Ableton Loop participants consider whether “sound itself” can be political
Ahead of Ableton’s annual programme of music, discussion and technology in Berlin this weekend, we sent out a question to organisers and participants based around one of the discussion questions which particularly interested us, “Can sound itself be political?”
The discussion features “producers from diverse backgrounds who use sound to comment on today’s world”. Swedish electronic experimentalist Peder Mannerfelt, border crossing producer Elysia Crampton and NON creative director Chino Amobi will all consider the ways in which sound and musical subculture can serve a political purpose in the modern climate.
Check out the responses we received below and find out more on tickets and the full Loop programme here.
Andrea Goetzke
Loop Programming CommitteeYes, I think so, and in different ways. Creating sound is a way of communication. Some artists use sound deliberately as a means to reflect their social realities, negotiate political attitudes, or also to transcend a situation and create new narratives – which I regard as political practices. You can create an atmosphere with sound which reflects a perspective of the world, for example a feeling of uneasiness and alienation, or of fear, violence and anger. The choice of sound can be a political gesture – you can tell a story with a sample and reference, or make a point with a sound filled with meaning in a different context, or create a new vision with a new sound, intentionally free from a meaningful burden. On a different level, sound in many subcultures has often served to bring together likeminded people, often social minorities, and has given them a joint soundtrack, a space to meet, and to negotiate their identities – which I see as a political function as well. New and evolving struggles and realities require new sonic vocabularies – and I look forward to exploring these topics at Loop with artists who are creating such vocabularies today.
Dennis DeSantis
Head of Documentation for AbletonThe notion of “sound itself” implies that the sound is presented without context. So I’d say no, sound itself can’t be political. But I’d go much further than this and say that sound can’t be much of anything without context, besides an auditory phenomenon. If the sound refers to other things with which a listener might have preexisting associations, then extra-auditory meaning becomes possible – but that’s because it’s presented with an implicit context already attached. Could a sound be political if it was played for someone (like a baby) who had no notion of politics?
Suzanne Ciani
Recording artistoh my. can sound itself be political?
the sound of donald trump is political
the sound of hitler was political and he made the sound of mahler political
bob dylan’s sound was political even though he didn’t want it to be
sound is shared
it fills the space
it touches all ears
and unites
Ableton Loop takes place 4 – 6 November at Funkhaus, Berlin
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