Machines of Joy: I Have Seen the Future and It Is Squiggly

Byrne, David

2002

Leonardo Music Journal 12: 7-10.

Language: English

In this article, the author discusses the relationship between human and machine in Northern European "Blip Hop" music. The embrace of electronic and computer technology by the region's inhabitants finds its musical expression in peculiar stylistic attributes. The author identifies a preference for obviously non-natural sounds, an avoidance of rhythms easily danced to and a disposition toward effects only achievable through computers (as well as the sounds of the malfunctions and failures of such technologies) as indicative of Northern European acceptance of this modern symbiosis.