Michael Chanan is a filmmaker, writer and teacher. He has written widely on both film and music, and his books include The Dream That Kicks, The Cuban Image, Musica Practica and Repeated Takes.

Praise for Michael Chanan's previous books: "[Repeated Takes] is elegant and impressively well-informed ... [Chanan] has a strong grasp of the way different musical cultures - different 'musics' - from Machaut to Maderna, Tin Pan Alley to dub reggae, have adapted themselves to the revolution they have been caught up in, and been changed by it." - London Review of Books "Bristling with details... [Repeated Takes] attempts to reconcile the various strands of its subject - the recording industry and the genres it has fostered or transformed - and to make sense of them." - New Statesman & Society "One of the real strengths of [Musica Practica] is its refusal to limit itself merely to the consideration of classical music ... a weighty tome, but well worth the effort." - BBC Music