Reside Music Alternate Weblog
This week’s weblog submit sees Katch Holmes – organiser of the Knockengorroch Competition – mirror on the method of taking it on-line within the face of the Covid-19 lockdown.
‘I‘m not into on-line occasions’, I mentioned. When the lockdown began and we had been compelled to postpone our Knockengorroch music competition I professed each to myself, and anybody who would pay attention, that digital occasions didn’t curiosity me. I racked my brains as to methods I may deliver folks collectively in actual time while observing bodily distancing. Movies projected onto tenement partitions, road performances, drive-ins, all and extra whizzed by way of my thoughts.
But, because the scheduled dates for Knockengorroch competition drew nearer I felt strongly it was essential to mark the occasion one way or the other. And so, with out an excessive amount of thought into the hows, I considered a reputation, recruited some competition crew to assist and approached artists to participate in a web-based occasion. All had been very keen, although unclear as to how it will work.
Most stay streams I had seen had been done ‘presentationally’, with artists enjoying to an viewers they will neither see nor hear. From the start, I knew that wasn’t how a digital Knockengorroch may exist. Knockengorroch competition is massively about participation. The those who come are each bit as essential to its success because the artists. I knew that any competition we created needed to be concerning the folks as a lot because the music.
Knockengorroch’s looming dates minimised time to analysis the total scale of potentialities, however after fast analysis, I realised that the platform to ship the occasion precisely how I needed didn’t but exist, or was prohibitively costly. I had taken half in Zoom events that includes DJs in addition to Mairi Campbell’s worldwide ceilidh with acoustic performances and so, with little time to go, I settled on Zoom because the closest platform able to internet hosting the imaginative and prescient. Ditching the unique concept of multi venues and ‘break-out’ free shifting areas on anybody night time, I programmed three separate days of stay music and DJs, mirroring the precise competition, that includes artists from the unique line-up. A stay viewers may enter the Zoom ‘gig’ with a whole lot extra in a position to watch by way of a simultaneous stay stream on fb, youtube and twitch. Audiences had been inspired to donate to a Justgiving fundraiser to lift funds to reimburse the artists that took half.
Over the 22 years it has existed, Knockengorroch has nurtured a loyal viewers. We attempt to keep up our inherently participatory nature – a ‘folks’ ethos signifies that it has lengthy included alternatives for festival-goers to become involved in jamming, folks periods and open-mic slots, and billed musicians will typically take part with these. Just about Knockengorroch sustained this – competition friends had been invited to decorate up alongside this 12 months’s theme of ‘celestial beings’, workshops wanted lively attendees, friends may create their very own campsite breakout rooms in the event that they needed to talk between and after music units, dancing was 100% inspired. As in any stay music occasion, viewers engagement and participation, contributed to the environment, vibe and collective sense of enjoyable. Knockengorroch’s viewers enthusiastically responded with tents pitched in gardens, campfires, dramatic costumes, elaborate front room decorations and even the odd look of a midge web and wellies. Folks attended from all around the world and people who haven’t been to Knockengorroch for years had been in a position to verify in. We had been additionally happy to have attracted new audiences who might not have been ‘tenting varieties’, however had been comfortable to verify in from the protection of their kitchens.
Crew spoke of going to mattress with the identical weary, but blissed out, feeling that the true competition engenders. Everybody felt that that they had related and that one way or the other there was one thing ‘actual’ concerning the expertise. Individuals mentioned they had been stunned at how one thing digital may mimic the emotions of a competition so properly.
Enthusiastic viewers members remarked, with some shock, on the extent to which it mimicked the expertise of attending in individual:
“It was far more magical than I believed Zoom may ever be!”
“Effectively done! Good. Would have thought it inconceivable to seize Knockengorroch’s magic just about, however you probably did it!”
Regardless of the occasion solely hitting two features (sight and sound) of the multi-sensory expertise that the true competition does, our human want for contact allowed us to fill within the blanks as we stared into our screens, and supplied us all some connection and luxury.
The collaborating artists additionally rose to those new challenges, some performing on-line for the primary time. Legendary Scottish ‘acid croft’ band Shooglenifty debuted a model new video created in lockdown for Just about Knockengorroch for his or her observe ‘Black Canine’. James Waterproof coat mentioned:
We had been delighted to have the ability to be a part of the Just about Knockengorroch Competition….Katch gave me a welcome crash course on getting the perfect sound out of Zoom and watching just a few performances on the Friday impressed me to take somewhat little bit of time to get the perfect framing of the shot, and the perfect audio to share too … Congratulations to Katch and the Knockengorroch crew on lifting the spirits of so many in lockdown.
Kaela and James from Sooglenifty play through Zoom
Afro Celt Sound System additionally stepped on top of things. They wrote ‘The Lock Down Gorroch Reel’ particularly for Knockengorroch and have since created a video, containing footage of and in homage to the occasion. Simon Emmerson mentioned:
It was a tremendous expertise. We had band founder N’Faly Kouyate locked down in his village in Siguiri, Guinea Conakry enjoying his grandfather’s ancestral balafon and singing stay and direct illuminated by his automobile headlights as his village has no street-lights. His tribute to his just lately departed mentor Mory Kante was extremely shifting. In fact, there have been technical glitches, at occasions it was wonderful chaos, at others there have been moments of actual intimacy… The entire thing had the intimacy and interactive high quality completely missing in larger company festivals. If that is a part of the way forward for stay leisure in a submit Covid 19 world depend us in.
N’Faly Kouyate enjoying through Zoom
Digital or not, the competition was additionally in some methods transformative for artists concerned – one poignant remark was that it was great to listen to a stay spherical of applause. Some artists approached had been initially sceptical however got here away invigorated by the appreciation they skilled – an integral a part of any artist’s efficiency. Others spoke concerning the artistic impetus it offered, bringing bands collectively to provide you with a option to deliver their music to the occasion. I imagine it has nudged performers and members ahead into discovering new methods to current music and promoted the educational of recent expertise which can be so important this season.
The occasion was, by all accounts, an amazing success. We raised sufficient by way of donations to reimburse all artists. Many attendees, together with different competition organisers, have now seen the potential in a web-based, participatory competition like this, many are actually self-confessed converts to ‘Zoom’ and I’ve been approached by different festivals for recommendation. That is the start of a journey. By the tip of the summer season different issues may have been tried; new and higher platforms could be obtainable, digital occasions will undoubtedly be smoother.
I’m delighted it went properly, that we offered artists work, that folks related. I’ll go to a different occasion like this. I could even organise one other one… however I can’t assist questioning the place this on-line journey goes. After this weekend’s success I totally imagine that this medium might properly develop into ‘regular’, sought out even, by some. Nonetheless for me, this fashion of festivalling will all the time solely ever be an add on – the (non-obligatory) icing on the cake to the total expertise. The complete poetry of human contact will all the time be my precedence, bringing folks and music collectively in situ – respiration a shared place that binds us collectively by way of the land’s geography, historical past and recollections.
Katch Holmes, June 2020
Katch Holmes is a co-producer of Knockengorroch competition. She grew up at Knockengorroch small holding.
Just about Knockengorroch passed off from 21 to 24 Might 2020 instead of the ‘actual’ postponed Knockengorroch competition.
The Afro Celt Sound System video ‘The Lockdown Gorroch Reel’ could be discovered right here
The complete Just about Knockengorroch line-up: Afro Celt Sound System, Mungos Hello Fi Sound System and Vixen Sound, Shooglenifty, Greg and Pete (Moishe’s Bagel), John Fairhurst, Macmaster/Hay, DJ Dolphin Boy, Twelfth Day, Zoe Bestel, Ceitidh Mac, Awry, Samson Sounds, Tom Spirals, Samedia Shebeen, Cera Impala, Cenote Sounds, Straightforward Skankin’ Crew, Theo Bard, Ceitidh Mac, Sam Gillespie and Siannie Moodie, Toby Mottershead, Luisa Brown and John Anderson, Morag Brown and Lewis Powell, Daniel Allison, Freya Rae, Martin Fell, Chandra Mather, Cammy Sinclair
All periods can be found to look at on the Knockengorroch web site
The hyperlink to donate is right here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/virtuallyknockengorroch
Knockengorroch 2018
