Music-Machines: A Transatlantic History of German Electronic Music

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Sean Nye (Associate Professor of Practice in Musicology, Associate Professor of Practice in Musicology, University of Southern California)

Music-Machines

A Transatlantic History of German Electronic Music

Sean Nye (Associate Professor of Practice in Musicology, Associate Professor of Practice in Musicology, University of Southern California)

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English

Oxford University Press Inc
20 March 2025

Electronic music; Cultural studies

In The Music-Machines, author Sean Nye traces a fascinating and distinctly American interpretation of 20th century German electronic music . Covering a series of crucial historical moments, Nye provides both a new and alternate history of the extraordinary impact that electronic music from Germany had in the United States, including the receptions of elektronsische Musik, Krautrock, goth-industrial, Eurodance, techno, trance, and minimal.

This first comprehensive history of German-American exchanges in electronic music explores the political and social dimensions of American constructions of Germanness in electronic music. Nye interprets the music in relation to technology, art, and musical style, encouraging readers to delve into what that reveals about its relationship to nation, race, gender, and sexuality. Through such interpretations, The Music-Machines presents a cultural arc of these constructions of Germanness and electronic music. Nye sets this German-American exchange within larger questions of music and transnationalism, tracing key intersections between German and US cultures while also reflecting on other musical and cultural influences on German electronic music, The Music-Machines also places the evolution of electronic music in its broader historical context, demonstrating the ultimate intertwining of America's popular music with the Cold War history of West Germany and the post-1989 history of the Berlin Republic. In this way, The Music-Machines sets the frame not only for the study of German electronic music, but the ways in which this electronic turn emerged in American perceptions of German identity.

By: Sean Nye (Associate Professor of Practice in Musicology Associate Professor of Practice in Musicology University of Southern California)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9780190065676
ISBN 10: 0190065672
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 20 March 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction PART I - First Contacts: Science Fiction and Cybernetics Interlude: S.F. to L.A. 1. Teutonic Time-Slip Philip K. Dick, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and the 1960s Fallout 2. Kraftwerk's Balm A Story of Lester Bangs, Cybernetic Feedback, and 1970s Krautrock PART II - Remixes: Between Hip-Hop and Techno Interlude: Berghain in Detroit 3. Kraftwerk on the Coast Electro Rap and Techno Hop in Los Angeles and Compton 4. The 1980s Soundtracks Hollywood and Technopop from Moroder to Faltermeyer 5. Future Dance Music Detroit Techno, Post-1989 Berlin, and Postindustrial Germany PART III - Raves: From Dance to Trance Interlude: Frequency Frankfurt 6. Musical Mainhattan Techno, Trance, and Eurodance in Frankfurt 7. Cosmic Threads Tracing the History of Trance and Ambient 8. Californian Reverb German Trance and American Raves in the 1990s PART IV - Reflections: Post-1989 Engineering Interlude: Social Media Exchange Students 9. Sprockets + Autobahn Techno Parodies, Cyborg Humor, and Retro Dreams in Amerika 10. Minimal Conclusions Expat Berlin, Digital Culture, and Transatlantic Futures Index

Sean Nye is Associate Professor of Practice in Musicology at the University of Southern California and a scholar of electronic music and dance culture. His articles, translations, and reviews have appeared in multiple edited volumes and academic journals, including Journal of Popular Music Studies and Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture. Most recently, he published a volume on the Berlin electronic duo Modeselektor for the 33 1/3 Europe series.

Reviews for Music-Machines: A Transatlantic History of German Electronic Music

Music-Machines works first as a richly researched and wide-ranging material history tracking the transmissions and transmigrations of German electronic innovations across American popular culture over the last half-century.... Teeming with sharp perceptions, fresh discoveries, surprising connections, and amusing details, The Music-Machines is as entertaining as it is intellectually probing. * Simon Reynolds, author of Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture and Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984 *