Culture of Origin: Northern Indian, English "nu-folk" music
Performers: Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons, The Dharohar Project
Instruments: Female English Singing (Laura Marling), guitar, Indian Vocals (A man, a women, a whole chorus of people) banjo/mandolin, traditional Rajasthani instruments (dhol drum, dhal, Sarangi [chordaphone], a flute), fiddle?
I LOVE Mumford and Sons, so I'm pretty much using this as an accuse to listen to Mumford. No, but I was actually thinking about this in terms of our authentic argument and how that effects music in the crossover genre.
This recording meets two of the guidelines of absolute music provided by Abril. It is performed on traditional instruments and in the original language. However, at the same time these aren't true. A traditional Indian song wouldn't contain the English that is heard, nor the traditional English folk instruments. The same is true of the English. The album was recorded by Laura Marling and Mumford & Sons and was probably intended to bring this music to their fans, both in England and all over the world. I would imagine The Dharohar Project had similar intentions, as this album would bring their music to a broader scope of people. This rules out Palmer's idea that authentic music is performed for the culture it comes from. As for setting, this was definitely recorded in a studio, not the typical setting determined by the teacher. So does all this inauthenticity make this blending of cultures and cross-over bad example to utilize and listen to? I feel that they offer access to music that students might not otherwise be exposed to. Also, Abril mentions that authenticity stems from the idea that music is static and unchanging. This recording demonstrates that music is clearly not static, but flowing and ever changing. One could argue that maintaining authenticity hinders the growth of music itself and kills opportunities for music like this to come about.
Wow...I this came out a lot more preachy than I intended...
I also, must obviously like the blending of cultures considering my last example was a cross-over too.
I completely agree with you! I think having music be accessible to people is very important. Would one rather spread it to more areas of the world or keep it contained in its little box with the strict rules and guidelines of how it should be heard and performed? I also thing infusion of different cultures into a type of 'hybrid' music is very interesting and even cooler than the two separate cultures alone. I think reaching out, bringing something new and thus connecting with your students is more important than walking a tight rope.
ReplyDeleteFor starters, this recording is absolutely awesome! I think it is so cool how these two cultures sort of mesh together and create a "hybrid" like Cat mentioned above. This recording gives us strong confirmation that music is changing over time. I would definitely argue that keeping the true authenticity definitely kills opportunities for music like this to come about. I think recordings like this are actually what would get our students interested in world music. A recording like this that incorporates Mumford and Sons is going to draw attention to a lot of students because of the popular music attached. I don't think we need to stray away from recordings like this and only think about authenticity. Recordings like this should actually be introduced more and are going to make World Music study keep growing further and further.
ReplyDeleteIt is funny that you mention how this will appeal to students, Jake. A friend outside of the music field just mentioned to me how she does not find "Indian" (not giving specifics about North, South, etc.) music appealing - my response to her was to try this album. I agree that students might get hooked by it as well.
DeleteI think this is very interesting! I think for this purpose I would see it as authentic because Mumford and Sons wants to catch the attention of all their fans (all of us) haha. Yes they are using Indian instruments and language which to me is authentic. I wouldn't call it 100% authentic but I don't know if anything is actually 100%. hmm. I also agree with Jake and Cat and how the two cultures are coming together as one to create such a cool tune! great find Liz!
ReplyDeleteAccess is the biggest reason to perform something less authentically. Mumford and Sons do a great job of giving their listeners a look into Indian music, so much so that I need to listen to more! I feel like anyone listening to this could easily feel the same way. They find a way to make it easy enough for an unacquainted listener like myself to enjoy while giving me insight into a new culture. I agree as well that this is a great representation of two cultures melding together to create a hybrid. I am writing about this in my philosophy as I think it is the most important part of world music.
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