Music Book Review: Silenced by Sound: The Music Meritocracy Myth by Ian Brennan

Silenced by Sound: The Music Meritocracy Myth

by Ian Brennan (Music 780.1 Bre)

 

The notion of “world music” as a genre has a complicated cultural history. On the positive side, the record industry makes it possible to distribute recordings made virtually anywhere on the globe to new audiences, which has allowed listeners to enjoy music from remote faraway lands from the comfort of home. But on the negative side, the marketing of music from these remote lands has often involved a certain “othering” process, relegating non-Western musics of the world to the singular “world music” section of places like record stores. As these once-obscure musical approaches spread to the West through recordings, many Western musicians also borrowed from these styles to create their own forms of world music, and whether that process fundamentally represents a celebration of musical diversity or an opportunity for exploitation is a valid question for debate.

 

Now that we’re moving away from record stores and into the era of digital streaming, these questions linger within our international music community. American music producer Ian Brennan, whose work has included field recording and production for musicians from international non-Western musical traditions, offers his observations about how these issues continue to influence the music we hear. Brennan highlights mostly unheralded musicians from around the world, observes how we often miss out on these artists (“If you toss a dart at a map of the world, you are most likely to hit a country that is underrepresented or entirely unrepresented in international media”), and critiques our willingness to accept relatively mediocre work from our Western pop stars simply because of their celebrity status. He’s also an advocate for quick, on-location field recordings and in-studio sessions without overdubs, both for the kind of recorded honesty one can obtain from quick recordings, mistakes and all, and to avoid the kinds of financial excesses all too common in the recording industry.

 

The book is structured somewhere between a travelogue, memoir, and book of essays, featuring short, impactful chapters that frequently introduce ideas and artists rarely discussed in the West. This is the kind of book that can open your mind to new kinds of music while challenging musical orthodoxies.

 

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try No-Nonsense Guide to World Music by Louise Gray, Excursions in World Music edited by Bruno Nettl.]

[ publisher’s official Silenced by Sound web site ] | [ official Ian Brennan web site ]

 

Recommended by Scott S.
Polley Music Library

 

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