Noise Uprising

Noise Uprising brings to life the moment and sounds of a cultural revolution. Between the development of electrical recording in 1925 and the outset of the Great Depression in the early 1930s, the soundscape of modern times unfolded in a series of obscure recording sessions, as hundreds of unknown musicians entered makeshift studios to record the melodies and rhythms of urban streets and dancehalls. The musical styles and idioms etched onto shellac disks reverberated around the globe: among them Havanas son, Rios samba, New Orleans jazz, Buenos Aires tango, Sevilles flamenco, Cairos tarab, Johannesburgs marabi, Jakartas kroncong, and Honolulus hula. They triggered the first great battle over popular music and became the soundtrack to decolonization.