Sound Unbound

As if my life hadn't recently been consumed by a fascinating musical tome, here comes a diverse collection of essays compiled by Paul Miller, aka DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid entitled Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture.

How diverse are these essays? Well, contributers include Pierre Boulez, Chuck D, Brian Eno,  Vijay Iyer, Moby, Pauline Oliveros, Steve Reich, Saul Williams, and of course Paul Miller himself.  In addition, it comes with a companion audio CD.

This isn't Paul Miller's first foray into the realm of words on paper — his 2004 book and CD Rhythm Science was something of a DJ manifesto, laying out his artistic vision and philosophy.

This volume is more than twice the length of that book, and promises a fascinating array of perspectives on music. The press blurb on the MIT Press page says:

If Rhythm Science was about the flow of things, Sound Unbound is about the remix--how music, art, and literature have blurred the lines between what an artist can do and what a composer can create. In Sound Unbound, Rhythm Science author Paul Miller aka DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid asks artists to describe their work and compositional strategies in their own words. These are reports from the front lines on the role of sound and digital media in an information-based society. The topics are as diverse as the contributors: composer Steve Reich offers a memoir of his life with technology, from tape loops to video opera; Miller himself considers sampling and civilization; novelist Jonathan Lethem writes about appropriation and plagiarism; science fiction writer Bruce Sterling looks at dead media; Ron Eglash examines racial signifiers in electrical engineering; media activist Naeem Mohaiemen explores the influence of Islam on hip hop; rapper Chuck D contributes "Three Pieces"; musician Brian Eno explores the sound and history of bells; Hans Ulrich Obrist and Philippe Parreno interview composer-conductor Pierre Boulez; and much more. "Press 'play,'" Miller writes, "and this anthology says 'here goes.'"

It is immediately reminiscent of John Zorn's Arcana volume in its focus on giving a voice to the producers of the music, something that I always cherish and pay extra attention to.

If you don't hear from me for a couple of weeks, you know what I'm spending my spare time doing.