Abstract for a Ph.D. dissertation

Electronic music and electronic musical instruments by Erkki Kurenniemi: A framework for technologically oriented music production and composition processes

My PhD research project is focused on the history and analysis of Finnish electroacoustic music and electronic musical instruments. The project can be introduced by three main threads; music history (the historical and cultural context in the Nordic countries in the 60s and the 70s), music technology (the electronic musical instrument design and use) and electroacoustic music (aesthetics and musical analysis). The study belongs to the domain of music technology research and its scientific stance is interdisciplinary. On the one hand, for analysing and describing the cultural and historical context of electroacoustic music I employ music analysis and the concepts of the modern historiographical paradigm, ethnography and aesthetic theory. On the other, for describing the technological development and social networks I employ the concepts from the framework of the social construction of technology as well as from the actor network and innovation theories.

At a core of the project are musical instruments and music of a Finnish instrument designer and composer Erkki Kurenniemi (1941-2017). At the time when technology dedicated to electronic music production was practically non-existent and the studios of the genre were rare and expensive to design, Kurenniemi’s designs enabled and facilitated the work of several composers. In addition to his Finnish collaborators Kurenniemi worked also with many Nordic composers and artists. His visionary ideas and technical know-how had its influence on the works of many of his contemporaries – and vice versa. Kurenniemi’s work serves here as a lens through which I am observing also the broader picture of cultural and historical circumstances of electroacoustic music – even beyond the Finnish scene. Instead of concentrating on the canonical works and central actors in the field electroacoustic music, the focus of this research is on Helsinki-based small community which had active links to Sweden and Norway as well as frequent connections even to the central European studios. The research sheds light also on these less studies social connections.

Beyond the temporal and geographical frames, the works by Kurenniemi and his Nordic collaborators provide also more general viewpoints to the interaction of music and technology. For example, static and detailed descriptions of musical instruments are not enough to depict the impact of music technological development on musical aesthetics. To further study this aspect Kurenniemi’s instruments are examined in the hands of their users. By analysing the use of Kurenniemi’s instruments the study aims to show how technological artifacts develop in complex interaction between the original designer, the users and the technological artifact itself rather than in an isolated laboratory by the lonely designer. Kurenniemi’s own musical output, on the other hand, provides an example of music making process where the works are created in a close – and often real time – interaction with the production technology. In the most extreme case, the role of the technology is strongly emphasized and can even be the most important factor of music making. This type of technologically oriented music production and composition process challenges the traditional concept of a musical work, questions the typical intention of a composer and anticipates many production methods which have emerged especially in many popular music productions.

Technologically oriented music production processes