The Aesthetics of Electronic Dance Music, Part II

Dancers, DJs, Ontology and Aesthetics

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4854550
AutoresNick Wiltsher (0000-0001-5135-6160, University of Leeds, autor de correspondencia)
Año2016
Volumen11
Número8
Páginas426-436
Fecha de publicación2016-08-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPhilosophy Compass (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1747-9991 • E-ISSN: 1747-9991
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/phc3.12332
OpenAlexW2515870927
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas28

What's aesthetically interesting or significant about electronic dance music? The first answer I consider here is that dancing is significant. Using literature on groove, dance and expression, I sketch an account of club dancing as expressive activity. I next consider the aesthetic achievements of DJs, introducing two conceptions of what they do. These thoughts lead to discussions of dance music's ontology. I suggest that the fundamental work of dance music is the mix and that mixes require their own ontology, distinct from ontologies of recordings or improvisations. Finally, I explore two aspects of dance music's aesthetics: its connection with repetition and repetitiveness and its use of electronic sounds and technologies. I conclude with some speculative thoughts about the unique relation dance music bears to repetition and electronics. This article is Part II of two; in Part I, I consider the problem of defining dance music, via the framing question of authenticity. I explore history, genre, scenes and subcultures, and blackness

Aesthetics · Art · Concert dance · Dance · Electronic dance music · Epistemology · Linguistics · Ontology · Popular music · Sketch · Visual arts · Computer Science · Media, Communication, and Education · Music History and Culture · Music Technology and Sound Studies · Philosophy