UK based journalist, Simon Broughton on the imperative role of cultural journalism and his passions for music
Music fuels the soul. The simple act of appreciating music triggers the brain’s emotional systems and derives a constructive medical-therapeutic implication on social cohesion. From war songs to lullabies, music speaks of the origin, ancestors, political construct, ethnicity and experiences of as the group of people and the land they belong to. Simon Boughton, Editor-in-Chief of a British-based magazine, Songline, looks at the world of music in a whole different way. He emphasises on the imperative role that cultural journalism can play in discovering the endowment of music. On his recent visit to Bangladesh during the Dhaka Lit Fest, he made time to share a few words with the readers.
How did you enjoy the Dhaka Lit Fest this year?
I have enjoyed Dhaka Lit Fest very much and I felt very privileged to be invited. It’s always difficult to predict what will be the most interesting session at the fest. It was obviously a great achievement to get to attend V S Naipaul, but honestly, he had precious little to say. I found myself much more inspired by interviews and conversations with Sadia Dehlvi and Vidyah Shah (both from India), the amazing traveller Tim Cope (from Australia) and the avant-garde poet Steven J Fowler, a fellow from my city London. This is one of the good things a festival like this can do – introduce you to people who are right under your nose.
Upon visiting the Lit Fest, what have you gathered about the Bangladeshi culture and literary scene of Bangladesh? Was there anything in particular from the event that piqued your interest?
I have to confess that my knowledge of Bangladeshi literature is next to nothing. I thought the publication of The Book of Dhaka, featuring 10 contemporary Bangladeshi writers was an excellent idea. I read the collection on the way home and it really brought some humanity and insights to a city which seems to be dominated by traffic and crumbling infrastructure.
I am more familiar with music than literature and was delighted with some of the musical events in the Lit Fest – notably the Baul singers performing (mainly) the songs of Lalon Fakir under the banyan tree, the palagaan performance with a Muslim cleric against a Sufi sparring match and the closing performance by Shikor Bangladesh All Stars. This is a superb group who can well represent Bangladeshi musical culture abroad. I felt that they shouldn’t have been sitting for this performance, though – they would have had more energy and attracted a bigger crowd if they’d been standing.
You had recently conducted a workshop at the British Council in Dhaka with Bangladeshi journalists on cultural reporting. How was the experience? How important do you think such initiatives are to ensure the evolution of cultural reporting?
I conducted a workshop the day before the opening of Dhaka Lit Fest. This isn’t because I have any great skills to make an impact, but because in a country where cultural journalism is less developed, it’s worth exploring what it can do. I talked about the production of an album called The Calais Sessions recorded in the refugee camp known as ‘The Jungle.’ In the UK, it certainly helped change attitudes towards the migrants and even helped some of them get into Britain. Articles and words probably can’t stop wars – or the militant attacks on writers that have happened in Bangladesh – but they can change our mentality towards such sensitive issues; like it says in the founding document of UNESCO: “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defense of peace must be constructed.”
Since you have a passion for music, is there any genre or a particular song that you don’t appreciate?
People often ask me if there was a song in the world I simply couldn’t bear. My answer is always Korean pansori – it features singing in an exaggerated voice (usually female) accompanied only by a drum and it goes on for hours. I happened to be invited to a festival of pansori a few years ago and was going to turn it down. But then I thought about the theory of ‘exposure therapy’ where if you’re afraid of spiders you stick your hand into a jar of tarantulas. So I decided to go into the tarantula jar – the pansori festival in Jeonju. However, seeing pansori in a traditional environment, witnessing the audience enjoying it with rapt attention and, crucially, have a translation, I realised what an extraordinary art form it is. The trip to Korea opened my ears.
Music is considered the universal language. Keeping that in mind, how does it retain its value in different regions?
Music is a universal language, but I’m pleased that it exists in very different forms around the globe. Sadly, too much of the world is dominated by Anglo-American music, which is why I’m always championing the lesser-known styles around the world. All of them have their own peculiarities – but everyone needs to express happiness, sadness, celebration and more. And interestingly, as the world gets more globalised, people around the world are able to enjoy regional differences – in food, music and culture as well.
How do you think cultural journalism thrives in the age of PR?
A lot of cultural journalism is sort of PR influenced- simply writing that an event is happening and publicising it. But it works much better if the writer really makes it into a story which is interesting to read. It’s more intriguing for the reader and it also makes it a better PR. Finding and telling a good story is what cultural journalism is about – whether it’s PR or not.
There are a good number of publications regarding music, of these, which ones are your favourite?
Rolling Stone in the US is good for mainly mainstream music but often gets beneath the surface and also touches on areas where culture and politics meet. I also like Uncut, in the UK, is an intelligent magazine about rock music.
Could you name some artists who have changed the dynamics of arts and culture through the decades?
There are many, but to name a few, Bob Dylan, who recently was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature; Miriam Makeba from South Africa, who highlighted the injustices of apartheid to the world together with compelling music; Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan who brought south Asian spiritual music to an international audience; and Pandit Ravi Shankar who did something similar with Indian classical music and went much further in trying new fusions and forms.
You have a keen interest in music and studied classical music in your early years. What made you work with world music through journalism instead of becoming an artiste?
I learned the piano from an early age, but quickly knew I didn’t want to be a performer. That’s not my temperament and I wouldn’t have been good enough. I was always more interested in introducing other artistes to a wider public.
Tell the readers what you think makes Songlines world’s leading magazine?
There isn’t much competition, of course. But there’s a great team of people contributing to Songlines who are real specialists in what they do. The writing is high quality and the production values are high too. This is why it has become very respected by people all around the world. And I always say it’s not just about music, but it’s about the world seen through its music.