Theorising the music city: Play, placemaking, political economy, and music production in the ‘undersong’ of the city.

Abstract

This thesis contributes new knowledge about music cities and relies on the key concept of what I define as a city’s ‘undersong’. I define undersong as the aural foundations of a city from a political economy and placemaking perspective. It includes the social, cultural, political, pedagogical, and infrastructural substrata that feed into the music-making practices of a city. This research provides new theory for what are being described as ‘music cities’. Through qualitative analysis and my lived experience as a musician and music producer, I examine how various factors ultimately inform what I term the undersong of a music city.