Drum & Lace Field Notes 20
Exploring 'does anybody care' & finding true value through community
Ciao a tutti,
It is somehow November already - hope you’ve all been well, and happy beaver Full Moon! Apparently the November full moon is called ‘beaver’ because it’s when said animals are said to retreat to their lairs for the winter-time. Not going to lie, I sure share their sentiment, as I type this huddled under a mountain of blankets, trying to stave off the cold that’s been going around lately (and dreaming of piping hot lasagna).
My life lately has been motley, with all things feeling very full-on, in a predominantly good way. Popping its little head out is the paradox of creative life - when you’re not actively on projects & writing music, you question your life choices and pine for more coming your way (ie ‘what am I doing with my life’ moments). And then, when all the things are coming your way, you crave more time to do less (ie you turn into a procrastination monster of epic proportions, or maybe just me?). The expression ‘when it rains, it pours’ also applies. I don’t bring this up as a flex or brag, as much as to keep myself accountable and to remind myself to enjoy the ride, so to speak, as staying engaged in (mostly) creative things is a humongous privilege. That said, I’m socially absolutely tapped out and cannot wait to go into hibernation mode - leaving the house as little as possible while cozily nestling up in my studio (already evidence of warm beverage intake going up, below).
The last couple weeks have brought a ton of engaging conversations in person and on (mostly) instagram about the state of the musician and the role of an artist in today’s landscape. A series of IG stories, that I’ve since turned into a reel that you can see on my profile, seem to have struck a particular chord and to have resonated with a ton of you. Before I get to the contents of that, what inspired me to make that was an incredibly well narrated video I came across that, in a very concise way, discussed the history of accessibility and ownership of modern music. You can see that video, aptly titled ‘What comes after streaming?’ here posted by Janelee.music- I’d never thought of this history of accessibility as starting from sheet music, which people wanted so they could recreate the music they heard at concerts. The video then continues describing how folks then wanted to access the music at home, so the phonograph/gramophone was invented, but then people wanted to bring music with them, and so forth. Undoubtedly, the video concludes with the realization that we are no longer hindered by accessibility as we have nearly all recorded music ever available on DSPs and in the palm of our hands, but that in that process, we have completely devalued music. When you can access everything, you actually don’t own anything. Further, the video also points out what I had been thinking and expressing for some time - that focusing and building on smaller communities, especially in real life, can be the future we all want and can hope for.
This brings me to the reel I posted, and the sentiments that I brought up. What seemed to really relate to those who messaged me after was the feeling of ‘does anybody care? and does it matter?’. Ultimately, we all create art out of a necessity of self-expression and, at its purest, art doesn’t need an audience to exist. That said, in a world where passions become careers and we all have bills to pay, dedicating your life/health and all your financial resources to creating music, videos, assets, live shows, etc that no one cares about is definitely quite a daunting thing to think about. Additionally, everything is hard for the majority of us at this time - inflation, cost of living, taking care of family and more - so it’s understandable that folks can’t endlessly support independent artists the way that maybe they used to. There’s no real coherent ‘lightbulb’ moment in what I posted, in as much as I felt like I needed to once again get those feelings off my chest and express my concerns. And I’d say that most of you have been feeling the same way, which is both reassuring (as a ‘we’re in this together’ type moment) and extremely disconcerting. On a positive note, I too see the HUGE benefits of zero-ing in on smaller and more engaged communities, shifting the focus from achieving fleeting virality-type success to nursing and nurturing lifelong and ever-evolving careers. I say this all the time, but our creative careers are marathons, not sprints. Also, support your favorite artists & friends however you can!
I’ve come across a few other interesting videos in the last week or so, such as this one by Arnii Ata talking about the ‘clubbing bubble’, and how essentially the major label music industry complex is just feeding itself in a feedback loop made up of the same 10 companies and what effect a recession/economic collapse would have on this venture capital fed system (spoiler: AI is the same). The conclusion is somewhat the same as my video and Janelee.music, and I quote, ‘the underground isn’t dead’.
LNAdoesaudiostuff also posted an incredibly relatable and well said set of slides yesterday titled ‘The music industry isn’t built for artists anymore’ which I invite you to check out. She describes how the moment she decided to release her own artists music, that she felt herself become more precious about her art, but not in a positive way. Truly have felt a lot of what she’s posted. Also, LNA is an amazing artist, published writer and technologist, so make sure you check out her body of work.
The last one, that honestly sort of left my jaw on the floor, is this ‘Billionaire 101’ reel by TortillaWilson, which echoes this week’s Billie Eilish billionaire-call out.
Please let me know your thoughts on this topic in the comments, or reach out to me on socials and whatnot!
This seems like a good time to remind you that the next Solstice Solidarity Synthesis, an ambient/electronic concert series that celebrates solstices while giving back, is coming up in London at The Old Church on December 17th! Advance tickets are currently £17, but here’s a special substack subscriber link for 10% off your tickets until December 5th - get them here. Proceeds from the concert this time go to City Harvest London, an org that provides meals to those experiencing food poverty in London - feels important that no one go hungry around the holidays. Hope any of you that are London-based can make it!
As I keep alluding, there’s a lot brewing on both my artist and film/tv side of things. A new release, and pertinent info and visual stuff, coming so so soon! And the tv series I’m currently working on will be a guilty-pleasure watch for a lot of you, I know it. It feels so silly to constantly say ‘more soon’, but it’s usually worth the wait right?
In things I can tell you - since the last Field Notes, I’ve approved the masters for my upcoming release and got super emo about it (photo evidence in gallery below)! They sound SO good, many beats and synths to love forward to! Then the remix I did for Vōx’s track ‘All My Friends Are Ghosts’, that is part of their remix EP ‘All My Besties’, is out now on all streaming platforms. On top of that, there’s also a short little nerdy Ableton breakdown video, in which I talk about a few of my favorite things in the remix. The original video is longer (over 5 minutes) but I haven’t gotten around to adding it to my Youtube- there’s not enough hours in the day.
On the film/tv composing side, I’ve been thrilled to be quite active in community outreach lately, getting to participate in an incredible initiative spearheaded by composer Sheridan Tongue to end the practice of ghostwriting in the UK and beyond. The document, that 12 UK-based composers (including yours truly) discussed and drew up, calls for an end to this practice, in which a composer’s work and contribution to a project is virtually invisible. The Ivors have launched the official End Ghostwriting campaign for it, which you can read all about and sign the pledge online. Please consider joining us!
I also had the pleasure of being invited to be a part of The Alliance of Women Film Composers (The AWFC) Industry Day in mid-October, and got to chat on a panel with fellow colleagues and friends Isobel Waller-Bridge, Emilie Levanaise-Farouch, Amelia Warner, Uéle Lemore and Hannah Peel, moderated by Jenn Moss of Siren Music. It was an incredible day of community and support and if you’re a woman composer, I encourage you to join as the global chapters are growing.
There’s so much more on my mind that I could share with you all, but I think that’s pretty good for tonight. Again, I invite & hope for more conversations about the state of the creative industries as well as ways of supporting one another!
So remember to set your intentions for this bright second super Full Moon tonight, and let it ground you, even if you feel like your emotions at the moment are being amplified like wild. Declutter if you need to, and feel this full moon in your body, not your mind.
Be well and be kind to one another - a presto!
xoxo,
D & L
