All the way from … authenticity and distance in world music production. Issue 1 (2nd January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: van Klyton, Aaron
• Is Part Of: Cultural studies. Volume 30:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 106
• Page End: 128
• Publication Date: 2016-01-02
• Subjects: world music -- identity -- distance -- authenticity -- cultural products; Culture -- Periodicals; Popular culture -- Periodicals; 306
• DOI: 10.1080/09502386.2014.974642
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0950-2386

Abstract

Abstract : World music and the narratives it produces are at the very centre of a formerly transnational production and consumption process. However, the shortened distance between the sites of production and consumption of this good, brought on by migration and greater participation, has created a dilemma for the UK-based artists who perform it: how to maintain authenticity without the added value of 'distance'. Therefore, the aim of this article is to examine the ways in which musicians and other participants attempt to overcome this problem and in doing so (re)-construct particular aspects of their identity. Rather than being just another critique on authenticity, this article uses distance as an organizing concept in understanding the challenges facing world music production in the UK.