Adorno and Horkheimer

Adorno and Horkheimer argued that the culture industry created an ongoing 'assembly line character' which usually successfully are rated on 'the synthetic, planned method of turning out its products'.

Adorno and Horkheimer adopted and created the term 'Culture Industry' to argue the way cultural items are produced was analogous to how other products, artist for example, were manufactured.

Their view of cultural production has been seen as the pessimistic lament of cultural elitists to what they were perceived to be the homogeneity and vulgarity of 'mass taste' and popularity. The theory also expresses a worry that the creativity in music, literature and art has been corrupted by production methods and regimes of industrial capitalism.

Boyzone, JLS, One Direction, Take That, West Life; are they actually any different to each other? Companies, in Cultural Industry, produce recognisably the same product over and over again, simply given a different name with younger products.

Artist background

Aaliyah Ade, better known by her stage name VIVID, is a solo artist from South East London born in November 1996. Descending from a family of musicians and dancers, she’s always had a love for music.

It was in 2013 when her parents got divorced and shortly after her grandmother who taught her how to play the keyboard died. She channelled her upset into song writing and began doing gigs around London. Her songs were often very lyrically sad, backed with an upbeat, happy soundtrack in contrast to pay homage to her grandmother’s favourite songs. During a gig in one of London’s most loved bars in Soho was when a producer saw her perform and asked to work with her on some tracks. They released a joint EP entitled ‘Psychedelic Dreams’ and were both signed to EMI a year later in 2016.

Since being signed VIVID has been touring as an opening act for the likes of Tinie Tempah and Ella Eyre. Her debut album is due to be released in the Easter of 2018.