struggle for sound

I've been despicably quiet.

With the results of the general election here, the country gently drifted from a state of general apathy but acceptance towards cultural activity, into a risk-aversive mindset. This (more than any cut) has made my working here difficult; places that would normally have relished totally improvised music are more constrained and choosing safer options.

But around the world there seems to be signs of resurgence, a battle so to speak, against mediocrity and safety. More powerful people are being challenged, asked and found wanting. There's evidence that things are turning around. Slowly, but (I hope) surely.

My part in the struggle was a local development of the idea that I spoke about on here. After a frustrating time trying to fund the project, I looked at the resources and local stories around me; and created pure text-based "music scripts" for a sextet to perform. I connected the local stories (which were mainly allegorical) to current events, showing that the power of old wisdom, and stories, and reading. As I felt that we were declaring a state of times, I called the group Heralds and we did a short series of concerts around England.

You can hear our concert in Newcastle at http://heralds.coreymwamba.co.uk/ - but I will be uploading a copy of "the worm" (the story for which you can read on the Heralds site) here soon.

I'm interested to hear from others to see how they as artists are being treated in their locations. Is this the same for everyone?