Call for submissions : Organised Sound: An International Journal of Music and Technology

Volume 24, Number 2

Issue thematic title: Borrowing, quotation, sampling and plundering

Date of Publication: August 2019

Publishers: Cambridge University Press

Issue co-ordinators: Manuella Blackburn (blackbm@hope.ac.uk) and Raúl Minsburg (rminsburg@untref.edu.ar)

Deadline for submission: 15 September 2018

The activity of borrowing is ubiquitous within the arts. In some cases this repurposing technique becomes essential lifeblood for creative practices such as ‘upcycling’ within visual arts, ‘crate digging’ in the world of hip-hop music, ‘fan fiction’ in literary spheres and ‘spin-offs’ in television productions. Borrowing in these instances is a necessity, enabling existing concepts and creations to live on in new formats, catering for contemporary tastes and audiences. Like these examples, sonic arts practices often engage with borrowing activity in some shape or form. This issue seeks to discover and present current perspectives and practices of sound borrowing in its broadest sense. The borrowings in these cases might be historical, cultural, existing music, sound objects, excerpts, or samples.

Borrowing activity can appear under headings of sampling, quoting, referencing, and plundering, but sometimes there can be confusion and discrepancies between both definition and use Are there perhaps new terms we can apply when examining borrowing activity more closely? What constitutes borrowing within compositional practices? And what methodologies exist for re-homing these materials into new creative work?

The prevalence of sound libraries, personal and public archives and audio maps frequently encourage practitioners to borrow and share pre-recorded audio, in many instances bringing the once unobtainable sound straight to our fingertips. Sounds from remote rainforests, outer space, ocean floors and precarious cliff edges are now available for download, and appeal due to the fresh, novel sonic inspiration they offer. What are the benefits, pitfalls or challenges associated with accessing and using these existing sound resources and how does the composer navigate any potential loss when he/she forfeits the personal and memory-forging sound recording process?

Borrowings that take place across cultural, historical or genre divides can lead to new fusions and hybrid creations. It is important to consider what can be communicated and perceived in audio borrowings that are transitory, moving between musical traditions, bygone eras and styles. What happens to a sound’s identity once borrowed, transformed, re-worked and re-contextualised? What conflicts arise between the borrowed sound and composer’s regional, national or cultural origin? Further to this, what attitudes exist towards borrowings? What do we regard as respectful when it comes to borrowing in these instances? And where do we draw the line before borrowing turns into stealing or some form of plagiarism?

Topics for investigation might include:

–       Sound libraries and sound archive use

–       Terminology for sound borrowing, quotation, referencing or homage

–       Quotations and plundering

–       Sound identity and recontextualization

–       Remixing, recycling and rehashing sound

–       Sound swapping and sound sharing

–       Repertoire engaging with sound borrowing

–       Historical recordings in contemporary practice

–       Open source and Creative Commons licensed materials

As always, submissions related to the theme are encouraged; however, those that fall outside the scope of this theme are always welcome.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 15 January 2018

SUBMISSION FORMAT:

Notes for Contributors and further details can be obtained from the inside back cover of published issues of Organised Sound or at the following url:

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayMoreInfo?jid=OSO&type=ifc (and download the pdf)

Properly formatted email submissions and general queries should be sent to: os@dmu.ac.uk, not to the guest editors.

Hard copy of articles and images and other material (e.g., sound and audio-visual files, etc. – normally max. 15’ sound files or 8’ movie files), both only when requested, should be submitted to:

Prof. Leigh Landy

Organised Sound

Clephan Building

De Montfort University

Leicester LE1 9BH, UK.

Accepted articles will be published online via FirstView after copy editing prior to the paper version of the journal’s publication.

Editor: Leigh Landy

Associate Editors: Ross Kirk and Richard Orton†

Regional Editors: Ricardo Dal Farra, Jøran Rudi, Margaret Schedel, Barry Truax, Ian Whalley, David Worrall, Lonce Wyse

International Editorial Board: Marc Battier, Manuella Blackburn, Joel Chadabe, Alessandro Cipriani, Simon Emmerson, Kenneth Fields, Rajmil Fischman, Eduardo Miranda, Rosemary Mountain, Tony Myatt, Garth Paine, Mary Simoni, Martin Supper, Daniel Teruggi