Social spatialisation: Exploring links within contemporary sonic art

There is an emerging body of compositional work and theoretical research that draws from both acousmatic music and certain forms of electronic dance music, most notably Electronica or Intelligent Dance Music (IDM). Much of this work blurs the compositional and aesthetic boundaries between music that has been composed as a direct result of academic research, and music which is created with more ‘commercial’ goals in mind.

This paper will comment on the composition, dissemination and aesthetic goals of each of these classifications of music and will aim to define the cultures and listening methodologies that are associated with each practice, and importantly, how they relate to one another. The paper will also acknowledge potential sociological issues arising from this type of work by exploring the compositional and social links that can be perceived within each of the genres.

The central theme of the paper will be focussed on how we as composers and concert curators might use these links to widen access to both acousmatic music and IDM as well as offering some ideas of how we might aid compositional practice in both academic and commercial fields. The paper will use the NoiseFloor festival as a case study for some of the themes that are discussed.