Irish Popular Music and Noise as an Intangible Signifier of Cultural Heritage: The Noisy Island

Abstract

In this article, I consider the use of acoustic noise by Irish popular musicians during the digital and post-digital age as an intangible signifier of Irish cultural heritage. In the history of sound recording noise was always there, permeating, masking, even ruining, the enjoyment of a particular recording. The history of popular music is thus haunted by noise, with it inadvertently becoming a significant intangible artifact of popular cultural heritage. With the advent of the digital age, noise’s presence became no longer assured, as new recording technology afforded an opportunity to limit noise’s presence. Despite this, noise persists as recordists recognise its ability to generate sonic sensations. I consider this recognition by assessing specific recordings by Damien Dempsey, Sinéad O’Connor, and other Irish popular musicians. To undertake this assessment, I use the multi-interpretive modes of enquiries afforded in Irish studies to incorporate critical theories from popular music studies; phonomusicology; and sound studies. Ultimately, in line with UNESCO’s aim that intangible cultural heritage should “not be subject to external judgements of value or worth”, I consider noise not along established value judgments, but assess it anew as an intangible signifier of Irish cultural heritage.