Musical Communion

Reasons to be cheerful as London gets a double dose of the blues

As the clocks went forward over Easter, any grumpiness about stolen sleep immediately receded as I looked forward to longer, warmer evenings. And what better way to celebrate the lengthening days than by getting out and listening to some music? April sees all kinds of great bands roll through London, there’s the organised insanity of Carling Live 24 (six gigs in one day!) and the prospect of not one but two Blues festivals.

I’m really looking forward to the Spitz Blues Festival where authentic delta musicians like T-Model Ford nestle alongside a raft of weird punk and electro acts inspired by the sounds of the South. The other festival, ‘It Came From Memphis’, puts the case for the origins of all pop in the juke joints of the American South.

These Blues events got me thinking about London’s changing music scene…

Of course all pop is influenced by its roots in the Blues, and especially Hip Hop which is now the dominant cultural force among American youth. The thing that strikes me about past years is this – people are suddenly realising that music is not about loyalty and genres. It’s about a shared sense of enjoyment and creativity.

While true aficionados have always appreciated that music borrows from what went before, until recently, it’s been the norm for music fans to adhere to a particular type of music. Now that seems to be opening up. Music fans no longer feel constrained to stick to one style. Answering “a bit of everything” to a question of musical taste is the new cool, instead of a cop-out for people who like M People.

Take my friend Josh. He’s always been a Hip Hop kid. A purist. Even cool urban-influenced albums like the Gorillaz debut were “Indy rubbish”. Now he’s pestering me for tickets to the Kaiser Chiefs, wants to check out some heavy metal, and can’t wait to get into the Royal Festival Hall and listen to some Bluegrass.

This opening up (or breaking down?) of genres is surely the most exciting thing about London’s music scene at the moment. Headline venues are no longer reserved for Hip Hop and Rock stars, and weird Electronica and Grunge acts have found a willing audience. It’s as if we’ve all become very broadminded, and I couldn’t help wondering why…

Of course the musicians themselves are taking a lead. Ever since Run DMC teamed up with Aerosmith, ignoring fans’ boundaries has become an accepted way of expanding horizons. And there’s also the new wave of UK Indie acts like The Doves or Babyshambles sharing festival stages with home-grown Hip Hop acts like The Streets as comfortably as they would share a light.

There’s more to it than that though. Consumer tastes are changing, and downloads are the reason. It’s far easier to be broadminded if you can sample a bit of everything for the price of a phone call. Or, let’s face it, for free.

Industry execs may be up in arms about their poor old industry but they have an all-new ring-tone market to console them, and a raft of pathetic ‘talent’ to drive sales like Lemar. Musicians, and fans, should delight in the explosion of diversity and live performance ticket sales that internet file sharing has created.

As with every aspect of pop culture from the 1960s onwards, London is one of the best cities in the world in which to appreciate this opening up and growth in live music. Let’s raise a glass to checking out the future, now in London town.

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