating the urban youth experience in cities as diverse and vibrant as Jo'Burg, Nairobi, Kinshasha, 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.

 

Blending critical and contextual work with exciting opportunities for creative practice, we will imagine and co-design project work with a collective network of African artists from The Black Power Station, a Pan-African arts collective in Makhanda, South Africa.

 

No prior musical experience is required.

 

3 Credits

Instructor: Noel Lobley (njl8x@virginia.edu)