Glitched and Warped

Abstract

Anne Danielsen focuses on the new rhythmic feels that have developed within the field of popular music since the 1980s through the use of new digital production tools. In particular, she discusses the ways in which these feels are produced through the manipulation of sound samples and the timing of rhythm tracks. Initially, Danielsen evaluates the formation of these new feels from two perspectives, one that sees them as a continuation of earlier machine-generated grooves and another that positions them as an expansion of the grooviness of earlier groove-based music in unforeseen directions. She then discusses how they constitute a challenge to previous popular music forms while, at the same time, they offer new opportunities for human imagination and musical creativity. Danielsen discloses such transformations across several styles and points to the manner in which the new technologies allow for combining agency and automation in new compelling ways, leading to musics and gestural movements that go beyond the natural human repertoire.