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MUSIC, MEANING, MESSAGE, + NEW ALBUM UPDATE

June 15th, 2020

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Cartoon by Victor VarnadoLong story short: With no live events in the foreseeable future, we are going to focus less on music, and more on promoting compassion, mindfulness, antiracism, and social change within our community. With all the gears grinding toward the release of this album, and all streaming services scheduled to release this week – our hearts are instead focused on how we can be interactive with other human beings and give back to the world around us.

Long story long:

If you’re feeling exhausted by the conflict and racism in this country, we hear you! It’s normal to feel overwhelmed… but there’s a lot more work to be done with regard to confronting racism and uniting against it for racial justice. By feeling empathy for people who have endured unimaginable suffering for centuries, we can stand in solidarity and learn more about how to participate in social change, never looking away just because it’s hard to witness.

[check out the cartoon by Victor Varnado – it’s perfectly poignant]

While it seems just PAINFULLY OBVIOUS, millions of Americans still need to learn that there can be no social justice until all black lives matter – Black lives are as precious and priceless and meaningful and miraculous as everyone else’s lives – they deserve equal human rights. DUH!!! Yet the roots of white supremacy run deep to the foundation of our society. In response, we join human beings all over the world to say “Black Lives Matter”, and to condemn racism and give white supremacy a public worldwide smackdown.

This is a time of solidarity and unity. Within the Bassnectar community, we invite everyone regardless of skin color or gender or nationality to join us in advocating for social justice, by rallying around Black Lives Matter. This opens it up for everyone to participate in countless ways – far beyond just saying “Black Lives Matter” out loud: we can all learn to do more. And this is more important to us than music, festivals, or entertainment.

So heads up…

If you’re looking for this to be a “music only” scene, then you’re in the wrong place. If you are new here, or you did not realize that – no worries! If you find yourself feeling frustrated or saying “shut up and stick to music”, please kindly unfollow and head over to our actual music pagesCLICK HERE FOR MUSIC PAGES – We are going to continue to think mindfully and amplify themes which matter to us even more than music – and if you’re not up for it, you can simply keep scrolling  (:

“Bassnectar” was started over 20 years ago to merge music and social change. The idea came out of university classes on social justice, the word came from the idea that music can be magnetic and draw people in like bees to honey. And while there is a lot of magic and beauty to explore through music, we see all of that as a privilege. And we believe that privilege confers responsibility to care about others and to advocate for social justice.

For us, “social justice” means all humans are created equal regardless of race or gender, so anything which prevents human equality or prevents human equity based on race also prevents social justice: thus it creates injustice. And in America, where indigenous people had their land stolen and were massacred, and countless other humans were forced into slavery – there are inherent social injustices which need to be addressed before anyone can preach about “justice for all”.

We have a long way to go as a society to not just trend Antiracism, but to live it full time, year round. This is not some self-righteous proclamation – this is an honest desire to try and do more. We all have a lot to learn, and we want to continue learning better, more cooperative, more constructive ways to give back or make a difference. We think it’s important to spend less time bickering with potential friends, less time judging the motives of others, less time accusing others of ‘virtual signaling’, less time critiquing those we share common goals and values with. Especially if you feel a lot of compassion and empathy for others: you can find ways in which you are privileged and you can USE that privilege to help others, and bring about social change for racial equality, LGBTQ rights, and all who are oppressed.

So merging music and social change is not only a lofty goal – full of challenges, obstacles, messy mistakes, foolish lessons, and lots of room for growth and improvement – it’s our roots and our culture. WE ARE NOT JUST ABOUT THE MUSIC… our art project is interactive, but it is not about providing entertainment. It is about exploring a much deeper meaning, constantly reaching to learn how to be more compassionate, how to give more to others, how to better use our privilege to make an even deeper impact. 

With this in mind, it’s awkward to be halfway through releasing an album – with streaming services all scheduled to release this Friday – and then decide that now just does not feel like the time for us to focus on music. After consideration, we are going to postpone the release date of All Colors to June 26, and want to manage expectations that we simply are not going to focus much energy on it this summer. And since events aren’t even possible this year we are inspired to focus more time continuing to learn, reflect and think critically about how to participate with you in working toward positive social change. For all those who have already preordered the album, we appreciate your patience and support and will be adding a thought-provoking book as an extra gift to arrive with your order. You can choose between three options: “How To Be An Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi, “A People’s History Of the United States” by Howard Zinn, or “Sapiens: A Brief History Of Humankind” by Yuval Noah Harari. Stay tuned for a direct email about that – and thank you again!

And if you read this entire thing, thank you so much for taking the time and letting us share all of this straight from the heart. We realize how easy it is to tease, taunt, derail, or disrupt the conversation online, so thanks in advance to anyone who resists the urge to troll this thread, and to everyone who can’t resist, we hope it’s the last time we hear from you. May you find what you seek somewhere else (:

much love!