From AI Enabling Sound Spotting to Zeitgeist Incorporated into EMS: A potential A – Z regarding the future of our field of Electroacoustic Music Studies

In 2001 I coordinated a conference, along with my former colleague, Andrew Hugill, at De Montfort University called ‘Music without Walls? Music without Instruments?’. This international conference formed part of the launch of the then Music, Technology and Innovation Research Group (now Institute). My contribution to that conference was what I called ‘a conference provocation’ entitled ‘From Algorithmic Jukeboxes to Zero-time Synthesis: A potential A–Z of Music in Tomorrow’s World’ (Organised Sound 6(2): 91–96, 2001).

For EMS21 I return to the notion of a ‘conference provocation’ and create a second ‘potential A–Z’ focusing on this year’s EMS conference theme, namely Future Directions of Electroacoustic Music Studies. Given the 20’ duration of a conference talk, the 26 ideas will be briefly presented including a statement why each area might serve the future of the electroacoustic music studies domain. Each one of the 26 will represent under-developed areas in the field, sometimes presented formally, sometimes critically and sometimes humorously, thus a provocation in the form of food for thought.