Pop is understood all over the world, but its roots are local. Pop is played right across the globe, and still fascinates people locally. Pop is a game played out with intransigent subjectivity: between mainstream and subcultures. In France and Germany, immigrant kids are combining Arab and Turkish traditions with pop harmonies; in British club music, Asian influences are increasingly making themselves heard. These local developments face a globalised music market that demands stars who can be marketed internationally. In such a situation, there is no longer any call for characteristic local qualities.
The pop world in Europe in 2002 is much more diversified and complex than the reality of the record supermarkets would suggest. This conference will be enquiring into the contents of pop music in Europe and, at the same time, thematising the clash between local pop cultures and the global music business. Participants: Susanne Binas, Research Centre for Popular Music at the Humboldt University, Berlin | Youssef Adel, who goes by the stage-name of U-Cef, co-founder of Global Fusion Sounds, DJ Ritu, journalist and leader of the band Asian Equation, Jay Rutledge, journalist and publisher of the CD Africa Raps, Björn Döring, journalist and artistic director of popdeurope.
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