People Like Us

People Like Us

People Like Us is the project of British collage artist, sound collagist and DJ Vicki Bennett, who is born in 1967 and is based in the United Kingdom. The work centres on plunderphonics and sound collage, with material drawn from music, radio and television and reassembled in a cut-up style. Bennett’s approach often takes familiar fragments of popular music and interrupts or alters them before they settle into something recognisable.

Style and method

The project is associated with “irritainment”, a description for music that deliberately unsettles the listener by shifting or disrupting what seems familiar. The sound is built from sampled media rather than conventional instrumental performance, and the collage method is central to the identity of the project.

Collaborations and releases

People Like Us works with other artists including Wobbly and ]Negativland. Much of the project’s material is made available under a Creative Commons licence through its official website. The project is also linked with the archives of the Do Or DIY programme on WFMU freeform radio.

Related act

The name has also been used by a separate South African Hi-NRG group associated with Paul Crossley and Terry Owen, formed from the remains of Shiraz and later joined by Cindy Dickinson. That act is distinct from Vicki Bennett’s project.