FAC Insights: Connection & community during COVID-19 by Rosie Bans
FAC Insights is a forum for us to showcase and share long form pieces looking at various parts of the music industry and the society that shapes it. There are no real boundaries beyond that - pieces take the form of videos, interviews, discussions, articles and more. This week we are delighted to share this opinion piece written by the talented artist, songwriter and FAC BEAT Board-er, Rosie Bans.
Connection & community during COVID-19 by Rosie Bans
Here we are, facing the bookend of 2020, a year that has given many of us an unwelcome shake, rattle and roll. It’s not fair to say we have all experienced the same thing this year as the COVID-19 pandemic has not visited us in equal measure. Where people live, their income level and the colour of their skin amongst many other factors will have an impact on how their covid hand was dealt. I was trying to understand what that meant for me as everyone around promptly moved their work life, family life (and even love life) online. I couldn’t help but feel a pang of anxiety and grief around the loss of the live gig experience, of daily human contact with friends, collaborators and supporters. As a songwriter, I spend a lot of time alone but I realised my alone time was always enjoyed with the intention to recharge and have enough energy to pour back into others in order to create beautiful new things. Now I just had the ‘alone’ part.
That was until I was invited to co-run a brand new Facebook Group called Sunday Songwriting set up by my good friend, music artist and songwriter Becci Wallace. The idea behind the group was to create a place to connect and share a collective love of songwriting. The group was made up of writers from all over the UK and Europe. It took the form of weekly songwriting tasks with each Saturday night reserved for hanging out on Zoom together to share our work, give and receive feedback and continue to feed our beloved, new found community. On any given Saturday myself and Becci as facilitators would welcome anything from 11 to 35 songwriters onto the Zoom call. We watched as strangers, old friend and new, all arrived ready to open their hearts to each other though music.
From this group I saw songwriters flourish from being shy, insecure unreleased artists to confidently putting out their fist ever single, an EP or an album. I also witnessed more established artists who had lost their spark for songwriting, rekindle their relationship and fall back in love. All of this taught me that collaboration is at the core of who we are. It’s an inbuilt drive that has kept us alive for so long. With music, collaboration can be a way to extend yourself, grow your heart’s space, practise empathy, become a better listener and truly feel connected to another. In my experience of seeing this group grow, ebb and flow I believe it doesn’t always matter if that collaboration happens online or offline, as long as you show up ready to work and are true to who you are as person and a writer.
Once lockdown lifted and we headed towards the end of summer, the group slowed down and less people attended which felt very natural and in accordance with the seasons. This was when myself and Becci launched “SongSeeds Online Songwriting Retreats”. SongSeeds is a more dedicated platform which dives deeper into the craft of songwriting and provides people with a safe, secure and supportive space to work on their creativity. Each retreat lasts for four days and within that time participants enjoy an intense program of songwriting tasks, peer feedback, workshops and a bespoke masterclass delivered by an industry professional at the top of their songwriting game. There is no hierarchy, no formal educational structures and no limits to what each songwriter wants to do with their time.
This year has taught me I have a real love for being a facilitator. It comes very natural to me and feels great when I see a group of strangers in their tiny little boxes on my screen come together and connect. Knowing I played a part in making that happen is truly rewarding and reminds me of my sense of belonging and solidifies what my role is within the group. People are unique patchworks of different skills, experiences and talents. I believe it’s important to develop self-awareness to know what yours are and then commit to really going deep into that space. For me that is being a connector, a moderator, a facilitator, a friend. That’s what collaboration and community has taught me this year.
Throughout my own time as a participant in the songwriting Facebook Group and in SongSeeds I have developed my skills as a music producer. I have always self-produced my own work and decided to take myself seriously this year in launching Women Producers Meet. We are a community of self-identifying womxn creating our own work, producing for other artists and committed to continual learning. Along with co-creators and fellow music producers Jigsawtiger and Jen Athen (Blue Astronaut). Women Producers Meet are developing a series of online courses, social media content and an online forum for music producers to learn, develop and grow in a space that, again, is free from hierarchy and rich in community.
I argue that no one can survive without community. Studies suggest “Loneliness, living alone and poor social connections are as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day"(Holt-Lunstad, 2010). For music artists and songwriters, most of whom live life on the emotional plane, are highly sensitive people and are affected and moved deeply by the world around them, we cannot let this pandemic damage the health of our communities together, and a community is only as strong as the collective of individuals supporting it.
So, if you are noticing a series drop in your social connectedness and not sure where to turn for support my advice is head towards the crowd, open your arms and show yourself. There is a space for you. You might be like me and need to create your own space then attract people towards it. That’s okay too. You are important and we need your music and songs to be heard!
If you are interested in joining any of the mentioned groups in this article please visit:
SongSeeds - proudly funded by Creative Scotland
Women Producers Meet / Sunday Songwriting / Join the Community
Stay safe, be happy xxx
Rosie