And so concludes our virtual trip to Ibiza circa 2019..when dancing was still a thing. A time when massive groups of people were not only allowed but extremely willing to be crammed together on the dancefloor, breathing each other’s breath, sweating each other’s sweat. These things might seem fairly undesirable right now but that was kind of the point. You were packed in so tightly together that all barriers between individuals were broken down. You were no longer separate entities. You became one gi-normous amorphous blob of rhythmic motion. And yes, that was considered a good thing.
The pandemic has proven categorically one thing..we need to interact with each other. It is imperative. We cannot properly function without human to human contact which is why having to keep away from each other is proving so friggin hard. We are mammals. We are designed to be close to one another. That is why we are so hot. (37 degrees on the inside to be precise) It’s so we can keep each other warm. Physically and metaphorically.
How do we cope with being apart from each other like this? In all honesty I don’t know but it is evident that we are failing to do so. Certainly not enough to stop the spread of the virus which is the whole point. We should be able to but clearly it is having a very detrimental effect on us all. And the longer it goes on the more it is going to grind us down. I have spoken to a lot of people this week and everyone seems incredibly despondent which is hardly a surprise as we are now six months in and it might as well be day 1 because we have made zero progress.
And as depressing as that is I urge you all to stay strong and keep your chins up. Let’s be honest, this ain’t going anywhere anytime soon so we are gonna have to settle in for the long haul which requires a deeper level of acceptance from all of us. We must endure this. And it will pass. The 2nd world war lasted 6 years and that was endured. This is like a war situation only difference is the enemy is invisible. I’m not saying its gonna last 6 years but we need to start thinking about it in those terms, for our own sanity.
We keep expecting this to end any day and it just won’t. And that sucks to high heaven but all we have to do is survive this. No more, no less. And that includes not losing our shit. We need to keep ourselves together for as long as this lasts and we’re gonna have to toughen the fuck up, just like previous generations did. We’ve had everything handed to us on a plate. No-one has ever said no to us. We have done what we wanted when we wanted. Well, now we can’t and we are just gonna have to pucker up and deal with it. No way round it I’m afraid.
I will be back on the streets of London as of Monday but it has been great to have got away from it for a few weeks, even if it was only virtually. And, now, as I walk past the masses in masks and wonder how the fuck this came to pass I will cast my mind to a time and a place when it hadn’t happened yet and pray for the day when it returns…
We stayed at an apartment right on the playa del bossa and every evening we sat out on the balcony and watched as everyone decked out for a night out strolled down the sidewalk/catwalk, preened and poised for action. It was like Ibeefa Tv and extremely captivating as we saw the daylife disappear and the nitelife begin…
Getting dressed up is half the fun of going out and I have not really had much reason to do so since lockdown..my ‘going out’ clothes stare at me forlornly from within my wardrobe, wanting to know when they will be back in action…I have nothing to tell them other than what I tell myself..be patient, your time will come again. And much as I have been enjoying a more ‘casual’ approach to life (back in combats for the 1st time since the 90s ;) I really wanna get suited n booted again – if things don’t improve soon, I’m gonna wear my 3 piece down Tescos and rock out under the faulty fluorescent in Aisle 7. ..fuck it.
Can you even imagine being crammed in a room with this many people all dancing to the same groove? Currently I would have to say no. It already seems so alien, so impossible. This is another time, or even another time line. It feels like it an alternate reality because this version of reality will not accomodate it. But if not now, then when? How long will it be before mass music based gatherings can resume? How long will it be before fun comes back? It feels like it has been sucked out of our existence, replaced with restrictions and recriminations…and a shit load of tension. And the longer this goes on, the more it seems like it won’t return, or not in the same way at any rate. And maybe by the time that it does we won’t be the same…
The shots this week were taken on one night during the closing parties at the club Hi (formerly Spaced) and tbh I didn’t really enjoy it at all. For me, it personified everything that is wrong with the big clubs in Ibiza these days. The music sucked and the crowd were a bit argy bargy. All shoving, no hugging. All elbows, no smiles. All in all it was pretty lame (altho think I had a slightly better time than the gents below) and yet, all said and done, I would probably give my eye teeth to be back there right now. In the absence of any dancing whatsoever I am finding myself pining for even the most average of nights out.
I first went to Ibiza 10 years ago back in 2010 and one night I was there I was introduced to the guy who owned DC10 and I told him how great it was being on the island for the first time and he turned me and said very matter of factly “you’re five years too late”. I really can’t even imagine what he is saying today. Actually, I guess he is now just saying to people “you’re too late”.
I hope to fuck by the time this all blows away/over/up that it won’t be too late and dance culture will live and breathe again..as I need dancing like I need breathing. I feel like I just can’t exist without it. And I am not alone. The U.K government clearly does not see the dance industry and all of its players as a priority but for us who lived inside it, it is of paramount importance. It is the good bit. The bit we live for. The bit we need. The bit that makes all the other shit tolerable.
p.s I might post up some more Ibiza shots next week as well as am enjoying being in another place and space to here and now. As lockdown looms it feels like virtual travel is back on the menu…
Somer moody shots this week to get you in the mood (see what i did there) for a series taken in Ibiza exactly this time last year during the closing week of the season. Why now? Well, firstly, I want to show a country that supports and champions clubbing and exists primarily because of it. It would appear not everywhere has so little regard for dance culture as they do here in Britain, where almost nothing is being done to protect the venues and the workers of the nightlife/events industry which is currently unable to function in any genuine capacity. Other countries in Europe (remember that place?) see it as a vital component of their society and their economy are doing everything they can to ensure it survives the ravages of the ongoing Covid freeze.
It is beyond painful to me to watch the U.K gov turn its back on the nitelife industry and everyone who works within it. The Tories do not see how essential it is. They do not consider culture important at all. They never have. And they know that most people who work in the creative industries do not vote for them so why should they help them? Never mind how much money it makes (66 billion a year), how many jobs (1.6 million) or how many people it attracts from all over the world…none of this seems to be a consideration. Forget about the amount of joy and pleasure it generates. No, fuck all that, let’s just let it die and all you leftie muso druggie layabouts can fuck off and try and get real jobs ‘cos we ain’t doin shit all to get you out of this mess…
And secondly, (no, I hadn’t forgotten) there is fuck all going on here at the moment so we might as well hang out in Ibiza (B.C) and party like its 2019…
p. s if you are in U.K and have ever been out and gone to any event whatsoever at any point in your life, please sign this petition for our Gov to give further financial support to the hospitality and events industry or you might never again…
And so endeth MYLSBN – which ,for the record, has nothing to do with lesbians contrary to what some might think (yes Tennyson crew, I am talking about you!). The shots over the last few weeks were designed to give you a virtual trip to Lisbon during this lockdown. A way to travel without moving. This pandemic has given our species a golden opportunity to show how we can live differently to how we lived before.
And now that we have been brought to a standstill we can hopefully see we are at a junction in the road. The path we were on was a dead end and we knew it but we couldn’t envisage an alternative. But now we have been given a glimpse of what life would be like if all unnecessary travel and excessive consumerism and relentless pollution stopped. And as restrictive as it it is, life carries on.
We can now see a different path because we are effectively on it. Already emissions have dropped all over the globe and it has been proven we can completely change the way we live almost overnight. Those that opposed change convinced us it wasn’t possible but the response to Corona across the globe has proven otherwise. Let’s use this devastating and destructive virus to save mankind by halting the rise in global temperatures and preserving the goldilocks zone on this planet that allows us and most other species to live upon it.
I know it maybe seemed strange that I was showing you photographs of a former visit to Lisbon as the world went into meltdown but it was designed to serve as a form of escapism from the relentless feed of horror. I realised very early on that it was crucial for us to have breaks from this thing to preserve our sanity. I enjoyed being elsewhere whilst I worked on the pictures and yet, inevitably, they always brought me back to the current situation and all my articles have revolved around the virus rather than the trip they came from.
The bulk of the pictures from my documentation of Lisbon came from a single procession on the last day I was there and pretty much every shot was taken within a single hour. Sometimes a slice will encapsulate the whole and felt that this event which pretty much the whole town turned out for, gave me an insight into the city and showed what was most important to the good folk of Lisbon, namely community & tradition. The procession was of a religious nature but for me, it was more to do with the people coming together as it was to celebrate their beliefs. It also felt like going back in time to an era where there was more solidarity amongst citizens and from a time when you could be in large crowds en masse together (remember those days?) and maybe that was why I was so keen to stay in this little virtual travel time capsule bubble.
Hope you enjoyed too. I will back on the streets of London as of next week, well as much as the lockdown will allow me. Stay safe people!
These are all mourners. Holding a candle for their dearly departed. It is only when you experience grief and see it at close quarters do you realise the impact it has on individuals and how massive the sense of loss is. It might diminish over time but it never quite leaves you. It must be even harder to lose a loved one to Corona when you aren’t even able to see them or even have a funeral. This is why we must do everything we can to follow the lockdown rules. Our vigilance can prevent death and if you can save just one life, you can save the world.
Everyone seems to be watching the death stats round the clock. We feel we need to be constantly up-to-date with the figures but it also tapping into our sense of morbidity. A fascination with death is integral to living but we musn’t forget behind every single one of those numbers is a real person who lived and breathed and has left behind grief-stricken family members. Our government casually mentioned that we would be lucky to keep deaths under 20,000 and Trump said the same but with a zero added for the U.S. But I find it quite chilling how can they be quite so nonchalant about it. These are actual human beings. They are not just statistics.
We need empathy right now, not cold detachment. Everyone’s pain is our pain. We should not wait until it directly affects us to realise that every preventable death is on all of us and that is why we must adhere to the quarantine rules with vigilance. It might not be your loved one today, but it could be any of ours tomorrow if we don’t reign this thing in. And for fuck’s sake, get every NHS worker tested, for theirs and their patient’s sake. Their lives depend on it and they deserve that at the very least when they are risking so much for us all.
Our government is busy bailing out EasyJet whilst still not providing enough PPE to NHS staff. If you want to support them you can easily donate £5 by texting the word CLAP to 70507 and it will go directly to staff for food/travel etc. This is something every single one of us can do but in all honesty we shouldn’t really have to. They should be provided for. So we must also pressurise the government to properly fund our vital health and welfare services and their staff instead of giving our money to private companies who are doing nothing but pollute the atmosphere. Let them stand on their own two feet or fail. We can all now live without unnecessary travel. Corona has shown us how.
This post is dedicated to Jim Morrison who sadly passed away in hospital from the Corona virus yesterday. Deepest condolences to his family and also to everyone who has lost someone from this pandemic. Our thoughts are with you.
Religion is providing solace to a lot of people right now and if it’s getting you through these turbulent times that is a great thing. Yet was disturbed to read that some religious communities around the world were ignoring social distancing rules. Bolsanaro in Brazil for example, rejected scientific advice (nothing new there) to allow religious congregations to continue amongst all of this.
This will only serve to endanger the lives of those who attend and, in turn, those who they then come into contact with. Maybe they are prepared to die for their beliefs but it is utterly irresponsible and morally wrong to put others into the same risk category.
It is also wholly unnecessary as God is, according to these religions, omnipotent so you don’t actually have to go anywhere to find him. He will come to you. And you can still have faith and listen to the science because that is ultimately what will keep you and everyone else safe.
But its not just religious folk not following the rules. Every day when I go out for my daily walk I see so many people not social distancing. Not obeying the 2m rule. Not even bothering to consider that the interactions they are having could lead to someone getting seriously ill and even losing their life.
And I do not see anyone out on the street enforcing this. There are no police around. Not anywhere to be seen. We are the only country in Europe that is not enforcing it rigorously and consequently the U.K is now set to become the country in Europe the most affected. Coincidence? Of course fucking not. So if our governing bodies still aren’t treating it with the severity it deserves we need to…so stay the fuck away from each other and we can kill this thing instead of killing each other…
Congregations organised around live music were always for me the most positive display of humanity coming together – always said it was us at our best. All united with no agenda and bonded by a shared love rather than becuase of being in opposition to an out-group. I used to think it was just a distraction from the daily grind but over time I realised that it was potentially way more than that. It was the solution to disharmony and division. It was the antidote to tribalism even with it being, paradoxically, a form of tribalism in itself.
When you are at a gig, you could be surrounded by people who are from different countries, cultures, religions, political beliefs and none of that mattered. For as long as the music kept playing. Afterwards that feeling of togetherness would fade and you might return to your various in-groups but the sense of connectivity would remain and it showed not only was it possible but preferable.
I have been banging on about this concept of unification via live music events (clubs, gigs, festivals) being our salvation as a species for donkeys but now that it has been taken away from us and no-one knows when it will return, it feels painfully absent. And I know a lot of bands, artists and djs are trying to do digital streaming as an alternative but it just ain’t the same. The magic happens in the transference of energy between the performer and the audience and vice versa but you have to be in the same place – you cannot get that through a screen.
In the meantime it might be all we have but I personally have no interest. I have no interest in the digi version. For me it is just too much of a drop off. It can’t deliver what I want it to because so much of the experience is missing. So I will be waiting patiently until we can congregate together in the real world once more…and we will…so see you on the dancefloor!
More shots this week from Lisbon. As life is on hold it feels somehow appropriate that my photographs are trapped in a moment in time. It’s as if the world has been frozen like that moment in the Matrix when they pause the program. Maybe we are in a computer simulation after all and this is just a glitch in the system so everything has to stop while they fix it. Maybe it’s a software update and once its done we’ll all be shit hot at kung fu.
For the record, I don’t think we are actually in pods hooked up to a giant mainframe being used as human batteries but we are all now technically living in a digital world as the real one is effectively a no-go area. And we were heading that way anyway. The battle for our lives between reality and our digi-existence has been going on for a while but it looks like it’s now over. And the real world lost.
The photographs this week all feature elderly people, from a time when they could be out on the streets and not be terrified to be within close proximity of people. Most people are feeling vulnerable and afraid so my heart goes out to this older generation who must be feeling it infinitely more so. And at a time in their lives when they would naturally be feeling more fragile.
And this experience has made us all feel more fragile in a world where we were already feeling less safe and more apprehensive. And yet fear is the enemy and we must fight it, just as we are fighting this virus. We must accept that life comes with threats. It always has and always will. They just need to be managed, they don’t have to define us.
Fear is a built in survival mechanism but you cannot live in the ‘fight or flight ‘mode 24/7. It is incredibly harmful in the long term. It generates the stress chemical cortisol which attacks the immune system which in a twisted irony could actually make you more susceptible to getting infected so you must try and protect yourself from worry as much as you do from Corona. And you can do that by not being permanently plugged in to the feed. We don’t need to hear about every single update the moment it happens. We can disconnect. We aren’t in those pods remember?
