Abstract

Selected Sounds involves an ethnographic investigation into the sampling and mixing practices of a group of sound artists from Montreal, Canada. Seven composers (in one case, a composing duo) each contributed a single piece of digitized sound to the project. Each was free to submit any sound they liked, with the one requirement that all samples be selected from sources discovered around Montreal. After collecting the audio files, I placed them together on a CD, copies of which were distributed to every participant. Each composer then put together a track drawing on this sample-pool exclusively for source material. The resulting mixes have been compiled into a nationally distributed, independent audio-CD. All were interviewed regarding the evolution of their knowledge of digital audio production methods, as well as their thoughts on audio sampling. In Chapter 1 (the Introduction) I present the research project and outline the theoretical framework as well as challenges addressed. In Chapter 2, I discuss various methodological choices made in Selected Sounds as a reflexive ethnography that invokes sample-based musical practices of citation, friendship and creative production as mechanisms for highly-engaged research in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Chapter 3 presents a literature review of recent academic accounts of audio sampling and the impacts of digital technology upon the contemporary reception and use of media. Chapter 4 introduces Appendix A-an interactive database developed from out of the Selected Sounds interview process. Chapter 5 concludes by taking up conversations contained in Appendix A and organizing them around seven different reconfigurations of the concept "sampling" for 2007: sampling-as-technology, sampling-as-community, samplingas-memory, sampling-as-collecting, sampling-as-ethics, and sampling-as-recording. Appendix A is the Selected Sounds interview database. Appendix B contains a brief introduction to "The Lesbians on Ecstasy," a musical performing group of which three of the participants in Selected Sounds are members. Appendix C is a transcript of the final meeting with the Selected Sounds research group