The invitation to meet Solid State Logic’s new Oracle console at Real World Studios arrived the day I finished Joe Boyd’s book And The Roots Of Rhythm Remain. That might not sound like much of a coincidence, but bear with me...
Boyd’s epic is a history of all that has been lumped together under the banner of ‘world music’. From Argentina to Zaire, he traces the development of music’s evolution outside the Anglosphere. It’s an immensely impressive work that will have you rushing to check out Tuvan throat singers, Ethiopian brass band music, kora improvisations and far more.
And Real World has played a pivotal role in bringing these artists to a global audience. Studio, record label and founder Peter Gabriel have been at the forefront of the ‘world music’ movement since the early ’80s. Some of the most startling cross‑cultural projects of our times were cooked up in a converted water mill near Bath.
As Joe Boyd eloquently explains, though, there’s an uncomfortable tension that runs through this project. Anglo‑American audiences gravitate toward what they perceive as authenticity. They want to hear traditional music, played on ‘real’ instruments. But by the time that music reaches Western ears, it’s often considered dated and embarrassing at home. Musicians in sub‑Saharan Africa are just as thirsty for innovation as their British counterparts.
Boyd casts technology as the villain of the piece, arguing that sampling and drum machines have hollowed out the world’s great musical cultures. But if this is true, it’s just as true of Western music. Depending on our age, most of us probably lament the fact that harmonic sophistication no longer has a place in pop, or that Auto‑Tuned vocals are really, really annoying.
The insight that technology is the tail that wags the musical dog is not a new one. Boyd himself explains how the arrival of the bandoneon in South America contributed to the development of tango, and how the electric guitar was central to highlife. Today, inexpensive software spawns new genres. Who knows, perhaps the audiences of 2055 will look back on our era as the golden age before amapiano was ruined by AI, or whatever the next great leap forward turns out to be.
Is it a contradiction to value tradition, yet also to be excited about the possibilities of new technology?
Is it a contradiction to value tradition, yet also to be excited about the possibilities of new technology? I don’t think so. I don’t think Peter Gabriel thinks so either. The former owner of SSL is still actively involved in new product development, and clearly sees the potential in an analogue console with comprehensive digital recall. The Oracle probably won’t create new genres, or slay old ones; but it will help engineers make better recordings of all kinds of music.
Sam Inglis Editor In Chief