com-UNiTY

The passion for electronic sounds and what they cause deep down in our innermost depths would unite us all as a "great community..." Our differences would be our greatest wealth, our fraternal bonds those of a large family, our assets such as freedom, tolerance, compassion or respect for others among our common founding values... At least, if "music softens morals", it allows us to weave social bonds beyond the acoustic vibration, "binding" that can contribute to the basis of a certain conception of "living together!" But it is necessary that together and sharing are as "real", benevolent and sincere as they are devoid of vile interests...

The community in question, as heterogeneous as it is supposed to be representative of a certain ethic, would testify to the expansion of a movement initiated in the 1980s and 1990s. This was a time when listening to techno was still widely stigmatized. The 2000s, however, gave it its "letters of nobility on a silver platter" in the wake of the technological revolutions shaping the world today. Thus, even if the original movement was at the source of a form of counter-culture revealing the many societal flaws of the late 20th century, its resounding success propelled it to the forefront of a media scene that, rather than "sulking" the phenomenon… (lol) Excess strass and glitter, show business culture, idol worship, mega-dancings and popular parties, mass festivals, sales of derivative products, promotion, marketing, productivity and profitability "voracious" have largely supplanted the unconventional spirit, claiming, if not refractory of the beginnings. The pioneers of the genre, whether they wished it or not, would not have been able to avoid the turn of events in any case... Besides, apart from the clear-sightedness of some, who would have bet on repetitive, dark and crazy sounds and especially that they would have conquered the masses so much all over the world... Who would have thought at the time that minimal electronic melodies would have aroused so much interest? Still, if some people voluntarily turned away from conventional circuits in order to exist or subsist otherwise, others did not hesitate to seize the opportunities without being blamed for it! (lol) What's more, for many it would not have been very wise to turn their backs on a rapidly expanding sector, however, without denying that the leitmotif clearly pointed to the industrialization of the "electronics!" We can't stop the forward march of "progress", as they say! If one considers the "outrageous neo-liberal practices" as inevitable and beneficial "evolutions"! Of course, one should not necessarily criticize or denigrate everything, nor denounce or revolt vigorously against the course of things or even be anti-systemic in order to influence them. Strategically, it is sometimes even better to have one foot in, one foot out to find the balance, to ensure one's own subsistence and to act accordingly. Everything is then only a question of the scale of values, the values themselves and the choices made, as much in terms of private life, work, art as in terms of "food", emotional, energetic or financial autonomy?

In short, even if they must never forget their roots, "where they come from", the movement as well as the individuals who make it up must more than ever know where they want to go! What is the meaning of their approach? To what end? With what "human, artistic and cultural added value?" What are our objectives in life? Why do we do what we do the way we do it? For what purpose? What is the deep meaning of our investment? With what purpose, what are the consequences for us and for others? Questioning is permanent in life, or at least it should be! The same naturally applies to culture, art or musical expression... What's more, if we support the idea of their fundamental place in the development of individuals and communities, and therefore also of society as a whole!

In this sense, it is interesting to note that with the sudden Covid crisis a certain number of artists (recognized and less known...), certainly perhaps because they have already lived quite a bit, started to think, forced and coerced to stop their transhumance and to put down their luggage of travelers in transit... The Covid situation having put an end almost overnight to the numerous solicitations which they were permanently subjected to... Solitude or at least "isolation" can also be a good thing... Instant meditation! (lol) Since then, while some people are taking their pain patiently, others are thinking about the future, trying to anticipate, build it, even reshape the standards, conditions, habits and operating methods of a sector that will have a hard time recovering from it... Because it is not only arts and culture that have taken a hit in the wing in recent months, it is also all sectors of the event industry without which the stage and its actors do not have their sounding board! In short, and although a large majority of the population is eagerly waiting for things to settle down in order to get back to business as usual, some are wondering whether it is not also high time to seize the opportunity to change somewhat the conditions of a paradigm that has shown its limits... Take the opportunity to travel to the four corners of the world by multiplying the number of airports and hotel stays, organizing mega-festivals that are profitable thanks to lobbying and a business plan as ambitious as it is excessive, collecting indecent fees in view of the daily realities of the aficionados of the movement who supply the bank accounts of the organizing cartels as well as the bankable artists... All this can and should make you think. Some things must change! Not that they should be condemned, banned, outlawed, muzzled or opposed! (The state of mind is quite elsewhere!) It is not a question of firing red bullets without thinking about the development of a society and contemporary models of living together in which we are all immersed... We are pure products of the consumer society! We are each in our own way "clones", pseudo-copies (admittedly "imperfect") of a behavioral model induced by the ecosystem in which we evolve. But we also have a plastic and malleable brain that is eager to explore, discover and try new things in order to enrich itself with multiple data that it may or may not be able to sort out... Curious by nature, a social and affectionate mammal, the human being is at the same time a very complex entity in its own right, endowed with cerebral capacities that have apparently given it some advantages in terms of adaptation, of survival and evolution... And if our faults are numerous, sometimes detestable, if not appalling, when they are not pitiful or ridiculous, we are also these "beings of flesh, blood, body and soul" (as the French neuropsychiatrist emeritus Boris Cyrulnik likes to claim) capable of the worst as well as the best! And this should simply make us aware, without flogging us, that we all have a share of responsibility in the turn taken and that events will take place since the advent of a musical current inspired by other cultural and societal revolutions before it... A starting point from which we could already start by, for example, welcoming the few initiatives that aim to reduce transport, its financial and ecological costs by also promoting a much better organization of calendars... Of course, this is not enough! However, if we pride ourselves on being "human" and having a brain, then we must probably also all face reality with measure and dignity! The insatiable thirst for pleasure, the interminable quest for happiness, the imperative need for sensations, adventures and novelties, the sense of celebration, entertainment and fun are not irreconcilable with personal development, maturity, seriousness and reason, the sense of ethics or the defense of the most elementary humanistic values, emotional, ecological, economic or artistic... It is not because we show a certain propensity to let ourselves be invaded by a certain form of temporary alienation caused by the hypnotic trance induced by electronic sounds that we are devoid of common sense and lucidity! One can even have both the "head in the clouds" and the "head firmly on the shoulders!" It is true, that requires to practice "mental gymnastics" 🧠 and a little bit of self-sacrifice too... (lol) In short, it is necessary to feed on reflection and to train our brain! (lol) And this so that "all the brains connect differently than via a few words on the so-called social networks!" To meditate! (lol)

And this is also what we are talking about under the banner of "community!" (com-UNiTY!) How do we set standards for communities? How do we make them evolve? How are we united, how united are we? How do we really communicate? And how do we reach agreement on the broad outlines of what unites us? How do we move the debate forward, how do we change attitudes? How can we promote development and fulfillment at all levels? This is probably one of the major challenges facing humanity and therefore does not only concern the artistic, cultural or events sectors... The whole of society should also commit itself to taking up this challenge! At least, if the environment does not undermine the initiatives, still too few in number, of those who do not stand idly by and prefer to adopt the "hummingbird" policy (do your part...) rather than admit defeat! For making concrete progress through small, regular acts is already a signal in the right direction. But change can be effective, especially if it comes from the grassroots, from within, from the individuals themselves and their propensity to unite around a common project, at least to point in a common direction... So, while obviously adhering to change is not enough, let's be clear about this: it is not a question of reconciling opinions in order to obtain in the end only a pale model of single-mindedness! No, to put it plainly, it is a question of laying the foundations of a coherent whole, free from the difficulties that we all encounter to varying degrees... No need to see the future in pink or black to show lucidity and coherence in the face of the challenges of daily life and those of tomorrow... A little common sense, discernment and courage before beginning a reflection on the ins and outs of the choices we make would be quite enough...

Concretely, without sounding like demagogy or proselytism, it also means that the meaning we give to the things we do should be globally "ethical" because guided by well thought-out intentions at all levels! Also, as far as we are concerned here, even if things are not always conscious, obvious or planned in advance, we should not end up overvaluing certain forms of art disguised by the "sirens of market capitalism!" For it is undoubtedly here that it becomes more and more fundamental to reconsider the notions of movement, values, community of sharing and the meaning to be given to them! What's more, this is in the Covid era and in preparation for the post-Covid era! This is the moment, it is the moment to return to the fundamentals: the mind, the soul, the heart, the engine of a life enriched by experiences as diverse as they are fulfilling! But above all to succeed in making it a mode, without it necessarily being a model, of development that benefits both the mass and the individuals... May everyone be able to use it personally as a tool to reveal themselves... Beautiful project! Complex but attractive said as! (lol) It makes you dream! BANG! Sledgehammer blow! (lol) Back to reality! (lol)

In the end, even if it is often complicated, complex and "risky" to speak of "community" without going into allusions and other "communitarian" divergences, it is nevertheless fundamental to ask oneself questions about the meaning of both words and actions taken in the name of the said community in order to better circumscribe what the terms themselves and the members of the community in question encompass... For whoever boasts of belonging to it should no doubt always think beyond the "musical resonance" alone, the values advocated or the cult dedicated to its idols... In other words, this means that, even if music is the raw material, the cement and the linking element, the so-called "community" must be careful not to crumble, fade or wither away at the risk of withering away in a form of standardized climate favoring debatable values in more than one respect. Moreover, to claim to be a community should then no doubt push more and more people to question themselves on the meaning of their approach at the same time as on the turn of events... In all sectors, a serious introspection is necessary both in artistic and cultural matters, which more so here within a movement which, for some, would have frankly lost its soul... The mass erasing the individual, it would then be wise in this sense to question what animates those who find their happiness, if not refuge or comfort, in a movement forged by its individuals and its community of origin... For if personal development has become a fashionable theme, the development of the collective or the evolution of the so-called "community" seems to be becoming so... Phew! "We are saved!" (lol) No, I'm kidding! More seriously, more and more voices are being raised to shout out loud and clear that the community should be rethought without revolutionizing the collective ideology that unites beyond differences, borders, genres, languages, cultures, philosophical preferences... Certainly, the project is utopian, the task is titanic, the end of the tunnel not even within sight! What's more, we won't change the world with good intentions! However, everyone can evolve as an individual and benefit the collective at his or her own level! And if some people need to join a "community" and claim to belong to it, let them do so with full knowledge of the facts! "In soul and conscience!" (lol) Let them question themselves on the deep meaning of their approach and their aspirations... In other words, it would perhaps be good to clean up somewhat the bases on which the so-called "movement" and its members are organized and structured in order to give priority to the essential at all levels, at least to a better balance...

So, I'll end on this modest philosophical note and leave you to your cogitations. And if however you wish to share your ideas, projects, proposals and other thoughtful, positive and benevolent solutions, know that it is in this sense that I try to model and develop both the page and the site when I have the time! I can't and don't want to do everything... But I do my part!!! (lol) The "hummingbird policy!!!" (lol) The process is fastidious, complex and is marked out with steps... What's more, you have to give time to time... So we'll see... In the meantime, take care of yourself.

nms303