Popular music researcher
New publication announcement! My coauthor Kai Arne Hansen and I wrote a research article on Brockhampton’s media practices during the release of the Saturation album trilogy, which raise questions about digitalisation, social inclusion, and the democratisation of culture. The article is part of a special issue of Popular Music and Society (44.5) on music, digitalisation, … Read more
I’m delighted to announce that I have been awarded the 2021 MusicID Digital Research Fellowship. In MusicID’s news post, founder and CEO Roger Press is quoted as saying ‘The Committee thought Dr Gamble’s submission was targeted, interesting, showed a clear methodology, and would make the best use of the MusicID platform. We also appreciated that Dr … Read more
My book, How Music Empowers: Listening to Modern Rap and Metal, is published today by Routledge (Taylor & Francis). I’m very grateful to everyone who offered advice or support during the writing process. The pricing – especially the hardback – is steep indeed in line with all new Routledge texts, although a paperback will follow … Read more
It’s a strange time to have good news to share: I certainly don’t want to vaingloriously distract from the difficult global circumstances, but perhaps it’s nice to hear about exciting new opportunities. With that in mind… I’m delighted to announce that in September I’ll be starting as a Research Fellow at University College Cork (Republic … Read more
Today I received the first printing of On Popular Music and Its Unruly Entanglements, published by Palgrave Macmillan at the very tail end of 2019. (Happy New Year!) Edited by Nick Braae and Kai Arne Hansen, the book includes eleven essays that explore the myriad ways popular music is entwined within social, cultural, musical, historical, and media networks. My chapter … Read more
Metal Music Studies issue 5.3 has just been published, featuring my article ‘Breaking down the breakdown in twenty-first-century metal‘. In the article: I introduce the breakdown as a formal structure identified in certain styles of modern metal, especially metalcore. Breakdowns are widely considered to be distinct sections of a song, much like a verse or chorus: … Read more
I’m excited to announce that I’m joining the editorial advisory board of the Intellect journal Metal Music Studies. MMS is the official journal of the International Society of Metal Music Studies, and a wonderful hub of research activity spanning broad areas of metal music and culture. More information can be found on the journal’s official … Read more
Some good news to share: I’ve been offered a contract by Routledge to write a research monograph. The book is provisionally titled How Music Empowers: Listening to Modern Rap and Metal, and it will be part of the Music and Change series. I aim to submit the manuscript around the end of 2019, so given typical publication time you can expect to … Read more
I’ve migrated from my rather antiquated site to a new one hosted by WordPress, which I’m hoping will enable me to post more actively. I’m unsure about the precise nature of the content that will emerge: perhaps the occasional album review, media commentary, or informal conference report alongside career updates. This is a kind of … Read more