Facts and findings
In his doctoral thesis, jazz pianist Immanuel Brockhaus analyzes, dissects and reflects on significant sounds in pop history from 1960 to 2014.
Immanuel Brockhaus has been head of the Master of Advanced Studies Pop & Rock course at Bern University of the Arts since 2003. The jazz pianist is now publishing his doctoral thesis Cult sounds - The most influential sounds of pop music 1960-2014. In the 450-page work, Brockhaus explores fundamental theses such as: "Styles and genres of popular music are characterized by individual sounds. These emerge and change with technological innovations." The aim of his work is to capture and analyze formative sounds.
In the first part of the book, the author deals with the terminology of sound and its categorization. He notes that the concept of sound is not validly defined in our language area: "In German-language specialist literature on acoustics and studio technology, there is disagreement as to when and how the terms 'Klang' and 'Sound' should be used." In order to examine the sonic typology of popular music in detail, Brockhaus then devotes the following chapter to the development of sounds, their grouping, establishment and also standardization. This is done with the help of the sound pool of synthesizers in particular, because according to the 57-year-old, since the 1970s these have "increasingly developed into individual instruments with new potential".
While the lecturer describes and dissects stylistic and genre-typical sounds in terms of their cult potential in the chapter "Sound references and coding", he filters - using the US hit parade of Billboard from 1964 to 2014 - a total of 15 significant sounds from 2200 songs, from the Stratocaster guitar to the scratch sound. Brockhaus not only traces the history of their creation, but also shows the periods in which they were in vogue.
With Cult sounds Immanuel Brockhaus has created a very detailed and dense work on individual sounds, which - as a doctoral thesis - is not really easy to read, but offers an immense wealth of in-depth facts and findings. The glossary is helpful; what is missing is an index. Nevertheless, thanks to its comprehensive analysis of relevant sounds, the book is highly recommended for music consumers who want to get to the bottom of pop.
Immanuel Brockhaus: "Kultsounds - Die prägendsten Klänge der Popmusik 1960-2014", 450 p., € 44.99, transcript-Verlag, Bielefeld, 2017, ISBN 978-3-8376-3891-2
