History of House Music and Sampling

Sample-Sequencing Compositions

• M/A/R/R/S' 'Pump Up the Volume' (1987) was a significant landmark in sample-constructed house music, featuring a large number of samples.

Evolution of Recording Practices

• By the late 1980s, technology-driven 'construction' approaches with little to no evidence of live recording had become normalized, conspicuous, and ubiquitous.
• The 1990s signified a 'break out' period in terms of commercial recording and production practice.
• It was possible to achieve successful productions without the need for high-end studio equipment, recordists, or techniques.

Contrasts in Recording Practice

• The 1990s saw a variation in recording practice, pointing to an absence of 'standard' practices, perhaps for the first time in sound recording history.
• 'Standard' recording practices became more niche and aligned with genre and aesthetic intention.
• A marked return to 'standards' of prior eras became evident.

Creative Role of the Studio

• Joe Meek, a pioneer in using the studio as a creative tool, aimed to create recordings with their own qualities, rather than faithful reproductions.
• The studio can be used to create a recording that has its own distinct qualities, analogous to the difference between a movie and a stage theatre production.

Performance Capture vs. Construct

• Two discernible dimensions of recording practice exist: 'performance capture' and 'construct'.
• 'Constructing' records from multiple, engineered sound sources was once considered alternative, but eventually became 'standard' practices.

Mythologization of Technique

• Scholars recognize early 1960s popular music recordists as a 'turning point' away from 'performance capture' approaches.
• Avant-garde techniques were increasingly used in pop productions, leading to more complex recording techniques and the rise of the producer as a creative figure.
• The creative appropriation of technologies and process in record 'construction' became less understood, and engineers were no longer simply capturing a performance.