Post-Global Music: Beyond World Music Categories

The term 'world music,' coined by ethnomusicologist Robert E. Brown in the 1960s, is being replaced by 'post-global music,' a concept explored by the Norient collective in 'Seismographic Sounds – Visions of a New World.' This new framework challenges traditional notions of identity, alterity, exoticism, and multiculturalism. Simone Trabucchi of Invernomuto discusses his project 'Still,' which draws from 1990s dancehall and reggae/dub, featuring six Afro-Italian singers performing in English, Tigrinya, and Amharic. Trabucchi notes that dub originated as a recording error in Jamaica but was categorized as a genre by the British, highlighting the imperialist underpinnings of music classification. The project also references 'Negus,' a documentary by Invernomuto about Emperor Haile Selassie I. The post-global approach emphasizes micro-histories over grand narratives, viewing cultural identity as a hybrid invention. Trabucchi observes that much 'black' music is now found in Japan, where Japanese collectors have bought entire record stores in Jamaica, as vinyl is no longer available there. 'Still' incorporates the ritual of the sound system with a minimalist sensibility akin to La Monte Young, representing a constellation of geographies and knowledge in the post-digital age.