Plunderphonics

Plunderphonics is a compositional method and genre built entirely from the appropriation of existing audio recordings. The term, coined by *John Oswald* in 1985, describes a practice rooted in musique concrète where identifiable sound sources are manipulated, layered, and recontextualized into new forms. Its sonic character is a mosaic of fragmented media, often retaining the artifacts of its source material, from vinyl crackle to digital compression. The ethos ranges from playful sonic collage, as heard on *The Avalanches*'s "Since I Left You", to a direct critique of copyright and consumer culture. Its techniques have deeply influenced sample-based hip hop, mashup, and the formation of internet-native genres like vaporwave.