Critical Evaluation
Describing The Field
Music is a universal language which can bypass the intellect and communicate directly to the emotions, psyche, and subconscious of an individual. Its use in celebration and ritual is an essential component in virtually every culture and religion on the planet. Because the use of music can communicate directly to our emotional nature, it has the ability to unify people within a common resonance of experience regardless of cultural background, ethnicity, language, or personal beliefs. Today, the field of music is vast in scope so my focus is primarily centered around it’s professional, world-change, and cultural aspects. The professional/business field of music is expressed through a variety of forms in the realms of art, media, entertainment, education, and advertising. Certain musicians, referred to as heroes and revolutionaries by some, have used the power of music as a catalyst for cultural transformation, spiritual inspiration, and activism.
Assessing The Field
Though the field of music and its contributors can be dated back and researched over thousands of years, here, I am specifically focusing on its various manifestations in relation to its impact on more modern times (1960s-present). Today for example, music plays an insurmountable role in the fields of media, advertising, television, and film. In a 2014 interview conducted by Uli Reese, Sir John Hegarty whom has been at the forefront of the creative advertising industry for more than six decades, is asked about the subject of music in relation to building a brand. An excerpt from Hegarty’s response states,
“The thing about music is that it’s an almost purely emotional medium. A tune can have absolutely no meaning apart from the emotional response to it. A story has to have a meaning, a structure. In music the meaning is absolutely connected to your soul and your heart – it’s just something you feel … It can make you want to be associated with something; feel a connection with it. I mean, you don’t listen to a piece of music and say “Oh, I’m going to buy that new Audi.” But in the message you’ve created, the right piece of music can change the way a person feels or thinks about it.”
This quote reveals how the psychology of human emotions in relation to music is applied in advertising, which is an industry of extreme influence in the modern world. In terms of business and the arts, the music industry has changed dramatically since its inception in the early 1900s. Now, in a large degree because of the internet and downloadable music, independent record labels and DIY (Do It Yourself) approaches are making more headway than they could have before when the primary advertising, distribution, and promotion of popular artists was controlled only by major labels such as Colombia, Innerscope, and RCA to name a few. Sandra Cosser, a writer for online marketers ‘Indie news’ begins an article on this very subject by stating,
“The music industry has been bemoaning its fate, as the costs of promoting artists and their songs soar while sales slump … Independent record labels, on the other hand, are reveling in the public attention that the Internet brings to their artists. According to independent record labels, business is booming and prospects have never looked better.”
Although this outcome seems undesirable for record labels operating under the model of how they have traditionally functioned, it is a hopeful horizon for artists dedicated to their craft for the shear love of it whom can effectively ‘bypass the machine’ and share their music through self-promoted platforms and Independent labels which can further expose them to a larger audience. This in turn grants the artist more creative control and fairer deals than what most mainstream music business models are prepared to offer.
On a more philosophical level, because music is essentially a non-dual phenomena and force, one who intentionally wields it can do so to uplift, empower, and inspire the listener, or it can be used to do just the opposite. Most people in the western world are familiar with music dynamos John Lennon and Bob Marley who came from different cultural backgrounds, played different types of music, were voices for two different generations but both moved the hearts and minds of millions with their musical offerings. Songs like “give peace a chance” by John Lennon and “one love, one heart” by Bob Marley, still resound across the globe as universal anthems of unity, peace, and love. Yet another musician born of the same era and whom continues to play to this day is the guitar legend, Carlos Santana. Though his more popular songs and albums haven’t necessarily focalized on lyrics which translate messages identical to those mentioned above, instead it is his relationship with his instrument, an electric guitar, through which Carlos communicates his experience of cosmic unity and divine communion. In a 2007 interview with ‘JamBase’ Santana is asked about Spirituality and how his relationship to it impacts his music and live performance,
“My dad taught me that there’s a way to connect sound [and] resonant vibration immediately to the listener’s heart. For me, it’s just fun discovering how to activate myself and activate them to a spiritual joy … the music becomes more than the notes or chord changes or melodies. It becomes, I guess the best way to describe it is a wave of light that assaults the place … You see women crying and laughing and dancing, and you go into this kind of holy revival. And they’re not faking it, man. They’re possessed because you’re possessed. I’m very grateful to God that I have seen this many, many times”
This is not to say that all musicians’ intentions are aligned with the more ideallic social and spiritual experiences and principles mentioned above. Most mainstream mega-icon hip hop as well as some lingering forms of post-modern rock seem to be the opposition and cause of stagnation with regards to modern music’s evolution in a more heart-centered direction. Despite these genres, which seem to be trending toward entropy, many musicians within and gaining momentum from the millennial generation seem to be moving in a more life-affirming, passionate, and purpose-driven direction both artistically and ideologically. Chris Matrin, frontman of one of the worlds most popular alternative rock groups, ‘Coldplay’, when discussing with NME magazine regarding their most recent album, ‘A Head Full of Dreams’, says
“The song including ‘The Guest House’ itself is about “love and acceptance and embracing what happens to you,” says Martin, before adding, “It's quite a hippie album. All of our records were a journey to get to this one."
Even though its a short statement and regardless of the derogatory use of the word “Hippy”, the massive popularity of this band and the widespread distribution of this album stands as a guidepost and way stream to where, I believe, mainstream music is ultimately headed.
How am I impacting the Field?
In regards to my personal impact on the field of music, I, with humility, practicality, and joy, consider myself to be following the same inherent creative impulse and current of energy, which forerunners like those mentioned above accessed, harnessed and helped to materialize in the world. Though my personal impact so far is small, with the release of only one album and around 50 performances, the feedback and emotional response I receive from many listeners and fans whom feel inspired and uplifted by my music is infinitely rewarding. Receiving various messages from people Iv’e never met, expressing how my first album, SunDog, helped them through difficult times, Is an experience so rewarding and humbling words don’t really do it justice. As a band (Ecstatic Union) we are focused on writing music and lyrics which act as a catalyst to uplift, inspire, and empower the listener. Because our intentions spiritually, emotionally, and artistically are aimed to be harmonized through our musical expression, we offer another option of ‘being’ as a band and live as an example to the larger community of musicians whom may be aspiring to create and experience something similar. We play shows with other like artists with whom we support, share, and help to encourage the growth of musical community. Within and apart from the band, I also encourage others to express themselves musically both by helping them craft their songs as well as by teaching (usually in an intuitively adaptive way) inexperienced individuals whom want to learn how to play.
Comparative Assessment
In comparison to how Iv’e effected others with my music as referenced above, Kevin Parker, leader of the increasingly famous psychedelic indie rock band ‘Tame Impala’, in a 2016 interview by APRA () for a ‘song of the year’ award nomination said,
“When people tell you that your song is having an impact on them and helping them through a hard time or a rough patch of their life, or whatever, its endlessly fulfilling.”
One of the beautiful things about music is that it doesn’t even need to be intentionally life-affirming or positive to beneficially impact the listener. All it needs to be, I believe, for impact like this to occur, is honest. Even if its painful, apathetic, or aggressive, when passion and honesty is fused and expressed, and a musician gives voice to something that people feel but don’t necessarily speak about openly, a greater level of depth not so easily found in many types of media is communicated with the listener. In turn, through the experience of the emotions brought forth from the music, one may experience a deeper level of feeling, awareness, or interconnection with the artist and the world around them. A band with a very similar message as Ecstatic Union’s, lyrically and poetically, is a now world famous group called ‘The Magnetic Zeros’ (formerly Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros), whom is helping to pave the way for bands like ours to begin infiltrating the mainstream again, similar to the impact with John Lennon, Bob Marley, and George Harrison had, both on the industry and the world in general.
“It’s about the fact that it’s irrelevant whether or not I can create heaven on earth or utopia or anything like that. It’s irrelevant to me that you might say it’s impossible. It’s irrelevant to me if it is impossible. I’m going to do it anyway. It’s not that I think I’m going to succeed necessarily. And it’s not that I claim I’m going to succeed. I’m just going to do it anyway. Because I don’t really know what else I’m doing here. That seems to be the only thing that makes sense as far as being on earth.”
The above quote was said by Alex Ebert, lead singer of The Magnetic Zeros, in a 2012 interview with Spin Magazine when asked about a seemingly contradictory lyric in their song, ‘Dear Believer’. Another aspect which I feel is related between Edward Sharpe and Ecstatic Union is the intention of our performances. In the same interview, Ebert states “The celebratory aspect of that is a big part of what we’re doing” and in terms of playing live, I would say this element is a key experience we as Ecstatic Union aim to create and embody.
In terms of my own methodologies and techniques in relation to others’ involved in the field of music, if I was to dive deep enough into the personal history of virtually any artists with similar goals as my own, I would no doubt find countless similarities. This is because music is an art form which is universally expressed and has been for thousands of years. Anyone who plays an instrument or uses their voice in song is automatically accessing a collective field of consciousness which has been built upon for centuries. As soon as one brings their unique gift to the field of music, an original way in which to express it is born. Because much of what and how we learn to express ourselves as musicians is taught through the examples and teachings of others, a cross-pollenization of styles, genres, methods, and modalities is bound to occur, fractalizing the spirit of music ever further into existence. Besides the technicalities of music which basically every musician should be familiar with at least a small portion of if they choose to pursue it professionally, an awareness and deepened cultivation of the interpersonal relationship between ourselves, music, and the world around us can be tremendously beneficial. In my personal experience, I find that a consistent meditation practice (which I also consider playing music to be a form of) helps to amplify and ground the creative energy with which I utilize to make music and write songs. In turn, it helps me feel more connected to my body, the planet, and nature as whole. Rick Rubin, an award winning producer considered to be a kind of zen master of the music industry, has been practicing sitting meditation since the age of seven and in an interview with Purple Magazine, said,
“The power of nature is what all art strives to be. The more we can get in tune with the harmony of the planet, the more our art can benefit from that relationship.”
I found that if I meditate, even if only for five minutes before a performance, that state of peace and presence which I cultivated while meditating, stays with me and provides support to my whole being and by default to the rest of the band, through the entire duration of the show. Its hopeful to see more artists and producers being explicit about these deeper topics not always discussed in the world of mainstream music entertainment. Though I am not as of yet recognized on this level artistically, I am contributing support and growth to the field through my own offerings nonetheless.