June 20

While Finland and the rest of the Nordic countries are celebrating the Midsummer, our research cluster MetamusicX at Orpheus Instituut here in Ghent is celebrating the ends of very long yet transformative journeys, and the beginnings of rather exciting new ones! (more info on the latter in the autumn)

For my dear colleague Alicia (not pictured here) and me, it’s the completion of our compulsory doctoral studies and the start of full immersion into our respective research-based practices; for our dear friend and colleague Adam (pictured here), it’s the completion of his dissertation and becoming a post-doctoral fellow in our cluster, joining Diego, Martin and Paulo. New (r)evolutions are in the air!

I feel utterly lucky having found and become part of this research cluster (and Orpheus Instituut in general): the level of critical, experimental, creative, open-ended, rigorous and enthusiastic thinking – not to mention the sense of humour – has finally provided space for my own expression to flourish; I find myself in a place where all my diverse interests are able to converge, coalesce – and potentially evolve into something new and meaningful! Yet this should be a basic condition for every citizen on Earth: the freedom, safety and unconditional support to discover and pursue one’s dreams, no matter the background. Why can’t we solve this simple societal design on a global scale?

P.S. My new album SIINTO will be out as soon as I receive the final masters from my mastering engineer…

June 2

A quick update. My new album SIINTO will be out this month. Yay!

The exact release date is difficult to set though, as I’m still listening to and deciding on the final masters. But like the music itself, the release process can also be emergent, gradual, soft, incidental, serendipitous, rule-breaking – no need for the usual hyping and stuff!

The release has been delayed by my compulsory, first-year doctoral studies: I’ve been utterly busy with the many exciting new projects, encounters and discourses this year has brought (attached a few random, recent photos I’ve managed to take, mostly unrelated to my topics, of course). And the album, for its part, has become an opening, an inception, for a whole new research avenue and artistic thinking that will form the core of my studies from now on. Rather thrilled!

More info soon/in due course. Greetings from a sunny and warm, verdant Ghent!