Note: This isn’t about my views on Brexit, or a discussion about any of the politics about Brexit, so don’t worry, we’re still talking about music!
While all the voting results around Brexit have been very close, here’s a result that isn’t: 96% of artists voted remain, with only 4% voting leave. This made me think – there’s a vast amount of Remain themed art, but I couldn’t say I’ve ever seen any art celebrating our leave from the EU. We hear of Remainers creating exhibits, performances and albums to capture their feelings, but the 4% have had to set up their own support group to protect their political art, which would be just as valid as any other art fuelled by political opinion.
So in amongst all of the chaos, Grammy award winning pianist Bill Laurence drops a video showing his views on the topic, expressed through an improvisation around the theme of Brexit. Concept music has been around for a long time, and throughout the history of popular music you can easily see how lyrics have reflected what’s going on socially/politically at the time. In an interview with The Guide, he explains:
“Initially it was just free improvs, but then I thought it might be cool to try and put a title on it: so I’ve started doing ‘Brexit’ improvisations… basically improvising on the subject of Brexit. I have absolutely no idea where I’m going and what’s going to happen. Actually, that’s quite useful as it [Brexit] becomes like a map, a guiding force, so it might start angrily and end solemnly, depending on how I’m feeling [about the subject] that day.”
You can listen to the whole improvisation in the video further down, and you can hear all of Bill’s many different emotions portrayed throughout. I could talk about the notes he plays, the music theory and what he does musically to create these emotions, but I think the more interesting question is this: If you didn’t know this improvisation was about Brexit, could you tell just from listening?
Music is often described as a language. When there’s lyrics, emotion can be conveyed and understood easily. This improvisation certainly sounds like its Bill playing, but what words is he using? For me, the obvious emotions are melancholy, sadness, anger and tension. Some parts are fast, flourishing and angry, while other parts are much more slow, dissonant and sombre.
But without the context of Brexit, it’s just emotions floating around the room. There’s no lyrics discussing May, UKIP, or anything at all. While the emotions in the music are strong, they can’t be fully understood without the context. Furthermore, the context needs to be given upfront for the real weight of the “words” that Bill is using to be carried across the room. I played this improvisation to a friend, and they thought it was fine. When I told them it was about Brexit, they could kind of understand the choices, but didn’t get as much from the experience as another friend who knew the context upfront.
So with context, I can draw out much more from this improvisation - this fast diminished runs representing the panic to arrange some kind of deal; the booming left hand melodies underneath the right hand’s repeating ostinato patter conveying the anger of the people not being heard by those in Parliament making the decisions. For me, the most powerful part is between 5:55 and 8:41. In Bill’s playing, I can hear the sound of a whole nation circling round the drain, with the harmony endlessly looping around yet with an inevitability that we will land deep in the drain. I can also hear a sweetness, that British stiff upper lip: while the nation is unsure of the fate it faces, that we, the people, will refuse to succumb to defeat, and let it interrupt our daily lives; Remainer or Leaver, we will keep calm, and carry on.
Everyone can interpret emotion from music. Babies learn to respond to song at just six months old! It makes me think; what would this improvisation sound like from a 4% artist? Or by an artist from the EU, processing their thoughts about what they’re watching a different country do to itself? Or, as this art was created back on 26th February, and so much has changed since then, what would this improvisation sound like today? After March 29th? 5 years after we’ve left the EU, and the consequences (good and/or bad) are in full effect?
Final thoughts – artists overwhelmingly voted to remain in the EU, and it shows in the quantity of politically charged art inspired by Brexit. Improvisation around any concept needs the context to fully convey it, as sound alone can’t carry the full weight that the artist intended. With the context, a listener can understand so much more of the musical language being used, and the emotion behind the art.
What do you think – what do you hear in the sound of Brexit in Bill’s improv? What other pieces of Brexit art do you like? Let me know!