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Dr Luis-Manuel Garcia-Mispireta’s book awarded Ruth Stone Prize by the Society for Ethnomusicology

Together, Somehow: Music, Affect, and Intimacy on the Dancefloor won the ‘Best First Monograph’ award

11 November 2024
Front cover of 'Together, Somehow: Music, Affect, and Intimacy on the Dancefloor' by Dr Luis-Manuel Garcia-Mispireta

The Ruth Stone Prize for Best First Monograph recognises ‘the most distinguished English-language monograph in the field of ethnomusicology, published as the author’s first monograph.’

In his winning book, Together, Somehow: Music, Affect, and Intimacy on the Dancefloor (Duke U Press, 2023), Dr Garcia-Mispireta draws on his time in the minimal techno and house music subscenes in Chicago, Paris, and Berlin to explore how ‘stranger-intimacy’ forms in electronic dance music parties.

What an honour it is to be awarded a prize named after Ruth Stone, an ethnomusicologist known both for her landmark books on methods and theory as well as for her mentorship of early career scholars.

Dr Luis-Manuel Garcia-Mispireta, Associate Professor in Ethnomusicology and Popular Music Studies, Department of Music

Justifying their decision to award the book, the judging panel said: “It is engagingly written, ethnographically evocative, deeply musical, and conveys the author's heartfelt love of the scenes and people he describes.”

UPDATE: Dr Garcia-Mispireta’s book 'Together, Somehow: Music, Affect, and Intimacy on the Dancefloor' has also been awarded the Woody Guthrie Book Award by the US chapter of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM-US).

Named in honour of the eponymous folk singer-songwriter, the prize celebrates the most outstanding book on popular music each year. 

Reacting to the award, Dr Garcia-Mispireta said: “It is such an honour to receive an award named after a legendary anti-fascist and socialist musician"

Featured staff

  • Dr Luis-Manuel Garcia-Mispireta

    Associate Professor in Ethnomusicology and Popular Music Studies

    Biographical and contact information for Dr Luis-Manuel Garcia, Associate Professor in Ethnomusicology and Popular Music Studies at the University of Birmingham.

    Phone: +44 (0)121 414 6041
    Email:

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