This is something I have wanted to write about for sometime and was reminded of this by my lovely colleague/friend Adam, with whom I was chatting the other day.
Music to me is all about communication and connection. As a singer, I want to share a story or experience with you, and take you on a journey with me. And for those maybe three and a half minutes I want to be caught up in the intention of that song.
I’m not saying you always need lyrics. Some of the most powerful music I have experienced has been instrumental. In fact, one of my earliest, lasting memories was as a teenager going to see Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar with my family. In those days, the fusion of eastern and western instrumentation was not commonplace. This concert was groundbreaking really. It was exhilarating and electrifying - and for a few hours I was immersed in a magical world.
I suppose I love that fantastical quality of music. The escape. Falling down the rabbit hole.
In other ways music can be very potent and real. It has the power to transport you, at lightening speed, back to the most evocative memories. One song has the power to undo all that work you have done on a broken heart. You can be a million miles away and remember someone or something from your past, and smile and feel like it has only just happened. And if the right song comes on at a party, well there is nothing you can do but get on your feet and shake your thing. We all have our own jam, right?
I am lucky to know many wonderful musicians, all of whom, I suppose, want to do well with their music and to be successful - it is our profession after all. But sterilizing music into just a product, manufacturing a particular end result - it feels a little soulless to me. I think you know where I am going with this...I love meeting people who have very different musical tastes to me; I love hearing something new that I really like and broadening my musical horizons.
The other thing I don’t really understand is when you ask some people, and I do know a few, what music they like and they say they don’t really listen to music. I’m not saying this is right or wrong, but it really feels like they are missing out on a world rich with experience and colour.
So, music is… finish the sentence with one word. It’s quite hard.
So I’ll make it easier, what does music mean to you?