Decolonising electronic music

Radio Lab

How can artists shake off Western music conventions? Developed for the most part in Europe, North America and Japan, the tools and software used to produce electronic music continue to play a central role in the construction of Western-dominated narratives and imaginaries — even though the popular electronic music that came out of the United States in the 1970s and 1980s was predominantly the work of African-American artists. The development of alternatives to standard methods of production has therefore become a major focus for today’s music scene. And this is exactly what certain artists and activists, such as Khyam Allami, intend to achieve by creating new production software to fight back against Western hegemony in the field and, in doing so, release electronic music from the shackles of its colonial past. With: Deena Abdelwahed — Artist / TN Khyam Allami — Artist / IQ/UK Katarzyna Kwiatkowska — Artist & Oramics Co-founder / PL Herlander — Artist / PT European Lab, 10 years: the battle of the narratives from 8 till 10 June 2021 — Lyon, France europeanlab.com #eurolab2021