Shifting Ground, Shifting Sounds: Disrupted Flow Of Music

Shifting Ground, Shifting Sounds: The Disrupted Flow Of Music In Christchurch

March 25, 2013

A University of Canterbury (UC) Cultural Studies researcher is studying how the musical personality of Christchurch has changed since the earthquakes.

UC masters student Kris Vavasour says her research is not about disaster music but music after disaster.

``It’s not just about the songs that have been written. Live performance, recording conditions, distribution and consumption are all important aspects of the musical scene.

``For example – what happened to live music venues as they tried to get re-established? Have our musical tastes changed since the earthquakes? Are songs from or about Christchurch getting airplay or are they seen as too regional for a national playlist?

``My research involves documenting some of the changes to our social and physical landscape and about how popular music not only provides a soundtrack to our lives but helps us make sense of our altered city. By examining the flow of popular music in, around, and out of Christchurch, I hope to provide a complex description of the local musical response to the earthquakes,’’ Vavasour said.

Having attended many music gigs in a wide variety of environments and locations around the city, Vavasour said Christchurch has a unique musical identity.

``There is a lot of amazing music being made here and some Christchurch artists are definitely finding interesting and creative ways to make an impact on the popular culture landscape of New Zealand.”

Vavasour has been spending time on the set of Gaylene Preston’s TV series, Hope and Wire, which takes its name from the most recent album by local band, The Eastern. The album was recorded in a red-zoned house in Dallington and released last year.

Music from The Eastern has also featured in previous work produced by Vavasour, including the radio documentary, Entertaining Shakeytown, broadcast on Radio New Zealand.
Over the last year, Vavasour has spoken at three international conferences about the efforts and outputs of Canterbury musicians since the earthquakes. These included a conference on Music and Crisis at the University of California in Santa Barbara and the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (Australia-New Zealand) conference at the University of Tasmania in Hobart. She is working on a paper about musicians and post-quake nostalgia which will be presented at the Music and Environment Symposium next month in Sydney.

Her research is being supervised by Professor Eric Pawson and Dr Lyndon Fraser.

website: www.canterbury.ac.nz

ENDS

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