Theeffectofglobalizationonthedistributionofmusicandcreationofglocalizedmusicalexpressions

GlobalizationisdefinedbyManfredB.Stegerasamultidimensionalsetofsocial

processesthatcreate,multiply,stretch,andintensifyworldwidesocialinterdependencies,while

atthesametimefosteringinpeopleagrowingawarenessofdeepeningconnectionsbetweenthe

localandthedistant. Essentially,globalizationisnotsomuchasingleobservablethingasitis1

acollectionofcontinuousprocesses,allcarryingthedistinctionofmovingtowardsawayof

livinginwhichpeoplethroughouttheworldareincreasinglyconnectedpolitically,socially,and

culturally.ThesecondhalfofStegersdefinition...agrowingawarenessofdeepening

connectionsbetweenthelocalandthedistant,referstowhathecallstheglobalimaginary.

Thisinvolvesthegrowingpublicconsciousnessofbelongingtoaglobalcommunityaswellas

theweakeningofnationalandlocalidentities.Itistruethatoneoftheprevailinginterpretations

ofglobalizationisthatitbreedsculturalhomogeneity,aspeoplethroughouttheworldbecome

morecloselyconnectedandalike.However,acloserlookatemergingmusicaltrendsshowsthat

asenseofnationalorindividualidentitydoesnotneedtobeforfeitedinfavoroftheglobalor

viceversa.Instead,newhybridculturesappearinwhichthetraditionsofmultiplelocalitiesmay

coexistinasingleartisticexpression,throughaprocesscalledglocalization. Thefollowing2

discussionwillexplorethewaysinwhichincreasedinterconnectivitygeneratedbyacollective

globalimaginaryaffectsthespreadofmusicthroughouttheworld,andhowthishasinspired

newformsofartisticexpression,demonstratedthroughanexaminationofmusicalactivitiesfrom

threespecificcultures:India,EastAsia,andIndonesia.

Inordertodemonstratetheinfluenceofaglobalizedcultureonthedistributionofmusic,

Iwillpresenttwobriefstoriesofartistsexperiencingsuccessoutsideoftheirownlocalities.In

1ManfredB.Steger,Globalization:AVeryShortIntroduction(NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,2009),816.

2ibid,77.

early2007liveperformancevideosofFilipinosingerArnelPinedaperformingcoversofsongs

bytheAmericanrocksuperstarsJourneybegantosurfaceonthecontentsharingwebsite

YouTube.ThesevideoscaughttheattentionofJourneysguitaristNealSchonwhowas

searchingforanewleadsingeratthetime.Schon,thoroughlyimpressedbywhathehadheard,

contactedPinedadirectlyandinvitedhimtotravelfromhishomeinthePhilippinestoSan

Francisco,Californiaforanaudition.Pinedamadethetrip,andinDecemberofthesameyear

wasannouncedasJourneysnewleadsinger. InlessthanonecalendaryearArnelPinedahad3

gonefrombeinglargelyunknown,singinginbarsandclubsinManilatoleadingoneofthemost

successfulrockbandsofalltime.Tothisdayhecontinuestotourandrecordwiththeband.

NealSchonsdiscoveryofArnelPinedawouldhavebeenimpossiblewithoutthe

immenselypowerfulreachoftheinternetanddigitizedsocialmediaandalittleluckytiming

goesalongwayaswell.Ofcourse,Pinedaisonlyoneofmanyperformingartiststoriseto

worldwideprominencethroughtheuseoftheinternetalone.Presently,somuchofthecivilized

worldhasaccesstotheWorldWideWebthatonesabilitytodiscoverthenextbigthingis

limitedalmostsolelybytheirambitiontodoso.

Thesecondstoryisofahumblertone,yetitshowsanotherpossiblyevenmore

remarkablepotentialityformusiciansactivelyparticipatinginagloballyconnectedworld.On

March2nd,2013theSwissGermanmusicalduoBOYwasonthesecondstopoftheirNorth

AmericandebuttouratUnionHallinBrooklyn,NY.Astheybrokeintothechorusoftheirhit

songLittleNumbers,theAmericanaudiencebegantosingalongtothewords,eliciting

surpriseandawefromtheperformers.Videofootageofthisverytouchinginteractionbetween

3NoelGomez,Journey:TheArnelPinedaStory,ArnelPinedaRocks,http://arnelpinedarocks.com/1642/arneloffstage/journeythearnelpinedastory(accessedDecember14th2014).

http://arnelpinedarocks.com/1642/arnel-offstage/journey-the-arnel-pineda-story

theartistsandtheirfanscurrentlyboastingjustunderonemillionviewscanbeseenonthe

internet.Inthiscase,whiletheyhadexperiencedafairamountofsuccessinEurope,BOYhad

yettodevelopasignificantglobalpresence. Whatcanbeobservedinthevideooftheir4

performanceisadevotedlocalfanbaseresidingoutsideoftheartistsownlocality.Itispossible

thatthoseinattendanceattheconcertrepresentedthemajorityoftheirlocalfollowingatthe

time,butitisworthpointingoutthatthosefansexistedatall,andwereabletobeawareofthe

dateandlocationoftheconcert.Onceagain,thiscouldnothavetakenplaceifnotforlivingina

highlyglobalizedworld.

Successstoriessuchasthosedescribedaboveareindicativeofhowtherapidlyshrinking

worldisaffectingmusiciansaroundtheglobe.Theinternet,especiallyduetoanabundanceof

socialmediaoutletssuchasYouTube,Facebook,andTwitter,hasemergedastheultimatetool

formusiciansofallkindstopresenttheirworktoaglobalaudience.Likewise,forfansand

mediapersonalities,accessingandrespondingtoaseeminglylimitlessarrayofmusicalflavorsis

noweasierthaneverbefore.Whatevertheconsumerwantstohearismerelyafewclicksaway,

beitAmericanblues,Japanesegagaku,orAfroCubansamba.Oneoftheeffectsofglobalization

onmusicalculturehasbeenanincreasedawarenessanddemandforthemusicofdistantcultures.

ThisisreadilyapparentinAmericanacademiclife.RightnowinmanyAmericancolleges,

studentscanenrolltoparticipateinnumerousperforminggroupsinspiredbytraditionalmusics

fromthroughouttheworldsuchasIndonesiangamelanensembles,andChinesejiangnansizhu

(silkandbamboo)ensembles.Asaresultofthisinterestinworldmusicsexpertnative

practitionersoftraditionalmusicalartscanfindthemselvesindemandtoteachtheircraftto

4GroelandRecords,BOY,Groeland,http://groenland.com/en/artist/listentoboy/(accessedDecember142014).

http://groenland.com/en/artist/listentoboy/

eageryoungcollegestudents.Thisroleinuniversitylifeisanimportantcontributiontothe

dispersionandcontinuationoftraditionalcultureswhich,duetoanoverwhelmingpresenceand

oversaturationofWesternculturethroughouttheworld,arefrequentlyfoundstrugglingfor

relevanceintheirownlocalities.Nowisatimeinwhichpeoplecaneasilybemadeawareofthe

diversemusicaltraditionsbeingpracticedbyacrosstheglobe,butwilltheseconnections

preservetheintegrityoftraditionalmusics,orwilltheinfluenceofwesterncultureeventually

overtaketheirnationalidentity?

Asculturaltraditionsdisseminateacrosstheglobeonemustwonderwhatthelasting

effectwillbe.Whilemanyfearthattheultimateoutcomeisaworlddevoidtoculturaldiversity

theoverbearinginfluenceofwesternandspecificallyAmericancultureeventuallyscrubbingout

allmanneruniquenessfromallotherculturesonedoesnotneedtolookhardtoseeanother

contradictoryglobalphenomenontakingplaceatculturalcrossroads.Thisistheemergenceof

hybridcultures,referredtoasglocalization,whichareneitherdefinitivelythesameordifferent

fromtheirseparatedparts.Inbigbusinessthisismanifestedasamarketingtechniquedesigned

toappealtovariouslocalpopulationseg.,internationalrestaurantchainsdesigningmodified

menustoimitatelocalcuisine.Inarthowever,itismoreofanfusingoftwodifferentlocalities,

theresultbeinganewgloballymindedyetlocallyrelevantexpression.

Asmusiciansarenaturalcollaborators,itisnotdifficulttodiscoverabundantanddiverse

examplesofglocalizationinaction.OnesuchprolificcollaboratorwastheIndiansitarmaster,

andcomposerRaviShankar.Shankarperformedthroughouttheworld,educatingaudiencesin

theEuropeandtheUnitedStatesandcreatinganinternationalawarenessforIndianclassical

music.Indoingsoheattractedtheattentionofmanyfellowmusicians.Amonghisnumerous

collaborationsShankarworkedwiththeBeatlesguitaristGeorgeHarrison,violinistYehudi

Menuhin,andAmericancomposerPhilipGlass.Withineachoftheseprojectstheidentitiesof

theindividualartistsremainpresent.Meanwhile,thefinalproductisonewhichdefiesrigid

classificationintoasinglestylisticlocality.Inthisway,Shankarscollaborationswiththese

musiciansaredefinitivelyglocalculturalmanifestations.Alsoagiftedcomposer,Shankaralso

wrotesitarconcertosandasymphonybasedonIndianragas,whichwasperformedbythe

LondonPhilharmonicOrchestra,successfullycombiningtheclassicalmusictraditionsoftwo

distantcultures.

AnotherexampleofacrossculturalcollaborationrevolvingaroundIndianmusicbe

heardintheworkofFrankBennettandGeethaRamanathanBennett.Thishusbandandwifeduo

performarrangementsofIndiankritisungbyGeetha,withpianoaccompaniment.InCanthere

berelease?Geethasingsthepieceasshenormallywould,andthepianopartiscarefully

arrangedtocomplimenttheragawithoutobstructingitscharacter. Theresultisasoundwhichis5

atonce,representativeofbothcultureswithoutbeingdefinedbyeither.Inthiswaytheycreatea

newmusicwhichmaybemutuallyaccessibletopeopleonoppositesidesoftheglobe,whilealso

openingthedoortofurtherexplorationofunfamiliarsounds.

AnotherexampleofglocalizationcanbeobservedintheworkofAmericancomposer

LouHarrison.HarrisoncomposedanumberofpiecesusingJavanesegamelaninstruments,

includingaconcertosforsoloinstrumentsandgamelanensemble,andnumerouschamberpieces.

ThegamelanensemblesofIndonesia,fullofcomplexinterlockingrhythmshaveintrigued

westernearspossiblemoresothananyotherforeignmusictradition.Thepopularityofthistype

5MatthewHarpAllenandT.Viswanathan,MusicinSouthIndia:TheKarnatakConcertTraditionandBeyond(NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,2004),1618.

ofensembleisonceagaindemonstratedinuniversitieswheregamelanisfrequentlyofferedto

studentswantingtoexpandtheirrealmofmusicalexperience.Thusitisnosurprisethat

Americanartmusiccomposerswouldtrytheirhandsatwritingforgamelan.However,claiming

thathewasdisturbedbythevariabilityinthetuningsofinstrumentsHarrisondesignedhisown

gamelanensembletunedtojustintonation. Whilethefactthatthetuningisvariablemayimply6

nowrongdoingonhispart,somemaybelievethatthischoiceresultedinaninauthentic

representationofwhatagamelanensembleshouldsoundlike.

ThisexaminationofLouHarrisonsmusicrevealsanexampleofwhereglocalizationcan

possiblygowrong.ThepreviousexamplesinvolvingRaviShankar,FrankBennettandGeetha

RamanathanBennettwerecollaborationsinwhichexpertspractitionersindifferentartswere

abletocontroltheirowncontributionstothefinalproduct.InHarrisonscase,althoughhewas

welleducatedingamelantradition,onemustwonderifthechoicetoalterthetuningofhis

ensembletoamorewesternstandardwouldhavebeensupportedifhehadbeencollaborating.

Thatbeingsaid,itisoflittledoubtthatHarrisonscompositionshaveintroducedatleastafew

peopletotheuniquetimbreandrhythmicorganizationofgamelanmusic.

ThepreviousexamplesofglocalizationinIndiaandIndonesiafocusedonclassicalmusic

traditionsfromthosecountriesblendingwithwesternartmusic.Thislastexaminationofglocal

musictrendswillpresenttwoexamplesofculturalblendingintherealmofpopularmusictaking

placeintheEastAsiancountriesofJapanandKorea.Itisimportanttoshowthatglobalization

andglocalizationcanaffectallaspectsofmusicallife.HideakiIshi,betterknownbyhisstage

nameDJKrush,isconsideredtobeoneofthepioneersofJapanesehiphop.Whilehisstyleis

6BenjaminBrinner,MusicinCentralJava(NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,2008),64.

hardtodefineinconciseterms,heisknownforhisexperimentalbeatsandunusualsampling,

incorporatingsoundsfromjazz,soul,andtraditionalJapanesemusicintohisbeats.Hefrequently

collaborateswithotherartists,butthemostindicativeofglocalizationarehiscollaborations

practitionersoftraditionalJapaneseinstrumentssuchastheshamisenplayer,ShinichiKinoshita.

Interestingly,hereisanexampleofaJapaneseartistincorporatingJapaneseelementsintohis

musicwhilepracticinginadecidedlywesternidiom.MeanwhileinKorea,agayageumplayerby

thenameLunaLee,currentlyhasamassedoverthirtysixthousandsubscriberstoherYouTube

channelplayingcoversofsongsbyAmericanrockartistssuchasStevieRayVaughn,Jimi

Hendrix,andJoeSatriani.LunaisagraduateoftheKoreaNationalUniversityoftheArtswitha

degreeingayageumperformance,andwhileherrenditionsarenearlynoteperfectshealsomixes

insometrademarkgayageumtechniques. Whileherplayingdemonstrateswhatispossiblythe7

mosttransparentexampleofglocalizationpresentedsofar,shealsorepresentstheglobal

interconnectivitydiscussedearlywithregardtothesuccessofArnelPinedaandBOY.Having

onlyeverperformedinKorea,China,andJapanhersocialmediapageswouldseemtosuggest

thatshehasfansandfollowersallovertheworld.Hervirtuosityonherinstrumentshould

certainlygainhertherespectoffellowpractitioners,whilehergenuineandheartfeltdeliveryof

widelybelovedsongsgivesherthemassappealtobeaglobalsuccess.

Astheworldmovesfurtherintothetwentyfirstcentury,physicallydistantspacesare

seeminglycloserthaneverbefore.Vastdigitalnetworksoforbitingsatellites,personal

computers,andallmannerofiDeviceskeepthepeoplebehindthemsowellconnectedthatthe

speedofcommunicationislimitedonlybythefluencyofonesfingersonatouchscreen.The

7DomoMusicGroup,Luna,DomoMusicGroup,http://www.domomusicgroup.com/luna/(accessedDecember142014).

http://www.domomusicgroup.com/luna/

abilitytosendideastoanyoneintheworldinaninstanthasdramaticallychangedthewaythat

musicianscanpromotetheirmusictopotentialfans.AsdemonstratedbythestoriesofArnel

Pineda,BOY,andLunatheinternetandsocialmediaallowmusiciansunprecedentedglobal

reach,withouteverneedingtoleavetheirhomecountries.Thiscanproducealevelof

internationalsuccesswhich,forpreviousgenerations,wouldhavebeenmuchmoredifficultto

achieve.Researcherswarnthattoomanyinterweavingglobalconnectionscouldultimatelylead

toaworldwidehomogenizationlackinginculturaldiversity.However,whileitisimportanttobe

awareofthisrisk,manymembersofthemusicalcommunityhaverespondedtotheglobal

cultureintheoppositeway.ArtistssuchasRaviShankar,PhilipGlass,FrankandGeetha

Bennett,HideakiIshiandLunaLeehaveembracedtheglobalizedworld,creatingnewsound

stylesbyfusingtheirownnationaltraditionswiththoseofotherpartsoftheworld.Itishardto

imaginewhatthefutureofglobalizationwillbring,andhowvariousaspectsofculture,politics,

andeconomicswilladjusttoaccommodateamoreconnectedworld.Howeverifcurrenttrends

areanyindication,musicianscancontinuetolooktoeachotherforinspirationtowardnewand

excitingartisticventures.