now soon always 18 june June 2018 1 now ‘The arts allow us to play third party to our own lives’ 1 barbican.org.uk Image © Benji Reid now soon always Mikey J: What makes me me, or what makes M: If our art – specifically from people of Boy Blue director me tick? It’s hard to pinpoint the answers. But colour – is put in a space where it’s getting Michael ‘Mikey J’ to put it under one banner: I’m enamoured by recognition and people know we can talk about the idea of the outliers, the individuals who look something else other than the streets, that’s Asante and George at a situation or a system and think, ‘you know what’s going to be more powerful. what? Nah, I’ve got another way of doing it’. the Poet in conversation The more we – the community and the producers about inspiration, I want to consider myself as a person who – vote for that type of solid work, eventually wants to try and, not specifically break the people will start saying ‘I’ve got to stop talking community, the power system, but look at something differently. You like this’. I think Kendrick’s done that. become an individual who goes ‘why?’ of art to change the G: What you describe is a self-conscious form of world ... and Kanye. Probably one of my biggest influences – and artistry in which the individual has to take it upon most controversial – is Kanye West. I’ve always themselves to be a third party to their own life. found his music solid; from back in the day all Can your work ever be completely free, in that it the way until now… The controversial aspect is has to constantly step outside of itself and look at the way he says stuff. the audience and say ‘are they getting it?’ George the Poet: Kanye’s delivery has been M: The hard thing about art is we are slightly known to rub people the wrong way. bound to the energies we’re feeling, the external pressures that come from the world, and M: Yeah, but the difference is: being in the also our experiences. You have to have some creative field, you understand it. One of his kind of reality in those three areas in order to biggest gripes was when he was trying to break communicate with the audience, or they’re never into fashion and everyone said ‘why are you going to grasp it all or understand it. talking about the fashion thing for, just make the music, that’s what you are’. And he was like ‘no, From a Boy Blue perspective, education has I don’t wish to be defined by that, I’m a creative been the bedrock of the company. Some of our individual, this is what I want to do’. people who’ve gone on to do the best things have come from the education part of the How he broke it down really made me look company first. It’s homegrown energy. at other systematic ways that people oppress individuals and try to box people into particular G: Is that to suggest the art you create should categories. have a life beyond just consumption? It should have a transformative quality? G: Is there an unfair expectation on artists of colour that they must be, like, not in servitude, M: The challenge for me is to just try and but be of service to the community or some impact one person… like I was inspired by higher social purpose? Is there a double Teddy Riley. He’s one individual. He inspired just standard? Do we like Kendrick [Lamar] because me and I’ve done all of this. of his community message, when at the end of When we did Blak Whyte Gray a lot of people the day he’s just a young man who should be called me up or texted me saying ‘Mike, able to say what he feels? amazing show but I need a moment. I’ll come M: I’ve been in the studio with all kinds of back to you in a week to talk to you about it’. people from the ends saying street stuff. But That blew me away the most. People said they I’ve always thought ‘if it’s your truth, who am I needed to sit with it and consider the concepts… to tell you you cannot say that’ and that’s more I think that’s what art does. It speaks to a basic, what I’m interested in – the authenticity and the raw inner emotion. authentic voice that comes out of that individual. G: Art is a language that allows conversations G: Everyone’s telling their individual truth, but or experiences we can’t physically reach. Art everyone has a habit of tapping into a specific allows us to play third party to our own lives or aspect of that truth. We don’t have rappers who see a representation of society on stage and talk about their kids. No-one talks about the joys have that moment to think. of marriage, the workings of their business. M: It also brings down the barriers of the With this whole thing of people telling their debate. Me and you are not scared of debating individual truths, isn’t there the tendency that or of being wrong or disagreeing, but that’s not a prevailing narrative will come forward in a for everyone. Putting people in a space where particular art form? everyone’s sitting down as a community taking in this information allows them to have that M: Yeah but the sad thing is, why does that confrontation and experience it for themselves. narrative come from people of colour? Watch the full video on our YouTube channel. G: Does that not intersect with the commercial opportunities? If people of colour only get money and attention if they talk about the Boy Blue: A Night with Boy Blue streets and struggle, does that not mean there’s 1-2 Jun going to be a covert or invisible incentive to talk See page 13 for details about the same stuff? Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante: Outliers M: This is the problem we’re currently in. People 30 Jun don’t realise they’re voting every time they See page 8 for details stream a record, or they’re voting every time Part of The Art of Change they go and buy a ticket. G: So consumers must be conscious of this and Boy Blue: Blak, Whyte, Gray producers must be conscious of the political 12–15 Sep economy they’re creating. June 2018 2 now Variations of the Goldberg Variations As we prepare for two very different performances of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Swedish choreographer Örjan Andersson and Scottish Ensemble artistic director Jonathan Morton discuss their contrasting approaches to the music. The dancers and musicians of Goldberg Variations: ternary patterns for insomnia © Hugh Carswell There are two forthcoming opportunities It was so refreshing working with someone structurally and inventively and in terms of to experience Bach’s incredible Goldberg like Örjan who didn’t necessarily think ‘here’s the depth – they just blew my mind. At the Variations at the Barbican soon. One, as this iconic piece of music and I must treat it beginning I thought ‘gosh these are really quite part of our Bach Weekend, sees charismatic with reverence’. It was also quite scary at the dry’ but suddenly it flipped and it was a bit of a French harpsichordist Jean Rondeau perform beginning… eureka moment. the music as it would have been heard in the OA: I can imagine. OA: I tried to take the music down to a level composer’s time. where the images are something we can relate JM: But it was really liberating. The other explores the work in a non-traditional to watching the piece as the audience. I’m not way – an adaptation for dance, played by OA: I’m not from the same background as Jon, dividing the stage as being eleven musicians strings. Choreographer Örjan Andersson so I listened to it in a different way and didn’t and five dancers, I really try to look at them worked with the Scottish Ensemble – led by have that weight of history. For me it was a all as sixteen dancers. Some are much better violinist Jonathan Morton – to produce the matter of taking each variation and making it dancers than others, and some play the violin work. They spoke to us about their personal interesting. I cannot think about the audience better than others, but that’s what makes it very experiences of this beguiling music. and worry about what purists might think; I human to watch. need to think about my own reaction. If I don’t JM: What I love about Bach’s music is probably like it then it’ll be terrible [laughs]. what most people love – it’s immensely rich, you Jean Rondeau never get to the bottom of how rich this music is no But the music is so amazing, it’s such a journey 17 Jun matter the number of times you’ve performed it. from this very happy dance intro and the first See page 9 for details eight or nine variations, and then when you get Part of Bach Weekend When Örjan first approached the music we to the later variations there’s such darkness, were worried that because there were so many which is so good to work with.