Not only am I hard at work…
Just so you don’t think it’s all fun and games over here in Brazil, this is what my hotel room sounds like right now. How restful.
A day at a faraway desk
After a 26-hour journey to Brasilia (via Amsterdam and Rio), I found myself with the luxury of a day to recuperate before my meetings and research work began.
I’ve not been to Brasilia before. It’s beautiful, but it’s strange. Its strangeness lies not only in the fact that the entire city is just a shade over 50 years old, but also that it is divided into districts that meet a specific purpose.
My hotel, like all the other hotels, is in the hotel district. Every building around here is another hotel. Which, I suppose, is great if you’re a taxi driver, but not so great if you’re a visitor who wants to explore on foot – and especially if you’re one who likes to (or needs to) keep costs down.
Fora do Eixo
One of the things I’m going to be working on over the next 12 months is developing a research project into the network of independent music collectives in Brazil, known as Fora do Eixo (Off-Axis).
If it’s new to you, they’re an affiliation of ‘cultural producers’ (promoters, managers, labels etc.) who use the internet to connect and organise, work together and try to make a sustainable independent music and performing arts sector.
Joining live music venues, artists and festivals as well as labels and studios around the country, the collectives have developed a separate economy from that of the mainstream music industry… to the point where they now actually have their own currency. Really.
They’ve just released their end of year figures on their blog (it’s in Portuguese, but I ran it through Google Translate for you).
Rocking in Rio
I’ve spent the past week in Rio de Janeiro, which was pretty amazing on all sorts of levels, though you’ll be delighted to hear that I was there working hard and not just on a big junket to a fabulous city with incredible beaches, breathtaking scenery, great nightlife, amazing music, wonderful food and awesome people – though those, of course, also featured.
I went for a number of reasons. The first of which was to present a keynote speech at an academic conference about independent music in what was being referred to as the “post-crisis age” – which is a fairly contentious term, but it made for an interesting context.
Micael, who organised the conference, also has a new book out about this sort of thing, including contributions from many of the presenters.
It was an opportunity to further my connections with some colleagues I’d met in Madrid earlier in the year – some academics from Spain, as well as a few who had come over to the Madrid conference from Brazil. All music industry and media academics researching and writing about really interesting stuff that doesn’t tend to get published in English.
But the main reason for me was to start making some headway into what I hope will form my major research project for the next year or two: the Fora do Eixo – a network of independent music collectives all across Brazil. It’s fascinating stuff, and nobody seems to know about it – let alone research it – in the English-speaking world… and there’s a lot to learn.
Upcoming keynotes
Keynote speech at Like Minds, Exeter (photo by Harry Duns)
I’ve been doing more and more public speaking over the last year or so, and it’s showing little sign of slowing down. I have a couple of upcoming keynote speeches that I’m really excited about over the next month – one music industry event, and one international academic conference.
Fortunately, the places I’m going for these conferences get me away from the extreme winter that’s going on here in the UK right now. Minus nine is too cold.
I'm the Director of MTF Labs, a Senior Researcher at the Industry Commons Foundation, advisor to ArtEO and founder of New Music Strategies.
I'm an author of books about technology, culture, music and radio. I'm also an award-winning broadcaster and filmmaker, a public speaker and lecturer, record producer and festival director. I am closely following developments in emerging technologies and the cultures and ethics surrounding them, and my projects typically focus on issues of justice, inclusion, and sustainability.
Most of my work involves surrounding myself with incredibly smart and talented people who would have no other reason to ever be in the same room as each other. That's when amazing things happen.
I tend to talk a lot about music (often jazz-adjacent and particularly on vinyl, but also playlists and mixtapes). I'm enthusiastic about food and cooking, the intersection of art and science, new technologies, vintage technologies, education, social progress, silence, innovation, narrative, data commons, culture, sound art and the spoken word. This blog will continue to reflect those diverse and shifting enthusiasms. I may also digress.
I'm from Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland in Aotearoa New Zealand, I have Scottish ancestry, I've spent a decade in the south of Birmingham UK, and another in a forest in the north of Sweden.
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