Pierre Schaeffer's In Search of a Concrete Music (À la recherche d'une
musique concrète) has long been considered a classic text in
electroacoustic music and sound recording. Now Schaeffer's pioneering
work--at once a journal of his experiments in sound composition and a
treatise on the raison d'être of "concrete music"--is available for the
first time in English translation. Schaeffer's theories have had a
profound influence on composers working with technology. However, they
extend beyond the confines of the studio and are applicable to many
areas of contemporary musical thought, such as defining an 'instrument'
and classifying sounds. Schaeffer has also become increasingly relevant
to DJs and hip-hop producers as well as sound-based media artists. This
unique book is essential for anyone interested in contemporary
musicology or media history.