The Politics of Navigation: Globalisation, Music andComposition: An Adventure

The influence of globalisation on musical compositionhas grown remarkably in recent years. This reflectsthe wider impact of late 20th Century demographic andtechnological shifts on culture. Great movements ofpeople followed the end of the cold war, withmigrants in their millions responding to the call ofmore affluent nations for willing workers. Theindustrialisation of many developing countriessimilarly fuelled the movement of people, with ethnictensions following the withdrawal of colonial powersdisplacing many others. The globalisation ofinformation, the 'internet' accompanied by widespreadexploitation of satellite communications technology,has brought new images and sounds into our work anddwelling places. These shifts have acceleratedthe practices associated with musical globalisation,causing new 'accented' cultures to develop,absorbing, influencing, reflecting and refracting newhost milieux. These changes have impacted on musicalpractices, destabilising core assumptions anddisturbing long established hierarchies. The presentvolume explores these developing influences through aconsideration of extant works, experimentalcomposition and contingent analysis