Today is another more wordy, conceptual one as I've had this thought running through my head for a couple weeks and I just want to get it down in writing so that I can think about something else. Music has always been intrinsically linked to sound in the same way language and communication are, they are reliant on the audio. Culturally, when we study any society or period of time, their music communicates a lot to us about who they are, and both language and music are interpreted and understood, used and made in different ways around the world. Over time, they develop and transform in different ways, and you could compare the advancement of electronic music with the influence the internet and technology have on our language and the way we communicate; memes, acronyms, tweets and so on. I have a few examples of where I think music truly takes the form of communication, not quite in this literal way, but more in how it expresses a message beyond the artist-listener dialogue.
Everyone has their own taste in music, that is based on what they hear at school, at uni, in their social scenes and based on their own exploration of what's out there. But I feel like a separate clause should be reserved for the music that's passed down to you from your parents. It always brings up a very specific nostalgia in you, and you can distinguish it from your other tastes. Your parents are the archetype for what a person is to you growing up, you see how they react to things and subconsciously learn that that's how you should react too. With music, their passion will probably be the first you witness and understand, and so it always holds a special place for you. Essentially, they're communicating to you a huge part of who they are through the music they love. My mum loves David Bowie and I do through her; I so understand why he's brilliant because of this and in turn I feel like it's a window into part of who she was in her youth for me. It's not just me either, this communication has taken place through my whole family, and I really feel connected to everyone whenever we play 'Space Oddity', 'Let's Dance', 'Changes' or 'Starman' at home, and so on.
For me, that's the greatest example, but it genuinely is so much broader than that. There are a few absolutely outstanding tracks that I'll always associate with my family and how I've bonded and connected with them through it. 'Summer Madness' by Kool & The Gang, 'Triptico' by Gotan Project and Brubeck's 'Take Five' all mould the vision and understanding of who my parents are to me. Music I share with both of my brothers is a key part of how we express ourselves to one another for me, particularly with Hugo who doesn't talk a lot lol. But it's true, I really relate to them and share our live experiences through music in a way I probably couldn't with other forms of language. Sometimes Hugo will send me a song and be like 'Jasper' (our dog) which doesn't really make any sense but I'll know exactly what he means lol.
So that's how I feel communication through music occurs with family, but I noticed something really interesting on a friend level too. Of course, individual songs can have huge meaning; me and my friend Rose met on April 14th so Aphex Twin's 'Avril 14th' is like our special anniversary tune. And I've mentioned before that I have a playlist for each of quite a few of my friends so I can share music easily with them and create a mood that reminds me of them when I need it. That's certainly a form of communication in itself, but in particular I've loved what's happened with my friend Yasmeen, who's on her year abroad in Bologna. She's so far away and sometimes we don't get to talk for a while, but we've been able to still feel like we're hanging out through the playlist and remind each other that we're still there. It's comforting, and over time the songs added have adapted as we as what I'm conveying to her changes. It only stepped up even more once I'd gone out to visit her. We'd sit on her balcony in the sun every day listening to this playlist, to these songs that now meant so much to us in our own unique way, and making such a peng memory together. Now, imagine I'm telling everyone this at my birthday night, painting the scene, and she takes my birthday card out of her bag only to show that she's drawn that exact moment on the front of the card. If that's not communicating to another level of understanding, I don't know what is.
So, there are some cool examples of how music is a language between you and other people, but what about with yourself? I once had a lecture about how language is so part of who we are that it's internal as well; how you think, the words you imagine in your head to process your experiences are all reliant on language. Well, I really think you speak to yourself through song as well. Spotify do that top 100 songs of the last year thing and I always look back and think of how it really reflects what I was going through at the time. On a larger scale, genres you move in and out of end up being pillars of times in your life and you can see the journey you've been through in a way only you can understand through them. I have certain songs I know will make me cry, and it's a way I can tell myself to let my emotions out. Orbital's 'Belfast', Burial's remix of 'Love' and Maribou State's 'Glasshouses' are all songs that really mean something to me at the moment, but it isn't something I can explain. Music is intertwined with the constant internal dialogue I have with myself and how I handle life every day.
To get even more indulgently deep, do you ever find music just gives you the space you need, like it provides a canvas on which to paint our thoughts? When you really need to cut off from everything around you and just think, it prevents our brain from being clogged up with anxieties and stress. That being said, you wouldn't paint a grey stone with the brightest colours you could find. The right music let's you process the right thoughts, or release the right emotions. It's built into us, into the way our brains work. Music reflects the innermost details of who we are and it's intertwined with humanity inseparably. Just like language, it's programmed into how we function.
ANYWAY, back to reality. There's lots of exciting music coming out this month! Peggy Gou will release her DJ Kicks which I'm anticipating with bated breath, but not as much as Burial's 'Claustro / State Forest' EP which comes out in a week or two. I heard the first track on the radio show it premiered on and the more club-ready feel it has to it got me so hyped. It's still so authentic to his style and still so genius, but I'm dying to hear it when I'm out or at festivals this summer. In terms of a few cool tracks I've been listening to recently, check out 'Tala' by Shiva, and Summer has me hooked on Groove Armada's 'At The River', absolute blessing. Oh, and Slowthai's great new album has had 'Doorman' stuck in my head/on repeat a lot too.
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