THE CANTERBURY SOUND IN POPULAR MUSIC: SCENE, IDENTITY AND MYTH (2021)
by
ASYA DRAGANOVA (Birmingham City University, UK)
SHANE BLACKMAN (Canterbury Christ Church University, UK)
ANDY BENNETT (Griffith University, Australia)
This collection is a unique exploration of the heritage and legacy of the Canterbury Sound: a signature style emerging in the 1960s that draws upon psychedelic music, progressive rock, jazz and pop to capture the real and imagined interactions between people, place and music.
The volume recounts the stories, and explores the significance, of the Canterbury Sound as heritage, ongoing legacy and scene. Originating from the experiences and ethnographic research of the three editors, all of whom have lived and worked in Canterbury, the book brings together reflections, stories, and critical insights from well-known musicians, researchers, DIY archivists and fans to explore the Canterbury Sound as an inter-generational phenomenon and a source of cultural identity. Associated with acts like Caravan, Soft Machine, Gong, Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers, this romanticised scene has a special place in popular music culture.
Chapters examine the emergence of the Canterbury Sound and the associated scene, including the legacies of key figures in forming the Canterbury Sound aesthetic, the documentation of the scene (online and off) and contemporary scenes within the city, which continues to attract and inspire young people.

Contents
Trying to Remember the Good Stuff: An extended Foreword; Asya Draganova with Robert Wyatt
Introduction and leitmotifs; Asya Draganova, Shane Blackman and Andy Bennett
PART I. EMERGENCE, SOUND AND SCENE
Chapter 1. The Canterbury Sound as a Local, Translocal and Virtual Scene; Andy Bennett
Chapter 2. The Canterbury Sound – From the beginning; Brian Hopper
Chapter 3. The Canterbury Scenius; Murray Smith
PART II. JOURNEYS AND RETURNS
Chapter 4. From Canterbury to Kamijima: a musical journey; Dave Sinclair
Chapter 5. Unicorns, uniforms and the Canterbury Sound; Jack Hues
Chapter 6. Canterbury paths through the States; Rick Chafen
Chapter 7. From a fan’s point of view; Richard Dove
PART 3. PEOPLE
Chapter 8. Locating Robert Wyatt: Canterbury Sound and quintessential Englishness; Marcus O’Dair
Chapter 9. A view from across the desk - An engineer’s personal perspective of the Canterbury Scene; David Woolgar
Chapter 10. The Sinclair Spectrum and Pathways of Artistic Influence; Billie Bottle
Chapter 11. “Songs from the bottom of a well” or Morpheus in the underworld: some thoughts on the music and lyrics of Kevin Ayers; Neil Saunders
Chapter 12. Biographical Interviews and Reflections: ethnographic conversations from within the Canterbury Sound; Curated by Asya Draganova and Shane Blackman; Interviews with Geoffrey Richardson, Pye Hastings, Neil Sullivan and Maria Sullivan
PART IV. DOCUMENTING MUSIC PRACTICES
Chapter 13. Researching and documenting the scene - online and offline; Aymeric Leroy
Chapter 14. The story of Facelift – a fanzine exploring the Canterbury scene and beyond in the pre-internet age - and its role in knitting together an international community of fans; Phil Howitt
Chapter 15. ‘Canterbury music’ and music in Canterbury; Alan Payne
PART V. MYTHS AND REALITIES: MUSIC IN CONTEMPORARY CANTERBURY
Chapter 16. Contemporary pocket music scene in Canterbury: an ethnographic study on D.I.Y. student bands; Mengyao Jiang
Chapter 17. Free Range: a Canterbury Scene; Sam Bailey
Chapter 18. Blue Gems and Colliding Moons: furthering the Canterbury Underground; Adam Brodigan
Chapter 19. Humour and gender of the ‘mischievous imaginary’ within the Canterbury Sound of Soft Machine, Gong and Caravan; Shane Blackman and Asya Draganova
Afterword: Three personal reflections on the muse of the Canterbury Sound; Asya Draganova, Shane Blackman and Andy Bennett
PRODUCT DETAILS
Format:Hardback
ISBN:9781787694903
Published:19 Feb 2021
Publisher:Emerald Publishing Limited
Dimensions:320 pages - 152 x 229mm
Series:Emerald Studies in Popular Music and Place
REVIEWS FROM VARIOUS SOURCES

You must be joking!
One star for hubris.
Let us know when you decide to sell this at a reasonable price…
Anything under $25, say, is still steep, but pretty close to a reasonable price.
Almost $100 is hilarious.
Wouldn’t you rather have four people read your book at 25 bucks each instead of one person at $100?
Very disappointing.
j-man-53 1/5 19.02.2021 (Amazon)