An Investigation into the Relationship Between Music Production and Genre

Abstract 

This essay considers the role of the producer, recordist, or engineer in shaping the perceived genre placement of a musical recording and how a producer’s understanding of genre may impact recording decisions. The understanding of genres as frames put forward by Frow (2015) is central to this analysis. Shave’s (2008) communicative contract analysis provides a methodological framework, and the dimensions of sound outlined by Moylan (2015) are used as the primary objects of analysis. The differences and similarities between recordings of rock and jazz are considered, as well as how subgenres can create identity through production choices in the context of recorded music. The author’s own recording practice is analysed to provide insight into how specific recording decisions made by a producer are impacted by, and in turn have an impact on, understanding of genre. 

Introduction 

Genre shapes interpretations of meaning in communication. It is “built deep into ordinary talk and writing” and “embodied in sorting mechanisms that are continuously reinforced” (Frow, 2015:12-13). Genre classification affects the organisation of physical space, bookseller’s catalogues, and time slots for television (Frow, 2015:13). Genre shapes our expectations of musical works, and generic conformity and deviation can be used by a musical piece to create identity (Shave, 2008).  

The advent of recording technology has given salience to new aspects of musical works that can shape our understanding of genre. The increased control over the physical dimensions of sound granted by the recording process has also led to an increased degree of control over the artistic and aesthetic elements of sound. This has led to new concerns related to the aesthetic and artistic elements (Moylan, 2015). The producer, engineer, or recordist’s role in shaping these elements can influence a recording’s genre placement and creates communication and intertextual relationships between works. 

This essay will outline the notion of genres as frames advocated by Frow (2015). The influence of recording and mixing decisions on genre and generic relationships will be analysed through Shave’s (2008) communicative contract analysis with an emphasis on the artistic elements of sound outlined by Moylan (2015). Considerations that are addressed include how the aesthetic elements of sound differ across genres, how shared knowledge of intertextual relationships between the recordist and audience shapes these elements, and how different recording and sonic characteristics relate to aesthetic musical genres. 

Shoegaze will be analysed to illuminate how the artistic and aesthetic dimensions of sound can be substituted by subgenres and influence an audience’s understanding of genre placement. Specific choices made by producers, recordists, and engineers during the recording process can shape the generic placement of a work. My own recording work will be analysed to understand specific decisions made during the recording process that can influence the generic placement of a musical recording. 

Genre Theory 

Frow (2015) views genres as frames which provide an audience with appropriate ways of viewing a text. A genre’s material and formal features set it apart from other genres. Bentall (2016) identifies instrumentation, tonality, time signature, duration, and structure as examples of material and formal features within music. Thematic content relies on conventional topics and iconography that a work draws upon to construct a world of knowledge. Frow (2015:83) writes that thematic content in music can be “expressed as the emotional tone characteristically carried by musical forms”. A situation of address, the context in which the text is viewed, may make certain formal or thematic features more salient than others. 

Mainstream rock music can illustrate these structural dimensions in music. Formal features may include a verse-chorus structure, instrumentation of guitars, bass, drums, and voice, and a backbeat drum groove. The thematic content may be an aggressive, high energy emotional tone. In a live context, the situation of address may be a live performance in an arena or smaller club. When the music is moved to a recorded context and listened to through a speaker system in one’s home, the expectation of how the music should sound may change. Frow (2015) explains that genres shape the meaning of texts. The aggressive tone of rock music may be interpreted as the self-expression of the artist, but is better characterised as participation in the conventions of the genre.  

Shave (2008) explains that authors assume a shared episteme with audiences. Through this shared episteme, an author can predict where a text will be placed within the audience’s experiential horizon. A rock band may assume a shared episteme with the audience about the expectations of rock music, which may include the genre’s formal and thematic features. 

Freadman (1988) in Frow (2015:26) argues works should not be thought of as belonging to a single genre. Rather, genres consist of a set of intertextual relationships. Derrida (1992) in Frow (2015:27-28) explains that texts do not belong to genres, but participate in genres. A rock song is defined in relation to other rock songs and by the fact that, for instance, it is not a jazz standard, and it is not a classical symphony. Texts do not have meanings simply mapped out in advance by genre – texts are uses of genre. 

Shave (2008) outlines a model for understanding how genres, or paradigms, relate to one another. More specific paradigms are forms of broader paradigms and are opposed to other categories from the same parent paradigm. The paradigm of the rock song is a form of popular song, opposed to other popular song forms such as the hip-hop song. The popular song is a form of song more broadly, as opposed to different forms of song such as the folk song. 

Shave (2008) proposes communicative contract analysis as method for analysing popular music, arguing that sub-genres within popular music create identity through substitutions and development on the paradigmatic axes of the popular song. For instance, if a particular parameter, for example time signature, is expected to be 4/4 time, a song may create identity by substituting this parameter for a different time signature. If a song does not develop or substitute the time signature, this axis remains intact. 

Frow (2015) describes genre complexity: a primary or simple genre is univocal, meaning its logic is self-contained. A secondary or complex genre allows or encourages communication from other genres. Frow (2015) explains that complex, aesthetic genres are often not as linked to a specific location as simpler genres. Complex genres imitate other genres and the effects that they produce, using them as thematic objects. Popular music genres can be conceptualised as complex aesthetic genres, and songs within popular music will utilise communication from other genres. A rock song, for instance, may typically use elements of folk and blues songs, such as a focus on vocals singing lyrics and guitar-driven instrumentals, as thematic objects. Frow (2015) writes that while all nominally simple genres are complex in that all genres are based upon other genres, the simple-complex genre paradigm is useful for offering insight into how genres refer to one another. 

To summarise, genres are frames which determine appropriate ways of viewing a text. A genre’s situation of address determines the salience of its formal features. Texts do not outright belong to a genre, rather they are defined by their intertextual relationship to other works to which they are generically similar, as well as works that they are generically dissimilar to. Despite this, the expectations of a genre shape the understanding and expectation an audience has of a text. The complex aesthetic genres of music work by appropriating other genres, including simple genres, using their effects as thematic content. Lastly, Shave’s (2008) communicative contract analysis provides a methodology for understanding the paradigmatic relationships between popular songs. 

The Recordist and the Artistic Elements of Sound 

Moylan (2015) explains that sound exists in three stages: physically, psychoacoustically, and as an idea. Each of these three stages of sound are linked to the physical, perceived, and artistic and aesthetic dimensions of sound. Moylan (2015) explains that the physical dimensions of frequency, amplitude, time, timbre, and space correspond to the perceived dimensions of frequency, loudness, time perception, perceived sound quality, and perceived environmental characteristics. The perceived dimensions correspond to the artistic elements: pitch levels and relationships for musical elements such as melody and harmony, dynamic levels and relationships for musical balance and dynamic contour, rhythmic patterns and rates of activities, sound sources and sound quality, and spatial properties. 

Of particular importance to music production is the heightened degree of control over the dimensions of sound that is granted by the recording process. Moylan (2015) calls the creative artist who uses the tools of recording technology as sound resources to create an artistic product the recordist. This role shares many similarities with the notion of the producer. 

The increased control over sound granted by the recording process has given rise to new concerns regarding the aesthetic elements of sound, which Moylan (2015) outlines. Frow (2015) explains that a genre’s situation of address will make certain features more salient. The situation of address of recorded music listened to through a set of stereo or surround sound speakers can be said to make these concerns more salient.  

New concerns of pitch include the different ranges and registers of sound sources, pitch areas which exhibit differing qualities from other registers, and the density of activity within given pitch areas. Concerns of dynamics include the dynamic contour of the whole programme or of individual sound sources, and the musical balance created by the dynamic contours of each sound source. Concerns of sound quality include performance intensity, detailed modification or creation of sound sources and the overall timbral balance of a work created by pitch register placements, dynamic contours, rate of activities, and spatial properties. Concerns of spatial properties include the creation of a sound stage and perceived performance environment, stereo imaging, distance location, and control over the perceived properties of the host environment of a performance. 

While Moylan (2015) does not go into as much detail about the concerns of rhythm in recorded music, modern recording technology has presented producers with a degree of control over the rhythmic feel of a musical recording. According to Hennig (2014), when multiple musicians play together in an ensemble setting, their performances influence each other’s timing. Recording an ensemble playing together live will give the recording a distinct rhythmic feel. Tracks that are recorded using the overdub methodology, recorded to a click track, programmed with a sequencer, or rhythmically quantised will lack this distinct sense of groove which has been positively appraised of adding a sense of humanness and drama to music (Holden, 2015). Different rhythmic identities can be created using different recording methodologies, and both live humanness and heavy quantisation can become distinctive features of a genre. 

Production Paradigms 

To outline the paradigm of rock music production, one can look for generic similarities between seminal works in the genre. Back in Black by AC/DC (1980) and the original mono mix of Taxman by The Beatles (1966) provide a very small sample size for rock music, with its many variations and subgenres, but they provide informative examples of typical rock productions that do not challenge the typical boundaries of the rock production paradigm. The generic similarities of these songs can help us to understand this paradigm using Moylan’s elements of sound as axes. 

Both tracks feature low pitch density in the low register, which is mainly reserved for the kick drum and bass guitar. The mid-range pitch area in Taxman is very dense, containing the snare drum, guitars, and vocals. Back in Black features a less dense midrange, due to wide-panned guitars and less harmonic saturation. The high-range pitch area is sparse on both recordings, being reserved for hi-hats or tambourine. As Bentall (2016) explains, contracts relating to instrumentation are spectrally bound. Instruments playing in, being tuned to, or tonally occupying the correct register are equally vital components to the generic frame as the presence of the instruments themselves. The pitch axis of rock production can be said to involve a dense mid-range occupied by electric guitar, vocals, and snare, a less dense low-end for bass guitar and kick drum, and sparse high-end for cymbals and percussion. 

Dynamically, the lead vocal is the most prominent aspect of both songs, with guitars also being highly prominent. In Back in Black, the drums are louder relative to the guitars than in Taxman, which are at times buried or obscured by the guitars in the latter. The dynamic axis for rock production can be said to consist of an emphasis on up-front lead vocals and prominent electric guitars, while drums vary in terms of presence in the final mix. 

In terms of timbre, the drums of both songs are tuned to occupy the low-range and mid-range pitch areas, and feature are short, transient heavy dynamic envelopes while the guitars are treated with heavy distortion. The performance intensity of both tracks is high, with the timbre of the vocals suggesting high exertion from the vocalists. This performance intensity and timbral character can be said to form the paradigm for the timbral axis of rock production. 

Spatially, both mixes feature perceived closeness on guitars and more distant drums. The perceived performance environment heard on Taxman appears to be relatively small and non-reflective, where Back in Back creates a large, cavernous sense of space through reverb on the drums and vocals. The impact of the environment on the performance of Taxman, however, can be heard on the cymbals of the drum kit, which sound slightly more distant than the rest of the performance. Back in Black’s guitars are also less impacted by the sound of the space than its drums and vocals, which creates an impression of a “space within a space” (Moylan, 2015:57). Though the whole perspective of a typical rock song is close, with direct sound dominating reflected sound in the mix, a closer perspective on the guitars, with drums being more impacted by ambient sound may be considered part of rock production’s spatial paradigm. 

While the original mix of Taxman is in mono, Back in Black features guitars spread across the stereo image, while the kick drum, snare drum, bass guitar, and vocals remain central. This stereo spread can be considered the paradigm for rock music production. 

It can be clearly seen that the production paradigm of the rock song derives from the production paradigm of the popular song. Features such as a musical balance prioritising vocals, the stereo location of the instruments, and dense mid-range all clearly derive from typical recording methods for popular music. The rock production paradigm also develops elements of its axes from the popular song paradigm. For example, the timbral content of a rock song is likely to focus more on distorted electric guitar than other forms of popular song, and those same guitars are likely to be more dominant in the musical balance.  

It should also be noted that while the rock production paradigm outlines the typical sonic qualities of rock recordings, this does not mean rock recordings cannot create a sense of identity by substituting elements of the rock production paradigm. As Shave (2008) writes, subgenres of popular music create identity through substitutions on the paradigmatic axis to which they belong. The rock music production contract or paradigm describes the typical production features of the genre, which may be substituted or developed by the recordist or producer for an aesthetic effect. 

Additionally, the dimensions of sound over which the recordist has control do not exist in solely within the remit of the recording and mixing technology. For instance, the dense mid-range typical of rock music also relies on arranging and songwriting decisions made prior to recording. The right instruments, namely guitars, must be playing suitably harmonically dense parts. Additionally, while the recordist will have control over the relative levels of close miked instruments, the musical balance of a recording relies in part on performance. If a drummer plays the snare drum too quietly relative to the rest of the drum kit, for instance, the musical balance will be incongruent with the genre. This demonstrates that the generic aspects of recording and production are influenced by factors outside of the recordist’s direct remit. 

The temporal and technological impact on the generic aspects of production are also illustrated through the comparison of Back in Black and Taxman. Take, for instance, Taxman’s spatial characteristics. Though an entirely mono recording may now be considered atypical for rock music and may constitute a substitution along the spatial characteristics axis, at the time of Taxman’s release mono recordings would have been typical.  

Taxman’s timbral balance is also impacted by recording methods associated with its time period. The harmonic tape saturation on Taxman gives a warmer, darker overall timbre than the brighter timbral balance of Back in Black, released 15 years later. An audience’s understanding of the difference between recordings of different time periods may be treated similarly to generic expectations; they are frames that shape how the work is understood. The aforementioned elements in Taxman and Back in Black may be considered congruent with era-specific production genres, in this instance 60s rock production and 80s rock production. 

The notion of the shared episteme described by Shave (2008) can be used to understand how recordists and producers create meaning in their work that can be understood by the audience. To illustrate how recordists and producers utilise shared epistemes, the paradigmatic axes of rock production can be compared to that of recordings in other genres. 

Jazz recordings have their own production paradigm. Small ensemble jazz recordings share more generic similarities in terms of production with rock recordings than big band recordings. Starting with a small ensemble jazz recording, United by Woody Shaw (1981) has relevant differences to Taxman and Back in Black along the axes of Moylan’s (2015) dimensions of sound. For instance, spatially, the recorded perspective of the instruments in United is more imbued with the host environment, creating a more natural shared sense of space between the instruments, despite sharing a close-miked perspective with the rock recordings. Dynamically, the whole programme of United has more variation than the rock recordings which is largely dependent on the changing intensity of the musician’s performances. The performance intensity is also lower than that of the rock recordings. 

These differences between jazz and rock recordings suggest how a shared episteme can be used to enable communication between recordist and listener. A recordist working on a rock or jazz recording assumes an audience expectation for a particular sonic character and alters the characteristics of their recordings accordingly. This illustrates how effects of genre can shape meaning. Much like the authors of elegies are working within a certain generic framework which shapes the audience’s interpretation of texts, as explained by Frow (2015), recordists work within generic frameworks defined by relationships to other recordings within that framework. 

Taxman, Back in Black, and United are all small ensemble recordings and are relevantly similar in that they emphasise close miked perspectives on instruments and spatially create the impression of room-sized perceived performance environments. Back in Black and United also make use of a sense of a space-within-a-space, in United’s case a reverb on the trumpet creates a sense of the instrument being placed within a larger space inside of the perceived performance environment. 

This can be contrasted with Lil’ Darlin’ by Count Basie (1958). Like United, Lil’ Darlin’ is a jazz recording, but features a big band as opposed to a small combo. Similarities that Lil’ Darlin’ shares with United can be mapped onto the paradigm of jazz production. For instance, the dynamic contours of individual instruments on both tracks varies more than in rock productions. This can be heard on the trumpet solo of Lil’ Darlin’. Both Lil’ Darlin’ and United feature pitch activity that is densest in the mid-range and micro-level timing differences suggestive of a live recording methodology. Differences between United and Lil’ Darlin’ include a much larger perceived performance environment on the latter, as well as a further distance from the sound stage to the listener. There is also more reflected sound relative to direct sound, suggesting a more distant miking perspective. 

These examples can help to illustrate the view of genre as intertextual relationships as advocated by Freadman in Frow (2015) and provide an understanding of how recording and mixing choices influence relationships between musical genres. While Taxman, Back in Black, and United share relevant generic similarities to each other, and make use of what might be called the small ensemble recording genre, they are generically different in others. United’s use of the jazz recording genre through its spatial and dynamic features set it apart from Back in Black and Taxman. Equally, while United is generically similar to Lil’ Darlin’ as a jazz recording through its dynamics, timbre, and emphasis on transparency, Lil’ Darlin’s spatial characteristics set it apart as making use of what might be called the large ensemble recording genre. 

Producers, recordists, and engineers have control over the axes of pitch, dynamics, space, and timbre through microphone choice and placement, EQ and dynamic processing, room setup, performance direction, and modification or creation of sound sources. The axis of time relationships as it pertains to recording is largely determined by the recording methodology used and the application or lack thereof of quantisation or time alignment. This is of key importance for certain generic frames. The micro-level timing differences that result from a live ensemble performance identified by Hennig (2014) are key to the rhythmic identity of jazz music, for instance. Use of quantisation or of an overdubbed recording methodology in jazz music, therefore, would be a substitution along the time relationship axis of the jazz recording paradigm, whereas the recording of a whole live performance would mean the axis would remain intact. Conversely, grid-aligned musical materials without micro-level timing differences would keep the time relationships paradigmatic axis intact for other forms of music production such as that of electronic dance music. 

United’s status as small jazz combo recording genre, which can be thought of as a genre which makes use of the simpler genres of jazz recording, small ensemble recording, and whole live performance recording, illustrates Frow’s (2015) explanation of complex genres making use of simpler genres as thematic material. The complex genre that is a recording of a rock song can be thought of as a generic framework, then, which makes use of the simpler genres of rock composition, rock performance, and rock production, all of which in turn will appropriate other simpler genres for thematic material. For instance, the rock production genre will make use of the small ensemble recording paradigm. The small ensemble recording paradigm’s formal feature of an emphasis on close miking is appropriated as part of the thematic structure of the rock recording paradigm. The situation of address may determine playback format and how active or involved the listener is in the music (through a pair of stereo hi-fi speakers for detailed album listening, through a mono speaker for background music in a public place, surround sound, etc). 

Production as Identity 

Shave (2008) explains that traditional methods of analysis which emphasise melody and harmony are insufficient for analysing popular music, since melody and harmony are not the primary ways in which popular music creates identity. Rather, identity is created via substitutions or developments along paradigmatic axes. Therefore, Shave’s method of analysis is most effective when the contents of each axis is different from the deep structure to which a work belongs. This analysis will focus on works in which identity is created through developments and substitutions along the axes outlined by Moylan (2015), to illustrate how production can be used to create identity in recorded music. 

The rock subgenre of shoegaze is described by Pinkard (2024:3) as “typically identified by its noisy, effects-laden guitar, obfuscated vocals, and atmospheric production”. Shoegaze recordings create their identity using developments and substitutions on the paradigmatic axes of rock music production and popular music production. While these substitutions are atypical within the parent genres to which shoegaze belongs, when used by a shoegaze recording the paradigmatic axes are left intact. 

Shoegaze is useful for demonstrating how production choices can create identity since its melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic features as well as instrumentation are similar to mainstream rock music, with the genre’s key distinguishing features relating to atmosphere, use of noise, and mixing decisions (Pinkard, 2024:4-5). 

Analysis of When the Sun Hits by Slowdive (1993) and When You Sleep by My Bloody Valentine (1991) illuminates the paradigm of shoegaze music production. In terms of timbre, the instrument selection and modification in shoegaze is intact from typical rock production. The primary distinguishing features of shoegaze production lie in its dynamic and spatial features. Both tracks feature a musical balance dominated by guitar, at the expense of impactful drums and clear vocals typical for rock production, which is a substitution of the musical balance found in most rock subgenres. Most clearly heard on When the Sun Hits, shoegaze productions may suggest a much larger, cavernous sense of space than other rock subgenres, with environmental sound occupying a more prominent place in the mix than in other subgenres of rock. 

Musically, the compositions and arrangements found in shoegaze are similar to those found in most other rock subgenres, consisting of rhythm guitars filling out the mid-range with harmonic content, diatonic harmony, melodic vocals, and conventional rock drum grooves played in 4/4 time. The substitutions and developments through which shoegaze creates its identity are tied primarily to aspects of Moylan’s (2015) artistic elements of sound that are given increased salience through the recording process. This makes shoegaze a useful example to demonstrate how production, recording, and mixing decisions can define the generic frame of a musical recording. 

Generic Frames in Practice 

Analysis of my own practice can highlight the specific choices recordists make that impact the generic placement of their work. Appendix 2 contains my production of a pop song entitled “Drown”. Musically, Drown maintains the melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, and structural axes of the pop song paradigm. For my production, I took influence from pop songs such as Birds of a Feather by Billie Eilish (2024) and Love Story by Taylor Swift (2008) to match the recording aesthetic that an audience may expect. This clearly relates to Shave’s (2008) notion of the shared episteme between author and audience. The recording choices I made had a direct impact on the timbral axis of my production. For instance, a bright, detailed vocal capture on a pop song, as heard on my chosen reference tracks, leaves that timbral characteristic of pop music production intact. My understanding of the pop song production paradigm, therefore, led me to choose an AKG C414 to record vocals, a condenser microphone sensitive to the upper frequency range of human hearing, for detailed capture (Recording Hacks, 2025).  

Spatially, the vocal on a pop song is typically at the front of the sound stage, close to the listener as the most prominent element of the mix. This is intact on both reference tracks. To maintain this generic feature in my own recording, I used a cardioid polar pattern to reject reflected room sounds at the point of capture. I also placed the microphone close to the vocalist and chose an acoustically dead room to record in. For the musical balance of the mix, I ensured the vocals were the most prominent element, which is congruent with my reference tracks and the dynamic axis of pop song production more broadly. In terms of pitch relationships, I arranged instrumental parts such as synthesiser pads and bass guitar lines in the registers typically heard in pop songs. In terms of time relationships, I made use of click tracks and the overdubbing recording method, which gave my production a similar feeling of groove to my reference tracks. 

My recording of the song Persian Carpets by the rock band Bank Details, found in Appendix 3, contrasts with my production of Drown. The band provided me with Funeralopolis by Electric Wizard (2000) as a reference, a stoner rock track which substitutes many features of normative rock production. My final mix shares many generic qualities with shoegaze such as guitars dominating the musical balance and buried vocals and drums, which is clearly heard at the 4 minute 20 second mark. Funeralopolis features a bass-heavy musical balance which I attempted to emulate in my mix of Persian Carpets, and a loose rhythmic feel in the performance. To capture natural, human time relationships, I used a different recording methodology to my Drown production. The bulk of the performance save for vocal and organ overdubs was tracked as live, appropriating the simpler genre of live ensemble recording. Had I made these recording decisions on Drown, the production would have broken from the pop music production paradigm, and the recording would have occupied a different generic frame. 

These choices are direct results of my understanding of generic frames and the intertextual relationships between my own projects and existing similar and dissimilar work. They demonstrate the impact and importance of recording decisions made by an engineer in shaping the artistic elements of sound outlined by Moylan (2015). They demonstrate how a recordist’s understanding of generic frames shapes recordings, and how these decisions impact the audience’s understanding of a recording’s genre placement, reinforcing Frow’s (2015) argument that genres shape understanding and meaning. 

Conclusion 

Frow’s (2015) notion of genres as frames, as well as the notion of simple and complex genres, provides a framework for understanding how different generic features of musical recordings interact with each other and for understanding the intertextual relationships between musical recordings. Shave’s (2008) communicative contract analysis provides a framework for analysing the paradigmatic features of genres and subgenres, and for analysing substitutions and developments along paradigmatic axes that give works and subgenres their identities. Moylan’s (2015) dimensions of sound illustrate the influence of recording and mixing decisions on a musical recording. 

The situation of address of recorded music as opposed to live music gives increased salience to certain aspects of the artistic and aesthetic elements of sound. Complex aesthetic genres such as rock and jazz make use of simpler genres. Rock and small ensemble jazz recordings both tend to utilise the small ensemble recording genre, for instance, appropriating its formal and thematic features along the axes of timbre, dynamics, pitch, time relationships, and space, such as an emphasis on close miking.  

A subgenre such as shoegaze, while leaving musical features such as melody, harmony, and rhythm intact from its parent genre, creates its identity through substitutions and developments along the new concerns of Moylan’s (2015) aesthetic elements of sound given salience by the recorded music format. The aesthetic and artistic elements of sound are created through manipulation of the physical elements of sound, which the recordist accomplishes utilising the tools of the recording process. This demonstrates the importance of the producer, recordist, and engineer for creating generic effects in recorded music. The genre a recordist is working in will influence the recording decisions taken, since a shared episteme with the audience will be presumed (Shave, 2008), and the recording decisions taken will influence the generic placement of the final work as perceived by the listener. 

Bibliography

• AC/DC (1980) Back in Black. Back in Black [Streaming]. Columbia. 

• Basie, C. (1958) Lil’ Darlin’. The Atomic Mr. Basie [Streaming]. Parlophone. 

• Bentall, R. (2016) Methodologies for genre hybridisation. Organised sound, 21(2), 117-126. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355771816000042 

• Eilish, B. (2024) BIRDS OF A FEATHER. HIT ME HARD AND SOFT [Streamed] Darkroom/Interscope Records. 

• Electric Wizard (2000) Funeralopolis. Dopethrone (Remastered) [Streamed]. Rise Above. 

• Frow, J. (2015) Genre, 2^nd edition. Routledge. 

• Hennig, H. (2014) Synchronization in human musical rhythms and mutually interacting complex systems. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 111 (36) 12974-12979, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1324142111 

• Holden, J. (2015) James Holden: On Human Timing. https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/james-holden-human-timing/ [Accessed 18 Dec 2025] 

• Moylan, W. (2015) Understanding and crafting the mix: the art of recording. 3^rd edition. Focal Press. 

• My Bloody Valentine (1991) when you sleep. loveless [Streaming]. Domino Recording Co. 

• Pinkard, R. (2024) Shoegaze [eBook]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. 

• Recording Hacks (2025) AKG Acoustics C 414 XLS. https://recordinghacks.com/microphones/AKG-Acoustics/C-414-XLS [Accessed 04/01/2026] 

• Shave, T. (2008) Communicative contract analysis: an approach to popular music analysis. Organised Sound, 13(1), 41–50. https://doi.org/10.1017/S135577180800006X 

• Shaw, W. (1981) United. United [Streaming]. Sony Music Entertainment. 

• Slowdive (1993) When the Sun Hits. Souvlaki [Streaming]. Creation Records. 

• Swift, T. (2008) Love Story. Fearless (International Version) [Streamed]. Apollo A-1 LLC. 

• The Beatles (1966) Taxman (Mono). Revolver (Super Deluxe) [Streaming]. Universal. 

Appendix 1 – Production Analyses

Appendix 2 – Esme Rowe – Drown

Appendix 3 – Bank Details – Persian Carpets