Playing IN at last. Mental health. A reflection.

Last month at the very fine establishment called Larrys Corner on Södermalm, Stockholm, Fibonacci Drone Organ performed a double set of Fibonacci Series and non-Fibonacci Series drone music for a small but perfectly formed crowd. Stockholm was pretty quiet that weekend as it was the last weekend before schools returned after the holidays and so Larrys was quieter than normal. I wasn't bothered to be fair, as I'd not played indoors to an audience for almost 19 months. And that was the important bit. Playing again, feeling part of summat. Being creative with other people in the same space. My mental state has taken a battering over the past year and a half - I was working "abroad" and trapped in the UK away from my wife and under lockdown - alone, anxious and frustrated at the lack of social interaction and things to do and the homicidal Covid and other policies of a lunatic government, led by a totally over-privileged prick and his equally clueless dickhead cabinet. I find being bored a hard thing to deal with and anyone who knows me knows that I need fun and that usually involves music, non-league football and beer, none of which were available. I found it hard to concentrate on anything and am still suffering a bit from this as the Covid-19 pandemic inevitably continues. I found performing again to be really surreal (the psychoacoustic nature of the music I was playing makes that happen anyway) and I wasn't sure what I was feeling while I performed, but I performed and that was the important thing. Getting a performance done in real life was important and essential. Being with other people is essential. 

I've no idea when I'll next play indoors - there are so many of my friends in Norway and Denmark that I haven't seen for 2 years now and want to see and collaborate with, but the situation we are in is so fluid and uncertain, that I find myself wondering if this will ever end. It will do, I know, but planning anything is so difficult at the moment, especially across the borders.

I really want to thank Larry Farber at Larrys Corner for putting me on and continuing to support me and other non-commercial artists and oddballs. It is really important that spaces like this exist and thrive and I urge Stockholmers to use the space as much as is possible. If I lived in Stockholm again, I'd be there all the time. There is summat magical about the place and its owner. Cherish both, please - don't fuck up,  Stockholm. Use it, don't lose it. Ok? Here endeth the lesson. 

Here is a picture that was taken by my ace wife as the frequencies started to overwhelm my tired brain. 

LoS