Let's try again shall we...?

My month in Berlin with my band was more than just an adventure and a soul feast, it was an eye opener. The quality of life there is a lot higher and as an artist you can really become part of something and continue to nourish that hole in your heart.

I wish I could point the direction of where the art communities were in London, where that musicianship was, that support network, but alas, I don't think there is one, unless they've become secret or have become lost amongst the egos. I felt in Berlin that the artists companionship was everywhere. In Berlin we experienced bands helping one another out, giving each other advice and sharing experiences. Call me naive, but that's how I always dreamed art to be. A collection of people who feel safe expressing themselves and supporting one another. This whole lone wolf thing is only cool for so long then after a while it just becomes a battle and you feel like you've hit a glass ceiling.

London has a great art scene but I also feel it's come to the point where it's all under some kind of control. As long as you follow a certain guideline only then will you become accepted and hopefully make a buck or two. But art shouldn't be about control. Art should be daring, challenging, questioning everything and everyone. Art is about holding the mirror up to nature that demonstrates all the fucking wrongs as well as all the fucking rights.

If you control art, then you control the minds of every single person out there. Fuck that. If I'm serious about my musical project and all the work I've put into it in the last two years, then I can't be in London any longer. I'm not going to start a revolution here, I'm not going to bother to try and rile up sleepy musicians who would rather look the part than know how to properly write music from the soul.

That's another thing. In Berlin, the quality of bands is unbelievable. For the first time, my band was actually being challenged. In London we've always felt a little unchallenged because some artists seem to be more worked up about their image rather than their sound.

But like I said, I ain't gonna try and fight against this new system, there's no point. I'd rather just live somewhere where life's easier as an artist and where we can have the freedom to do what we want, whenever we want without anyone saying otherwise. Shouldn't every true artist want this? I'd be surprised if they don't. But then again, there are no rules to being an artist. We all are artists one way or the other.

Expressing yourself is to let your soul free, is to be free and taste real freedom.