Sonic Intimacy

'Sonic intimacy' is a key concept through which sound, human and technological relations can be assessed in relation to racial capitalism. What is sonic intimacy, how is it changing and what is at stake in its transformation, are questions that should concern us all. Through an analysis of alternative music cultures of the Black Atlantic (reggae sound systems, jungle pirate radio and grime YouTube music videos), Malcolm James critically shows how sonic intimacy pertains to modernity's social, psychic, spatial and temporal movements. This book explores what is urgently at stake in the development of sonic intimacy for human relations and alternative black and anti-capitalist public politics.

Malcolm James is Senior Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Sussex, UK. He is author of Sonic Intimacy (Bloomsbury 2020), Urban Multiculture: Youth, Politics and Cultural Transformation (2015), and co-editor of Regeneration Songs: Sounds of Investment and Loss in East London (2018).

Acknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. The reggae sound system and vibe 3. Jungle Pirate Radio and Hype 4. Grime and YouTube Music Videos 5. Conclusion: From left critique to alternative cultural politics References Index