Reflections on The 3rd Annual F-List Research Hub Conference: Music For Social Change
Lauren Alex Hooper
Over the 22nd and 23rd May, I was at the University of Wolverhampton for this year’s F List Research Conference, focussing on music for social change. Last year, the conference had only been one day but this year it was two – and two long days at that – with multiple panels, presentations, workshops, and opportunities to network. It was busy and one thing after another after another but the atmosphere was relaxed and there was a sensory room for anyone needing a break, something I’d been relieved to learn. But as it turns out, I completely forgot to so much as check it out: there were so many presentations to listen to and then discuss. I could write about every single one but that could easily become a dissertation of its own. There are, however, a handful of presentations that I would like to highlight because they were particularly thought provoking.
From generational discourse and tokenism in specific genres to navigating success in the music industry and how neurodivergence impacts music making, the panels covered a huge range of topics. There was so much knowledge in that room, so much information to absorb. Even though there were certain titles that felt intimidating and completely out of my wheelhouse, I can say with absolute certainty that every presentation felt accessible and therefore interesting and engaging. As much as I’d love to rattle on about each one, I’ll stick to my favourites, to the ones that had me utterly fascinated. One was Rosie Middleton’s Opera; How does an Industry so Obsessed with the Voice leave its Performers without One? (Performance with Maya-Leigh Rosenwasser). In the past, I’ve always found opera somewhat hard to engage with but Rosie’s insights into the training of opera singers and how the opera she’s working on has incorporated and highlighted those experiences were so creative and compelling: I definitely want to see it when it’s finished.
Then, with her presentation, Musical Theatre Songwriting and Self-Transformation, Lucy James described her teenage and adult years as a Care Experienced Person, how the real-life experience compares to stereotypes like Oliver! and Annie, and the process of turning these experiences into songs for a musical. She played one of the songs for us and it was so incredibly moving that I was very nearly crying onto my keyboard. I was just as moved by Lucy Barka’s presentation, Narrative Transformation as Rape Recovery through Autobiographical Songwriting: a presentation and performance. Having studied for an MA in songwriting together, I’ve seen this project develop from a vague, emotional concept to an incredibly thoughtful and detailed model for recovery from sexual violence with truly beautiful songs to accompany it. I couldn’t be prouder of her. But what was particularly fascinating on this occasion was watching her present the work to other people, to watch it as if I didn’t already know the journey that led to this final product. She talked about several of the songs, including one where her mother had written the lyrics and she’d turned them into a song – and then she sang my favourite song of hers, ‘The Clearing.’ It was very moving to see so many people respond so openly and emotionally to the presentation and the songs. And I have to mention Jemma Robert’s performance, Girl vs Ableton. Her control over all of the technological processes necessary for the performance was so compelling to watch but it was her music that blew everyone away: the songs were witty and clever and relatable and had the room bursting into laughter over and over again. I was next so it could’ve been really intimidating – how could I possibly reach a bar that she’d set so high? – but I was honestly enjoying the performance too much to even think about it. I’ve never heard my experiences with ADHD in music (or any creative form), let alone fun, relatable music that could easily be on the radio. It was a great performance and I really, really hope she releases the songs at some point. I think a lot of people would relate to them; I think they could help a lot of people too, especially the feelings of isolation and shame that so many people with ADHD experience due to negative perception of many ADHD traits.
My presentation, #ActuallyAutistic: Songs for an Underserved Audience, was the very last of the first day, which felt like a tricky slot: everyone was tired and had spent a whole day absorbing vast amounts of information. I was certainly feeling more than a little overwhelmed and I was worried about – amongst other things – whether everyone in attendance was still able to engage. Having said that, I think it went well and I had some really lovely feedback, which was encouraging for both the concern of whether people would be able to take it in and for my research project. I’d begun with my MA research about how being autistic has impacted my approach to writing songs – from lyrical themes and imagery to production choices – and expanded this into the context of the music industry and how few artists and songwriters are speaking about their autistic experiences, both in their songs and in their creative process. I had been incredibly nervous about it, especially given that I’m so new to this world of conferences and so on, but everyone was very supportive.
I really enjoyed the various workshops. Everyone was so open and so willing to engage and be vulnerable. In the Resilience for Musicians and Researchers workshop, led by Katherine Williams, so many people shared experiences of when they’d really struggled and how they’d coped with it. Early in the two days, I think it really gave us a sense of each other and showed those who hadn’t yet shared that it was a supportive environment in which to do so. I was pleasantly surprised to discover just how many neurodivergent people there were in attendance, something that always gives me a lift, given how isolated I often feel due to my neurodivergence – and I’m sure there were more who didn’t share that information. I was particularly inspired by Sophie Daniels’ workshop, Why Do We Write Songs? Creativity, Originality and Authorship and subtitled I am Liberty’s Mother: Re/constructing my broken identity through research songwriting – EP2 Peaceful Warrior, which delved into how deeply misogyny has reached into even the craft of songwriting and how, in her practice, she has been actively recognising those canons and challenging them in her new songs. I didn’t make it to the BLU WAV Wellbeing Workshop: Relaxing Crystal Sound Bath with Jazreena Harlow, led by Estée Blu, early on the second morning but everyone I heard talk about it described it as putting them in a really calm, focussed flow state for the second day of the conference. It was Lucy Barka’s workshop though, Rewriting Recovery, that I found most compelling, and not just because she’s my friend! From the research that she’d presented the day before, she reminded us of the recovery model she’d developed and then led us through several free-writing exercises, giving us a prompt to reflect on each time. Then she presented us with three well-known pop songs and encouraged us to rewrite the lyrics to one of them, using what we’d already written to help us. It was a really supportive and actually kind of fun approach to exploring difficult emotions, something which is not typically fun. The prompts and songs were clearly chosen with great care so that the focus of the exercise leant into a more optimistic, affirming direction and away from wallowing and the potential reliving of trauma. It was a really positive experience and, having known Luce a long time and having watched her develop this research project, I was so proud of her and as moved by the emotional reaction as if it had been my own workshop.
Between sessions and at the end of each day, there were plenty of opportunities to network and share ideas and chat. The panels weren’t quite long enough to really dig into their subject matter so there was time to ask questions and discuss how research projects could overlap. It was also just fun to talk to people about the things they’re passionate about and get to share more about the thing (or things) that you’re passionate about.
It was two absolutely fascinating days and it’s so amazing to know – and to see with your own eyes – that things can change, that even just us in a room talking about the work we’re all doing, separately but together, is changing things. We’re looking at a future that, hopefully, we can create; it’s very inspiring. Massive congratulations to Metka Potocnik, Vick Bain, and Sophie Daniels for putting on such a great event and to everyone who presented over the duration of the conference.
