AN ATTEMPT AT A PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CONCEPT OF SAMPLING BASED ON PIERRE SCHAFER9S SOUND OBJECTS : CULTURAL STUDIES PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Purpose of the work. Purpose of the work is to reconceptualize use of the musical sampling beyond its technical execution. This article presents an interdisciplinary study of the phenomenon of music sampling as both an object of phenomenological analysis and a cultural artifact. The reuse of musical material is no longer seen as a purely technical technique, but rather is revealed in terms of the deep cultural meaning it encodes. In order to reveal the encoded meanings, the study draws on the theoretical work of Pierre Schafer, in particular, his conceptualization of the terms l'objet sonore and musique concrète, and offers a phenomenological view of samples as separate audio phenomena that manifest themselves through reduced listening. The article also explores the cultural rootedness of samples, with a purpose of suggesting that samples function as carriers of memory and cultural identity, moving from a state of perceptual presence to a state of semiotic depth depending on the listener's cultural context.
Methodical base. The study uses phenomenological reduction based on Pierre Schafer's method of reduced listening, interpretive analysis of audio objects, comparative analysis of historical sound practices, discourse analysis of cultural and political dimensions of sampling, hermeneutical interpretation within cultural theory, and theoretical synthesis of phenomenology, sound studies, and poststructuralist thought.
Scientific novelty. The novelty of the work lies in the attempt to analyze sampling as both phenomenological and cultural phenomena. This analysis has shown that music samples should be considered as intentional and acoustic sound objects, isolated from their original source and recontextualized in a new creative environment. Techniques such as looping and
sound transformation reflect Schaffer's early experiments («closed loop» and «cut bell»), emphasizing the role of reduced
listening in the sampling process. Reduced listening facilitates the isolation of a sound element from its functional or semiotic
context, allowing the composer or producer to perceive and rethink the sample as a separate phenomenon. Additional discovery lies in the fact that the analysis encountered the limitations inherent in phenomenological reduction: samples, even when perceived acoustically, continue to carry cultural, historical, and symbolic meanings. Referring to theorists such as Don Ide, Roman Ingarden, and Salomé Voegelin, the study shows that samples resist pure abstraction and retain traces of their origins.
These traces can include timbral memory, rhythmic idioms, or stylistic markers that refer to certain musical traditions or sociohistorical narratives. Thus, the sample becomes a site of multistable meanings shaped by the listener's cultural context.
Conclusions. The study has shown that music sampling is a multilayered phenomenon that combines phenomenological and cultural perspectives. The sample appears as an intentional sound object that is perceived through reduced listening and recontextualized in a new environment. However, a complete phenomenological reduction is not possible, as samples retain cultural and historical responses that are manifested through timbre, rhythm, or symbolic codes. This shows the importance of the listener's presence for the actualization of meanings. In the cultural dimension, sampling functions as a carrier of traveling memory, capable of forming rhizomatic structures, as Hilgonda Rietveld has shown. Thanks to this, sampling appears as a form of cultural gesture that balances between preservation and innovation. The dual nature of the sample as a sound object and cultural artifact requires an interdisciplinary approach. Further research should be aimed at analyzing specific musical examples in a cultural context to deepen the understanding of the interaction between the perceptual form of the sample and its symbolic saturation.