From Sound Behaviour to Form- A Method for Experimental Popular Music Practice

Gordon, Brett (2026) From Sound Behaviour to Form- A Method for Experimental Popular Music Practice. In: 26th International Conference Principles of Music Composing: From Sound Behaviour to Form- A Method for Experimental Popular Music Practice, 18-20 November, Vilnius, Lithuania. (In Press)

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Abstract

This paper introduces Symbiosis and Concatenation as a methodological approach for composing experimental popular music within contemporary studio practice. Emerging from practice-based research, the framework positions listening, material interaction, and iterative creative processes as central mechanisms in the generation of musical structure. Although experimental popular music often incorporates studio-mediated production techniques, electroacoustic modes of listening, and non-linear compositional strategies, existing scholarship frequently prioritises interpretation and analysis of finished works over the procedural processes through which compositional form develops. This research seeks to address that imbalance by proposing a process-led methodology centred on the evaluation of sonic behaviour, the formation of interconnected material relationships, structural organisation through concatenation, and ongoing refinement through poietic–aesthetic feedback. Within practice research, creative activity is increasingly recognised as a site of knowledge production and methodological inquiry. The methodology is explored through the composition Agate Particles, used here as a practical case study of emergent form. Rather than relying upon predetermined song structures or conventional harmonic planning, the work evolved through cycles of critical listening in which texture, density, spectral interaction, and the behaviour of sonic materials informed structural decisions. Form therefore emerges from interaction and evaluation, rather than from externally imposed organisational systems. The paper places this compositional model within wider discussions surrounding experimental popular music, studio-centred creativity, electroacoustic listening traditions, and hybrid forms of practice. Contextual reference is made to figures such as Brian Eno and David Sylvian, alongside Japanese experimental music practices and selected ideas associated with spectromorphology and practice-based research. However, the paper’s primary contribution is the articulation of a transferable compositional framework capable of connecting listening-led decision making with emergent structural organisation. It is argued that Symbiosis and Concatenation offers a flexible approach for navigating contemporary studio composition, providing composers and producers with a methodology through which musical structure can evolve through iterative evaluation and sonic interaction. In doing so, the research contributes to ongoing discussions concerning experimental music practice, studio-based composition, and relationships between process, listening, and form.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Divisions:	College of Creative Arts, Technology and Engineering > Performing Arts
Depositing User:	Jessie McLean
Date Deposited:	12 Oct 2026 10:12
Last Modified:	12 Oct 2026 10:42
URI:	https://bnu.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/21817

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