Cage, Nono and 1960s Hauntology

Cage, Nono, and the Haunting Sounds of the 1960s

‘What does it mean to follow a ghost?’ Jacques Derrida’s question in Specters of Marx (1993) introduces ‘hauntology’, highlighting how time is ‘out of joint’ through a Shakespearian lens.

This Element delves into hauntology’s spectral presence in music and technology, particularly focusing on the 1960s. During this era, composers like John Cage and Luigi Nono embraced the ghostly textures of analogue media – crackles,…