Hipster International? Music in a global age

Monday 23 September, 7.00pm until 9.00pm, The Cockpit, Gateforth Street, London NW8 8EH UK Satellite Events 2013

£7.50/5 via thecockpit.org.uk or 02072582925

While world music as a genre has become a by-word for niche special interest, the digital age has arguably bought about a global revolution in music culture. From Afrobeat to Gangnam Style K-Pop, contemporary music seems to have a rapacious appetite for global music culture whilst the likes of Robert Glasper and Soweto Kinch appeal to trendy urban and traditional jazz audiences alike. The classical music world, meanwhile, has turned to the Venezuelan El Sistema project as the great opportunity for social engagement with a Western tradition; while the Southbank’s recent ‘Rest Is Noise’ festival has emphasised the upheavals behind the development of twentieth century music. Has the digital age realised a dream of music without borders, or largely empty exercises in cultural mash-up? Does it even make sense to talk about musical cultures in nationalist terms, as the likes of France and Canada do in zealousy guarding its ‘homegrown’ music? Is anything lost in translation? Has the digital age, with its automated suggested playlists supplanting traditional cultural organs as magazines and radio, expanded or narrowed our listening habits?

Speakers
Cara Bleiman
teacher, Arnhem Wharf Primary School

Barb Jungr
singer, writer and performer; CDs include, The Man in the Long Black Coat and From Stockport to Memphis

Paul Kilbey
music critic; reviews editor, Bachtrack

Liz Swain
vocalist; choral director

Raymond Yiu
composer; conductor; jazz pianist

Chair:
David Bowden
associate fellow, Academy of Ideas; culture writer

Produced by
David Bowden associate fellow, Academy of Ideas; culture writer
in association with