Immersed in Pop! Excursions into Compositional Design

Recent changes in consumer audio and music technology and distribution - for example the addition of 3D audio formats such as Dolby Atmos to music streaming services, the recent release of “Spatial Audio” on Apple and Beats products, the proliferation of musical content in virtual reality and 360º videos, etc. - have reignited a public discourse on concepts of immersion and interactivity in popular music and media. This raises questions and necessitates a deepening of popular musicological discourse in these areas. This thesis thus asks: what is the relationship between so-called immersive media and immersive experience? How are immersive and interactive experiences of audiovisual popular music compositionally designed? And to what degree do interpretations of immersion and interactivity in popular music imply agency on part of the listener/viewer? To address these questions, Bresler has authored or co-authored four articles and book chapters on music in immersive and interactive media with a focus on compositional design and immersion in pop music. In the framing chapter, these articles are contextualized through the coining of the term immersive staging, which is a framework for understanding how the perceived relationship between the performer and listener is mediated through technology, performativity, audiovisual compositional design, and aesthetics. Additionally, the chapter makes a case for the hermeneutic methodologies employed throughout.publishedVersio

‘A Swarm of Sound’ : Audiovisual Immersion in Björk’s VR Video ‘Family’

Author's accepted manuscript.This article explores the idea of audiovisual immersion through the portal of the virtual reality music video. Our focus falls on a close reading of Björk’s video, ‘Family’, which addresses questions of immersion in relation to user-experience, staging, and technological innovation. This article draws on the authors’ responses to the video by considering the implications of VR immersion in a new generation of music video productions. As part of the methodology on offer, a model for music analysis is devised for conceptualising virtual audiovisual space (VAVS) and the inextricable relationships between production and compositional design.acceptedVersio