Researchers

Sally Anne Gross has worked in the music industry since 1989, as an artist manager, A & R manager, and as a record label director and head of business affairs. She is a Reader in Music Business at the University of Westminster and a public speaker.

 In 2017, Sally and her co-researcher Dr George Musgrave are responsible for largest ever study into the mental health of musicians in the music industry, entitled ‘Can Music Make You Sick’ which was funded by the charity Help Musicians UK. Sally’s research areas cover working practices in the music industries and how they impact equality and diversity, specifically looking at issues of gender, race, and sexuality. Sally is also board member of the IVORS Academy Trust. Sally Anne Gross is a regular speaker at music conferences around the world, from Paris to L.A to New Zealand and across Europe. 

Hussein is a multi-instrumentalist and music educator with a diverse range of recording, production, business, and performance experiences. As a principal lecturer at the University of Westminster and member of the Black Music Research Unit, his teaching areas include music production, performance technologies, songwriting, modular synthesis, live coding, music business and Artificial Intelligence. He has taught for a number of distinguished institutions including Goldsmiths, IOE, City Lit, UoW and for organisations such as Prince’s Trust, Community Music, Rockschool, and managed special projects for Arts Council of England, Domex, BBC R2 and Somerset House.

As a session musician he has worked for a diverse range of artists including Beats International, Freak Power, Norman Cook, Ephraim Lewis, Karen Ramirez, Billy Ocean, Charles and Eddie, Eusebe, DeLa Soul, Elisha LaVerne, Alex Parks and the seminal UK P-Funk outfit Microgroove (4th and Broadway), born from the ashes of Loose Tubes. Working as a musical director for a number of touring artists, special events for Princes’ Trust and companies including Universal, Polydor, Warners, AVEX, Sanctuary, Sony, BBC TV, CITV, C4 and BFI.

His recent publications include using shift registers for semi-improvised songwriting, several short fiction stories about AI and music, reimagining the DAW as a design tool, and the role of the anti-aesthetic in music production education. He is an independent artist releasing his own material, makes YouTube video music production tutorials and is the organiser of the London Ableton Live User Group which meets to discuss the creative application of music technology.

To see more about Hussein’s publications and talks, see here. You can get in touch with Hussein via email at [email protected].

Julia Toppin is Lecturer in Music Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at the University of Westminster. Julia currently manages the final year Live Music showcase and runs the Artist Development research project, Playlist Westminster. Julia is an inclusive Junglist Historian and an advocate for women in music, particularly black women. Research interests include music ecologies aka music cities, music business, and music education. Julia is a board member of the International Music Business Research Association.  A former television producer, film marketing consultant, and secondary English teacher, Julia has contributed to several books, podcasts, live talks and has written for Resident Advisor, DJ Mag, Disco Pogo, The Quietus, and Beatportal. Julia tweets and Toks @Miss_Toppin and broadcasts on Repeater Radio about popular culture (New Nationwide Project) and Jungle Drum and Bass (Conscious Lyrics).

Board Member – International Music Business Research Association

Broadcast Journalist – New Nationwide Project – March 2024 – Black Women In Music

Toppin, J and Misrahi, S. (2024). What Makes Something Jungle. Resident Advisor.  

Toppin, J. (2023). Dizzee Rascal’s Boy In Da Corner turns 20 – here’s how it ushered in the era of grime. The Conversation

Toppin, J. (2023). Jungle: A Critical Intersectional History. In M. Charles & M. Gani (Eds.), Black Music in Britain in the 21st Century

Linked In – https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliatoppin/

X – https://twitter.com/Miss_Toppin

Tik Tok – https://www.tiktok.com/@miss_toppin

Researchgate – https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Julia-Toppin

Academia – https://independent.academia.edu/JToppin

Orcid – https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0923-9984

Dr Chris Christodoulou is a Senior Lecturer in media and music sociology at the University of Westminster. He is interested in the links between sound, moving image production, and emerging/interactive media, and takes a sample-based approach to teaching audio production. His published work focuses on the impact of accelerationism on electronic dance music subcultures inflected by Black British and UK working-class experiences, especially jungle drum and bass, along with the culturally resistant use of technology in the social production of underground music. In 2009, he completed his PhD thesis, Renegade Hardware: Speed, Technology and Cultural Practice in Jungle Drum & Bass. Excerpts from this thesis were included as part of the 2018 Super Sharp Reloaded exhibition at the Selfridges department store in London, curated by Tory Turk and Saul Milton in collaboration with the London College of Fashion. Additionally, Christodoulou has explored fan communities based on the collecting of ‘retro’ and obsolete electronic media. He has also made several appearances on TRT World to discuss Gen Z music and identity, fitness culture on social media, and the implications of AI for human actors in the film and video game industries.

To find out more about Dr Christodoulou’s publications, please see here. You can get in touch with Dr Christodoulou at [email protected]

Lizzie joined the BMRU in 2024 as a Research Associate, and is working with director Dr Mykaell Riley to support the launch of the Beyond the Bassline Exhibition and future projects with national and international partners. Outside of her work with the University of Westminster, she is a first year AHRC-funded PhD student at the University of Bristol, working across the Departments of Music, English, and affiliated with the University’s Centre for Black Humanities. Her project considers a sub-genre of UK rap known as conscious rap, thinking about longer-form rap albums with politically conscious overtones as works of Black-British autofiction. She is interested in the ways in which UK rap artists craft narratives about themselves, their cultures and communities, and the creative licence they allow themselves when telling their stories. 

To learn more about Lizzie’s research and publications, see here. You can get in touch with Lizzie via email at [email protected].