This
seminar is departs from the idea of “Conceptechnics” introduced by Kodwo Eshun
in his More Brilliant than the Sun: Adventures in Sonic Fiction,
originally published in 1998. Guided by listening references in the book,
ranging from Jazz, Dub, HipHop, Reggae, Jungle, throughout this seminar, we’ll
explore the relations between acoustic technologies and the fictional domain of
‘what-if’ social possibilities, where Pop music becomes a medium for the
implicit production of futural theory, without the necessity of a theorist.
Learning from an Afrofuturist framework, applied to today’s techno-social
environment, including AI and Machine Learning, we’ll discuss acoustic
technologies from the perspective of a ‘partner’, not a ‘tool’ or ‘prosthetic,’
examining contemporary, experimental Pop Music as part of the evolution of
Conceptechnics – namely as the productive constraint between the potential of a
device/software/instrument and the mind of a musician/producer.
- Lehrkraft: Patricia Reed