Why Ecomusic?

Nick Wilding

"No revolutionary movement is complete without its poetic expression. If such
a movement has caught hold of the imagination of the masses, they will seek a
vent in song for the aspirations, fears and hopes; the loves and hatreds
engendered by the struggle. Until the movement is marked by the joyous,
defiant singing of revolutionary songs, it lacks one of the most distinctive
marks of a popular revolutionary movement; it is the dogma of the few and not
the faith of the multitude"
- James Connolly, 1907 quoted by Spring, Earth First! Journal 2000

Ecomusic is music that has the power to connect. It is poetry set to music
from authentic voices tuned to a celebration of the diversity of life on earth
and the fight for its survival. Such music awakens ecological and global
consciousness in a fundamentally direct way - by ducking through the busy mind
and engaging the heart... and staying there.

"Sap coursing through your mammal vein
Touches you - a trembling human being
Sink your roots in the tree of life
Shedding false humanistic beliefs you fall to your knees
In some still natural place
Embrace the trees - feel ecology
Pierce your heart"
- John Seed, 'Extinction Blues'

The ecomusician captures truth of a moment, combines it with a deep wisdom of
an ecological world-view, and engages us with that insight as a rhythmic
conversation that then ripples on into our everyday consciousness. It is this
process of awakening to a deeper reality beyond material consumerism - a
reality that often finds expression in an earth-based spirituality - that is
ecomusic's greatest power.

The 'information age' doesn't help us to capture truth or wisdom. To cope with
the info-overload, we focus on sound-bites and in our busyness forget to learn
how to listen to voices that could waken us from our human-centredness.
Connection with the music of the ecological movement is a lifeline to the
sanity of the more-than-human world. Music also helps whole cultures cohere -
especially those cultures that understand how structures of power-over
manifest in the world, and how to share power ('power-with') in response.

Non-violent direct activists understand these dynamics of power, and have used
ecomusic as an ultimate nonviolent weapon - whether they're pulling GMO trial
crops, stopping cyanide leach mining or rainforest clearcuts, or protesting
the corporate stranglehold on the World Trade Organisation or yet another new
inner city motorway.

The context in which ecomusic is weaved is as important as the content of the
music. The instruments we play, the place we play in, our openness to
participative music-making, and critically our relationships the wider context
of the more-than-human world around . all shape the reality we weave in the
moment of music-making. Around a campfire, at a ceilidh, in a classroom, the
stories of the radical environmentalist movement are transmitted, successes
celebrated, deaths mourned.

Ecomusic can and has looked to many indigenous music traditions for
inspiration. My home is Edinburgh, my partner is Irish, and I have found
inspiration in Scottish and Irish music's 'ceilidh' traditions. The ceilidh is
a social event that carries forward cultural celebrations of the community -
weddings, funerals, harvests, or just celebration at the continuity of the
unique tunes and memories that are the culture. Ceilidh musicians share a
common heritage of music (often going back many generations) and occasionally
introduce new material to the tapestry before respectful and intensely,
actively listening audiences. There is space for everyone in the community to
express themselves, the beauty of individual contributions being recognised
even if - perhaps especially if - the contribution has been the same piece
forever! And best of all, there's always a good dance guaranteed.

So I invite you to join the ecomusic.org ceilidh, weaving a global web of
shared expression from which different geographical communities can draw and
offer inspiration in defense of mother earth!

Ecomusic Links by Nick Wilding