A brand new digital exhibition traces the historical past of digital music
Google's art platform Google Arts & Culture has launched a permanent interactive collection that traces the history and legacy of electronic music, as well as its place in shaping technology, movement, and culture in a broader sense. Over 50 international cultural partners from 15 countries are involved in the virtual exhibition entitled Music, Makers & Machines, from industry experts and pioneers to labels, festivals and institutions.
The collection is extensive and diverse and includes over 13,000 archived photo and video assets, 200 online exhibitions, 360-degree tours of museums and studios, and editorial contributions on sounds and scenes that exist around the world.
In addition to teaching content covering the technical origins of synthesizers, Music, Makers & Machines also contains playful elements, from 3D scans of devices (plus the entrance door of the Berlin nightclub Tresor) to AR tools that people can use with a choice of Icons can play around with synthesizers and sequencers.
Crucially, the exhibition brings to light the female, black, and queer pioneers and innovators in the field, whose stories were often overlooked as electronic music drilled further into the mainstream, and examines how it spawned genres such as dubstep and grime .
The collection features well-known venues such as Berghain in Berlin and Manchester & # 39; s Factory Records, as well as the lost nightclubs. Given the pre-existing battle for nightlife openness, compounded by the pandemic, it is a joy to see such a broad compendium on electronic music. While people wait to return to live venues and clubs, there is plenty to do for beginners, club-goers and audiophiles alike.
© Suzanne Ciani
Fairlight CMI. Image: Bob Moog Foundation
Volker Müller, WDR
Clubbers pose in front of the camera, 1996 © Tristan O’Neill, Museum for Youth Culture
Raver at Tresor Berlin in the 1990s. Image: Groove Magazine
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