Making Hammers With Art: The Producer of House and Techno

My dissertation examines how producers of house and techno â two electronic dance music (EDM) genresâ negotiate notions of artistry, professionalism, and authorship through their production practice. Producers of house and techno occupy a distinctive position where the success and recognition that their productions receive is dependent on their ability to create tracks (individual recordings) that facilitate DJ performances. As a result, producers simultaneously create tracks and tools, standalone pieces for dedicated listening that double as the functional materials for other musicians. In order to assert their professionalism and artistry producers adopt an experimental production practice centred on sound design. This experimental process requires a mastery of sound technologies and reflects the aesthetic legacies that define what it means to be a producer. A close study of creative practice provides a window into how individuals navigate complicated, and, at times, conflicting notions of what it means to be a professional artist. The first half of my dissertation is concerned with the context that informs production practice. Beginning with a discussion of the musical characteristics of house and techno, I provide a primer for those uninitiated in the intertwined histories and styles of these two important genres. This is followed by a discussion of German modernism, disco, and afro-futurism, which are identified as the chief aesthetics legacies that shape house and techno production. I then consider the material conditions and challenges producers face as working musicians. Drawing from in-studio fieldwork conducted in Berlin and Toronto, the latter half of my dissertation explores production practice through an examination of sound design that includes a discussion of synthesis, sampling, sequencing, mixing, and automation. I conclude that the producerâ s experimental production practice, which relies on the utility of experimentation to yield artistic and functional tracks, is what allows them to assert their nuanced professional identity.Ph.D