IN-PERSON: Prague – Section B

Abstract

Through the method of “recording sessions archaeology”, this paper analyses two musical projects oriented at preserving extra-/urban and rural folklore, while interpreting it in spatial terms as Bhabha’s third space of diverse interweaves. Jon Hassell’s City: Works of Fiction (1990) was itself a snapshot of a more expansive blueprint for reconstructing urban ambiance through a palette of processed sounds, feedback loops, live arrangements and improvisations. In comparison, Ry Cooder’s ongoing interest with 20th century history of San Fernando Valley spawned a trilogy of albums: Chavez Ravine (2005), My name is Buddy (2007) and I, Flathead (2008), in which the legendary session musician explores oral histories and musical folklore of marginalized Chicano communities, whose traditions were trampled by development projects. Neither Cooder’s nor Hassell’s intent was in preserving songs or tales recorded in situ, like Alan Lomax. Instead, they let them thrive and evolve, offering a slice of the emergent ambient environments (Hassell’s “fourth world” philosophy), or create new amalgams of styles like corrido, Latin pop, conjunto, jazz, Americana, rockabilly – meant as musical means of establishing a dialogue never originally enacted by the municipal decision-makers. They embark on critical musical ethnography as both preservationists and inventors. Their works operate on three levels simultaneously: that of: lyrical content (Cooder) or conceptual framework addressed in interviews and liner notes (Hassell); composition/musical form; recording techniques and music production, turning social traditions into aural objects and sonic environments. Envisioning a critical remix rather than an ethnographic museum piece, the musicians did not want to simply retain musical traditions, but investigate, interpret and prolong their existence as transmutable cultural artifacts to be shared.