A Music Journalist That Doesn't Listen To Music?!
How do you do your job?
Welcome back to Music Is The Answer, a newsletter run by myself Marcus Barnes.
It’s been an absolute age since I’ve had the time and energy to give this newsletter any attention. For numerous reasons it simply has not been possible to keep it going, although it has been on mind. Anyway, here we are, back to it…
There’s an interview from my archives with the mighty MK, a selection of mixes I’ve been rinsin’ over the last few months/years, an interview with YouTube don 2trancentral and a little bit about why I stopped listening to music for nearly two months this year…
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RIP Jean-Louis Santoro
Before I go any further, I must say a big RIP to Jean-Louis Santoro - co-founder of Ibiza Voice. When I first started out freelancing in music journalism, he was one of the first people to take a chance on me, which I’ve seen several other people say and that speaks volumes about him. I wrote for Ibiza Voice for about a year I think, 10 years ago when I had virtually no connections in dance music, no portfolio of work in that specific area, no nothing really and he gave me a break, took me on and commissioned a lot of my ideas. It was also one of the few paid gigs I had at that time, though I know he felt frustrated at not being able to offer more that what was on the table (i.e. not very much). However, he compensated by giving me lots of work.
As many tributes to Jean-Louis will attest, he was a force of nature who didn’t take anything lying down and he was a fearsome advocate of independence. He took no prisoners on the island and Ibiza Voice was a much needed counterpoint to a lot of the superficial bullshit that seeped into the island’s culture. Our world needs more people like Jean-Louis, a man who unapologetically fought for the greater good.
Sending love and positivity to his family and friends. Thanks for everything. <3
RIP Sam Guetta as well.
Enjoy The Silence
So, back in May (which feels like a lifetime ago now) I went away for a month. Never done that before ever; a whole month away from work and life itself. I served at a meditation centre that I’ve been going to since 2016. It’s a Vipassana centre, in Herefordshire, and it’s a place where I have undergone a lot of life-changing self-therapy, through a meditation technique that is as brutal as it is peace-inducing. The centre is called Dhamma Dipa and the grounds are beautiful - it’s an old farmhouse, with buildings and stables that have been converted into accommodation for the students. Next door is Dhamma Padhāna, on the same site. At Dipa they run 10-day silent courses and Padhāna is where long courses take place, from 20 days up to 45 days (yes, 45 days in total silence). It’s surrounded by gorgeous countryside as well.
Anyway, when I got there, Government restrictions meant courses weren’t running but the first few weeks were spent preparing the site for the resumption of courses in the third week of May. When serving you can talk, but there’s no music or other forms of entertainment. There’s a small library, but the only books available are ones on the meditation practice. So for the whole of May I didn’t listen to any music. In all honesty it was a relief to have a break from it (as well as everything else in my life). My days were spent either cleaning various parts of the site or assisting in the kitchen, meditating - we had three obligatory hour-long group sits per day - and, either walking around the grounds or chilling/meditating in my room at Dhamma Padhāna when there was any downtime. It was bliss. I got everything I needed from that place.
While I was at the centre I had a fascinating chat with one of the other long-term servers, who revealed to me that he doesn’t listen to music anymore. “You don’t listen to music?! At all?!!”… was my response. I couldn’t get my head around why, and I couldn’t stop asking him questions about it. I needed to understand everything about why music was no longer part of his life, as he was a big music fan in his youth. As I may have said before, my mum played me music when I was in her womb, it’s always been there. One of the first things I do in the morning is put some music on, and it’s usually playing right up until I go to bed. It’s almost impossible to imagine life without it.
Now, this guy didn’t all of sudden “quit music”. He said it simply fell to the wayside naturally over time, as his meditation practice deepened. This is partly due to how influential music can be on one’s state of mind. As we all know, it’s a powerful medium for affecting one’s mood or emotional state and it can have a profound effect on the way we think and feel. External forms of entertainment, like music, he explained, can be manipulative and distract us from our inner work. Now this is a total oversimplification of what is a very personal and complicated thing, but that’s the general gist of what he said.
When I came back to “reality” there was a hell of a lot to contend with, and, rather than turn to music to help me through it, I actually carried on for about a month or so without listening to anything. I was meditating for an hour every morning and night, not listening to music and doing my utmost to deal with all the difficulties that arose when I came back. You know something, I really enjoyed abstaining from music and most of the time, I wasn’t even really in the mood to put any tunes on. A few weeks after I got back, I was talking to someone and told them I wasn’t listening to music at that time. “A music journalist who doesn’t listen to music?!” they scoffed. I hadn’t even thought of it like that, and laughed to myself.
As you would with a food fast, it’s important to reintegrate music back into your life gently, so I took my time and only listened to ambient or easy-going stuff for a while. I recall cancelling my radio show in June because I was trying to put a playlist together but all the music I was selecting jarred me. So it was a very considered return to music, taken with baby steps. I probably could have cut it out for longer, but I do have a job to do, which revolves around listening to music, so you know…
As I sit here typing this at 3pm I’m listening to an old school garage mix (posted below), and I switched my speakers on before 8am this morning, so I’m well and truly back on it. Happy to be soundtracking every day with music again, but also aware of how refreshing it is to take a break. I remember coming back from one of my silent courses a few years ago and going to see a string quartet. It was a very intimate performance, and I was sat close to the performers. I could literally feel the vibrations of the strings as they were being played. It was a very tangible musical experience, amplified by the fact that I’d been away from music, and also being more in tune with my body and the various subtle sensations I was experiencing.
Funnily enough, while at Dhamma Dipa I spoke to a few of the assistant teachers, who are the most experienced Vipassana meditators I’ve had the chance to interact with. Most of them said they still listen to music in some capacity. The big takeaway from my chats with them is that you don’t have to live the life of a monk to benefit from the meditation technique. In fact, the majority of the most experienced meditators are relatively relaxed about their lifestyles - but still disciplined when it comes to the practice itself.
I don’t know if I’d ever be so deep into my meditation practice that music falls away completely. However, I totally understand the notion that it influences our state of mind, and that developing more autonomy over our minds is critical to personal growth and contentment. Now that I’ve experienced what it’s like to take an extended break from music I plan on doing it again sometime, perhaps on a regular basis. I highly recommend anyone reading to try it too, it rejuvenated my love for music and reframed my relationship with it, for the better.
My Latest Netil Radio Show
Been on Netil nearly three years now, mad. This show went out last night and I had a ridiculously good time recording it. Two hours of dubstep from way back when… I was deep into dubstep when it was in its formative years, couldn’t get enough of it. So I went a bit crazy and bought over 60 tunes for the show. Obviously I couldn’t fit them all in. Tons of fun. And the image used for the artwork brings back naughty memories of a night full of mischief.
Interview: 2trancentral
Here’s an interview I did with the owner of a YouTube channel that is absolutely overflowing with music that is life-affirming, uplifting, transcendent… beautiful. He’s made such a tremendous effort to upload forgotten gems and it’s one of those special corners of YouTube where there’s nothing but positive comments and love for the music.
A Few Mixes I’ve Been Rinsin’
I’m a real creature of habit and often end up absolutely caning mixes that I like. So here are a few that I’ve been hammering lately.
2000s R&B [mix]
There are tons and tons of throwback R&B mixes online, but this is one of my absolute favourites. I usually throw it on when I’m cooking. Gets me bopping around the kitchen and making my food with positive energy, which always results in a lovely dinner. “To everybody that be livin’ it up”!
Hernan Cattaneo - White Ocean - Burning Man 2015 (Sunrise set)
White Ocean got some bad press a few years when their camp got invaded and a few RVs had their doors superglued shut. They were ostracised for being a VIP camp, which is poor form as far as I’m concerned. Yeah, it’s an affluent camp but so what? Their gift to Burning Man is a magnificent stage with top flight DJs playing all through the event. This sunrise set from Hernan Cattaneo is out of this world.
Dominic Spreadlove And MC Creed 10th July 1995 Pt1
What I love about this set is that it’s not all strictly house and garage. Dominic throws in ‘We-I-E’ and some other more break-orientated bits. Creed is on point as always and the whole thing is just classic. Recorded at a much lauded spot in London’s West End that became a garage hub for a while.
Jason kaye @ SUN CITY 96
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to this set. It was on YouTube for a while but disappeared, so I was over the moon when it popped up on Soundcloud (same recording as you can hear the familiar “DING” of MSN at one point haha). Tune after tune, hilarious hosting from the MCs and that unmistakable mid-90s feeling.
WhoMadeWho (Hybrid Live) - Mayan Warrior - Burning Man 2019
Another Burning Man set. That place really brings out the best in the artists who perform there. I was going to post strictly Soundcloud uploads but I’ve shared the YouTube video as I want to encourage you to watch the footage, even if it’s just for five minutes. The Mayan Warrior artcar is absolutely spectacular, especially when night falls. Combined with this exhilarating performance from WhoMadeWho, it’s a very special recording.
Indie Archive 008: MK
A long time ago, I interviewed the legendary house producer MK when he was on the cusp of returning to house music after a long break. Not only was it a massive deal to be speaking to someone of his stature, it was also fascinating to hear him speak about his history and how he ended up with his distinctive style. Not only that, but to then witness his incredible comeback, which resulted in a UK No.1 single and MK picking up a whole new generation of fans, 20 years after he first made it big.
One Last Tune!
D'bora - Going Round (MK's Dub)
What to say about this tune… First heard on pirate radio a long, long time ago. Never heard it again, apart from in my own mind, until one day I stumbled across it on YouTube. Ahh, the internet!
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