Making records within records

Abstract

Borne out of a wider exploration of hip hop music practices that substitute copyrighted samples with the creation of original source content, the chapter questions what qualities render new sonic constructs into phonographic objects that are aesthetically desirable for-and usable in the context of-sample-based hip hop record production. Furthermore, if all digital audio recording can be described as a form of sampling, then what mechanisms, processes, and practices imbue sonic signatures of phonographic 'otherness' into these objects, and how can this 'otherness' be defined? Extending beyond a deterministic approach that simply maps signal flow variables to the forging of phonographic signatures, the chapter deploys an autoethnographic approach to illustrate the effect of phonographic 'context' on contemporary beat-making. By synthesizing the technical with the aesthetic, the chapter uncovers nuanced mixing phenomena at the heart of how this 'otherness' is negotiated and constructed in practice, extending our understanding of record production as (a form of material) composition.