- Part of 'A topology of musical encounter' (summary) -
“I conceived the fundaments of a city where, under one roof, with the aid of moveable elements, a shared residence is built; a temporary, constantly remodelled living area; a camp for nomads on a planetary scale. The culture of New Babylon does not result from isolated activities, from exceptional situations, but from the global activity of the whole world population, every human being engaged in a dynamic relation with his surroundings. There are no ‘a priori’ links between anyone. “
We have gained an ambiguous relation to our physical surrounding. In my place of birth Amsterdam the large movement of ethnic cultures has changed the face of the city rigorously and thoroughly. In the present, Amsterdam beholds citizens from nearly two-hundred nationalities. At the same time the citizens of Amsterdam engage largely in the extensive possibilities of digital media to connect, organise and live beyond physical borders, Without exaggeration we can say the face of our cultural surrounding has been turned from outside in and we are moving from inside out at the same time.
Due to this changing cultural perspective an alienation of our physical surrounding and its social structure has taken place. Through the unlimited scope of cultural offer around us, one’s personal identity seems to develop by different standards. My generation has grown up in a surrounding where all those cultural influences are present. We naturally pick from all elements available those that somehow appeal to our interests and imagination, forming a highly personal sphere. I wish to view upon Amsterdam as the local model that embodies these global developments of cultural reformation. Although every city has its own unique assemblage of cultural influences, relation and social issues, the model of Amsterdam could be translated to other cities where a similar cultural reformation has taken place.
For musiclife in Amsterdam this social surrounding means a gathering of a manifold of musical cultures, individual musical interests and means of communication that form a complex cultural collective. Every musician is seduced to seek for one’s own unique position between the here and there, then and now, between the momentary and continuous. Now that the dissipation of traditional cultural bonds into an individualised reality seems to be completed, the question is how these musicians with the most various backgrounds can be brought together in new dynamic collectives, and how such a process of musical encounter can lead to innovative musical developments and sustainable networks of collaborating musicians.
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