Creative uses of low tech in Bamako recording studios (Mali)

Abstract

In Mali, the introduction of 3G alongside growing access to digital audio technologies throughout the 2010s has led a sharp increase in the number of recording studios. Using an ethnography of Bamako studios, we establish a theoretical framework and a methodology to remap music production studies beyond the limits of a Northerncentric narrative. We discuss the notions of high, low and alt tech, and lofi and hifi within the 2010s’ recording studio literature. Drawing upon the description of a tradi-trap production, this paper contrasts local discourses and uses of globalized technologies to highlight the constraints and capabilities of studio practitioners.