Keychange!
Don’t worry, you haven’t played a wrong note. I’m talking about the pioneering and powerful pan-European movement which counts the discounted. And I got counted!
I was delighted to have been chosen for this year’s Keychange Talent Leadership Programme in a particularly competitive year, and even more delighted to receive an invitation to Tallinn Music Week for our very first in person meeting. Forty-two talented changemakers in the music industry, all gathered in one room. Not only that, the second single from my album The End Times, Mass, was coming out on the Friday of the very same week! Peering down through the clouds, I could feel the excitement brewing. A magical old city brimming with castles spread out below me, waiting to be discovered. Tallinn Music Week had begun!
As a committed ambivert, preparing for the conference involved reading, digital exploration and a few sneaky spa sessions at the hotel before the whole group arrived. Not to mention adjusting my body clock and epilepsy medication times to the new earlier time zone!
The focus of the leadership programme is Diversity. Talking about Diversity and Inclusion in these times feels like a revolutionary act in and of itself. The world feels increasingly hostile: in these days of cancel culture and blanket boycotts, being a visible minority can be career-ending. So it was wonderful to find such a wide diversity of people together in one room being encouraged to talk freely about such sensitive topics with kindness and respect. Magda and Aga from Artist in Bloom led the sessions with a great deal of sensitivity.
The whole vibe of the programme seemed intentionally non-binary, which made my heart sing, as my work is designed to challenge binaries of all kinds. Did you know that the black and white squares present on many church floors are meant to represent heaven and hell…and the ease with which one might take a wrong step and plummet into the depths. As an ex-Christian, Mass was written as a very gothic take on the struggle between queer identity and religion, so its release coinciding with the conference made a lot of sense. Tallinn also happens to have many stunning churches, so I took the opportunity to climb a few steps on the promo trail too- video evidence available on Insta!
A huge variety of people are involved with Keychange. Many, like myself, wear multiple hats. To name just a couple, on my very first evening I met Diljeet Bhachu, who is both an artist and Musicians Union EDI representative, and Christina Hazboun, a Palestinian writer, researcher and sonic agent who also helps to manage the Keychange programme. And too many marvellous people to mention!
A thought-provoking mentoring session with Tamara Gal-On was a highlight of the first day. We were asked to create our own list of five core values. I don’t know about you, but talk of values previously sent me into corporate snooze-land. We were told to ask ourselves these two questions when considering each value:
“Which of these has to be present for me to feel happy/fulfilled/satisfied?”
“Would I be happy/fulfilled/satisfied if this value were not present?”
In a very short time I came up with the following list:
Inspiration – leading through enthusiasm
Inclusion – of both people and their creative contributions
Imagination – the more out there, the better
Innovation – always trying something new
Determination – when your brain short circuits and you don’t stop, this one is a given!
What really resonated with me was her suggestion to consider why certain projects or situations may not be a good fit based on your values by considering any conflicts between them. I was instantly able to articulate in a very clear way why some professional situations were not a good fit for me. Since returning, this has even helped me in my creative work with devising electronic setups. Definitely try this out if you haven’t already!
Here’s a pic of our first team of truly inspiring humans, The Glitch, name partly inspired by my very own glitchy brain, an absolute honour. We are now embarking on a weekly adventure in our teams exploring many different facets of Leadership, Diversity and Inclusion. I’m very much looking forward to this process and making deeper connections with such wonderful people.
After the conference we had the chance to experience the deep peace of the Arvo Part Centre. Nestled deep in the forest, this stunning building has been designed with silence – and music- in mind. The atmosphere was an absolute balm to the soul after all of the buzz of the conference hive.
This escape inspired me to take a trip to Lahemaa National Park and be initiated into the mysteries of the Estonian bogs. I’m reliably told that an annual bog bath is the last word in skincare. At zero degrees, we decided to stick to the (narrow!) paths.
Since returning I have been hard on the blackboard trail preparing for our live shows in London on the 22nd June and Middlesbrough on the 8th June. Tickets for London will be released on 24th April. Tickets for Middlesbrough are available now here. We are also running a free blackboard workshop for young people on the 9th June, signups available here, do come and join us!
Thunder just struck here in the studio- my cue to wrap up and to tell you that this is the final countdown to the release of The End Times! Thank you for all of your support, it means the world! You can order a copy of the album with a very limited edition Liza Bec blackboard on Bandcamp. Please do like, share, save and spread the word. More news on the apocalypse coming very soon…
Purrs
Liza x
