Out of all the assignments I’ve had to complete throughout this course, this one proved to be the most exhaustive of all. For this literature review, we had to “write a 1250-1500 word descriptive summary of research on a social, political, economic, or cultural issue that interests you”. We had to provide evidence with four peer-reviewed (scholarly) sources, and conduct an interview with an expert on our field of choice. I knew that if I wanted to tackle this assignment, I had to do it on something that I was passionate about. Therefore, my research question ended up being “what is the significance of preserving music in contemporary society, and how does it impact future generations?”.
As someone who as in avid music enthusiast and also somewhat of a collector, my dream is to run a reissue label focusing on rare music from around the globe. Through this literature review, I could assess the different mediums of music preservation and their effectiveness in getting sounds to reach new audiences. I meticulously read through and curated four peer-reviewed articles covering DIY archives, reissue labels, and the ethics of said practices.
Again, without revealing much, I touched upon how DIY archives are driven by passion-fueled fans, while simultaneously challenging the official definition of an archive “encompassing material cultural heritage”, to the dismay of some historians. I also assessed how specific labels like Sublime Frequencies acquire and re-release music from all corners of the globe in peculiar ways, in the form of radio station montages for one. Then, I deepened this notion by discussing the role organizations such as UNICEF play in preserving traditional music from foreign cultures, them being unaware of the negative impact their declarations sometimes possess. Above all, it was the interview I conducted with my expert that really tied everything together.
I decided to interview Chris Webb (right photo), founder of prominent contemporary reissue label Kalita Records (left photo). They are known for re-releasing rare disco, funk, and boogie sounds from American private-press LPs to Ghanaian burger-highlife. Over email, I asked Webb about his passion for global music, detailing his beginnings as a fan who became enthralled by the record stores around his college. I also asked him about his process in selecting music to re-release, as well as the manner in which he views his efforts in the scope of the future.
Interviewing Chris felt like a huge honor to me, as I’m a huge fan of the work his label has done. I look to Chris’ experiences running Kalita as inspiration for me to achieve my dream in the future. His first-hand accounts also solidified the impact music preservation has around the world, and I was able to weave the interview throughout the entire essay.
