The Mechanics of World Music: Examining World Music through a framework of Intentional Hybridity

Abstract

World music is an ambiguous term that defies singular definition, with focus generally placed on the ethnicity and geo-cultural origins of the musicians and the music, rather than the textural or mechanical constructs of the music itself. This thesis seeks to examine world music as a genre by investigating the key role of hybridity in the world music production process. It will examine available literature and discourses on world music to provide an overview of prevailing analytical perspectives on world music, much of which is concerned with specifically non-musical aspects of the genre and its musicians. The examination of world music construction presented in this thesis draws heavily from the theoretical perspective of cultural hybridity, particularly philosopher and social theorist Mikhail Bakhtin’s distinction between organic and intentional hybridity, with the aim of seeking an alternative mode of understanding for the genre. The ‘intentional hybrid’, although conceived within the scope of literary theory, offers new ways of understanding world music and can be applied to focus on the genre construction of world music, an area that to date has received little theoretical consideration. The approach of the argument is formed through reviews of both academic literature and popular culture sources of world music, and four case studies of prominent world music products.