Latent Elements in Music Production

Recent approaches to popular music studies have often positioned music production as a significant object of analysis. A central claim is that the sound of the final recording results from considerable tech processing. This project questions the completed recording as the primary object in orienting analytical approaches. By analysing nine songs by the Bee Gees between 1966-1997, this project considers how the significance of music production is not only the audible results of processes that are active on the recording; but also, elements that are concealed or latent. The project considers recorded music, along with an extensive collection of demo recordings, isolated and multi-track recordings, and commentary by the band and those involved in the recording process, to analyse the complicated relationships between the process and finished work. It argues that the Bee Gees’ production approach changes throughout their career based on technological, aesthetic and cultural shifts. The analytical approach offers a way of considering not only elements of significance that are absent in the sound of the final recording, but multiple other things, such as elements that have a reduced positioning in the mix, and elements that are processed significantly beyond their original sound.

Dr Pat O’Grady is a lecturer in music technology at the ANU School of Music. His research examines music production, its technologies, aesthetics and practices. Pat’s work has been published in the journals Popular Music, Popular Music and Society, Journal of Popular Music Studies, Creative Industries Journal, Convergence, Continuum, and Perfect Beat, and he has also published book chapters with Routledge and Palgrave. He currently serves as treasurer of the Australian/New Zealand branch of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music.