Pocket Studios. The Recording Techniques and Reproduction Strategies of Young Singers in Oyapock (Guiana)

Résumé 0

‪Among the inhabitants of the Middle Oyapock (Teko and Wayãpi), as elsewhere, the emergence of new information and communication technologies is bringing about real changes in the production and dissemination of cultural objects. Since the 1970s, the use of phonographic reproduction technologies has led to the circulation of new musical genres in the region’s villages. Recently, however, the appropriation of this music has taken on a new form and is no longer limited to listening practices: young people are now singing their aspirations in their own language(s) to instrumental tracks of reggae, dancehall or rap. Recorded tracks circulate from village to village, becoming part of listening repertoires, alongside globalized musical objects from the biggest regional (Caribbean) or worldwide (USA, Europe) studios. Where just a few years ago, recording a track for singers required the intermediation of a third-party specialist, today it’s possible to fix one’s inspirations on one’s own, with no more than a smartphone. Thanks to its accessibility and ease of use, this technology makes it possible to record and disseminate musical inspirations quickly and spontaneously, while updating the socio-political strategies at work in local phonographic production.‪