Book launch: The Art of Record Production #arp13

The Art of Record Production – An Introductory Reader for a New Academic Field (Simon Frith and Simon Zagorski-Thomas, 2012)

Book launch session: The Art of Record Production by Simon Frith and Simon Zagorski-Thomas.

Simon (ZT) described how the book came about and its philosophical approach. Contributors are either academics or production practitioners, very much in line with ARP and JARP’s philosophies. I paste below (taken from the contents list on Ashgate’s website) a list of headings and chapters in the book;

• 1 Introduction: Simon Frith And Simon Zagorski-Thomas
• PART I HISTORICAL APPROACHES
• 2 The Lacquer Disc For Immediate Playback: Professional Recording And Home Recording From The 1920s To The 1950s : George Brock-Nannestad
• 3 The Sounds Of Space: Studio As Instrument In The Era Of High Fidelity: Susan Schmidt Horning
• 4 No-Fi: Crafting A Language Of Recorded Music In 1950s Pop: Albin Zak III
• 5 The US Vs The UK Sound: Meaning In Music Production In The 1970s: Simon Zagorski-Thomas
• 6 The End Of The World As We Know It: The Changing Role Of The Studio In The Age Of The Internet: Paul Théberge
• Interlude 1: Comments And Commentaries By Industry Professionals And Producers 91
• PART II THEORETICAL APPROACHES
• 7 Beyond A Musicology Of Production: Allan Moore
• 8 ‘I’m Not Hearing What You’re Hearing’: The Conflict And Connection Of Headphone Mixes And Multiple Audioscapes: Alan Williams
• 9 The Self-Effacing Producer: Absence Summons Presence: Michael Jarrett
• 10 Rethinking Creativity: Record Production And The Systems Model: Phillip Mcintyre
• 11 Considering Space In Recorded Music: William Moylan
• Interlude 2: Comments And Commentaries By Industry Professionals And Producers
• PART III CASE STUDIES
• 12 Simulating The Ideal Performance: Suvi Raj Grubb And Classical Music Production: Andrew Blake
• 13 The Place Of The Producer In The Discourse Of Rock: Simon Frith
• 14 The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds And The Musicology Of Record Production: Jan Butler
• 15 Tubby’s Dub Style: The Live Art Of Record Production: Sean Williams
• 16 Recording The Revolution: 50 Years Of Music Studios In Revolutionary Cuba: Jan Fairley And Alexandrine Boudreault-Fournier
• Interlude 3: Comments And Commentaries By Industry Professionals And Producers

Questions lead into a discussion regarding the future of publishing and how we might deal with the challenges of academic publishers, online publishing, open access and funding.