Who Makes Electronic Music?: Vocalists, Composers, Gender and Electronic Music Technology

Authors

Hannah Bosma

Abstract

An analysis on how electronic sound technology has altered the roles of the composer and the vocalist. By foregrounding timbre and making permanent the sound of the vocal performance, recorded sound and electronic music have the potential to impact the balance of power between the traditionally male composer and the female vocalist. The article refers to various singers and composers such as La Barbara, Diamanda Galas, and Laurie Anderson to demonstrate the potential impact of sound recordings to alter these gender dynamics. Despite this, the author forewarns against technological determinism and mentions countervailing forces which privilege the work of the composer, including the preference that copyright law gives to musical compositions over performances or sounds. The article concludes with a reflection on how digital music and technology will affect the future of music.

Preservation Process

Archived from http://switch.sjsu.edu/archive/nextswitch/switch_engine/front/front.php%3Fartc=155.html. Documentation of the preservation processes used for this collection is available at https://github.com/NickSzydlowski/switch. Metadata for this item was created and augmented by Santino Santos, Spring 2022, Art 104

Original Article URL

http://switch.sjsu.edu/archive/switch/sound/articles/bosma3.html

Recommended Citation

Bosma, Hannah (1998) "Who Makes Electronic Music?: Vocalists, Composers, Gender and Electronic Music Technology," SWITCH: Vol. 4: No. 1, Article 2.
Available at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/switch/vol4/iss1/2