Undercurrents

In a series of essays, "Undercurrents" identifies the key concepts and underlying themes that have been hardwired into the modern era's most radical musics, ever since Thomas Edison invented the record player. The phonograph, electronics, chance operations, Futurism, Surrealism, the civil rights movement, noise, alternative tuning systems and market forces have all redrawn the map of contemporary sound. This title tracks these seismic shifts across a wide range of music including modern composition, free jazz, experimental rock and pop, industrial, ethnic music, Techno and electronica, and looks at the extraordinary innovations and invented instruments that have passed into obscurity. Many of these essays first appeared as a series in "The Wire", which since 1982 has bypassed the music mainstream in search of the most innovative, uncompromising and compelling sounds from all genres across the world. As music listeners have grown increasingly eclectic and adventurous in their tastes, "The "Wire' has emerged as an authoritative source on modern music. This volume contains new material as well as revised and updated versions of many of the original articles.