Glissando 38 / 2019 THE INTERNET PL

Could you imagine a more surprising moment for the publication of “Glissando” on the Internet than the pandemic – the time when the pulse of live music dies and the pulse of Internet broadcasts accelerates? This situation mercilessly verified the inequalities that have always been inherent in online music. Thus, it forced rethinking of creative strategies, and the authors of this issue also changed their optics in these new conditions. However, long before the virus began to take a deadly toll in the real world, questions about the relationship of the virtual world with contemporary music and their significance for its audience, creators, and various circuits were sprouting in our heads and reception.

The issue has been divided into two complementary segments: theoretical and practical. The texts came from the pens (or rather keyboards) of people with different backgrounds, which shows the need to broaden the reflection with new perspectives in writing about the Internet in music and music on the Internet. From personal micro-narratives around streaming platforms, to an excerpt from a publication exploring the disturbing politics of one of them, we drift across the ocean of online archives, sometimes on a pirate ship. We also describe specific creative strategies rooted in the web, inspired by it, but also critically commenting on it: memes, artificial intelligence, algorithms, e-subcultures, net art, and even a pandemic-internet public support program. We also do not forget about the physicality of the virtual world, which, in addition to routers, are co-created by laptop orchestras, mobile applications that change the soundscape, the Internet of Things, and even voice assistants. In the practical-technical complement to the issue, we combine the perspectives of theoreticians and practitioners, becoming a forum for the exchange of thoughts, know-how, research, analysis, experiences, practices, needs and ideas.

We are aware that this issue of “Glissando” touches on only a small part of the issues. But is it possible to surf the entire internet at once?