Research

SYNCULTURE comprises six studies that are self-contained but collectively synergistic. Each feeds into the new theory of synthesis culture developed in Study 6. The studies cross the domains necessary to understand synthesis in its complexity: musical practice across art and popular styles (Studies 1 and 3); vernacular discourse (Study 2); theories of representation and abstraction (Study 3); engineering practice and implementation (Study 4); intellectual property and industry (Study 5). Every study is at once historical and contemporary, addressing understudied dimensions of sound and music synthesis alongside disruptions brought about by synthetic media.

The project's methodology, termed the slow digital humanities, slow to emphasise the necessity of reflection, revaluation, and dialogue at the heart of this project, integrates collaborative and cross-cutting methods with bespoke approaches tailored to individual studies. Historical and archival research, natural language processing and topic modelling, practice-research, autoethnography, and experimental annotation and visualisation are among the methods employed. Monthly workshops and experimental fora convene the team, advisory board, and an international community of engineers, humanists, and practice-researchers throughout the project.