Beatriz
    Vieira Borges

I’m surrounded by volcanic rock. Ammunition shells litter the ground. I’m 14, standing on Santiago Island in the Galapagos—we’ve come as a family because evolution is so apparent here: its trace on every finch’s beak. The ammunition shells aren’t part of the story of natural selection. 1920s fishermen visiting Santiago brought goats and within a few years, the island was overrun by the mammals. Officials decided to “neutralize” the goats with machine guns. I’m struck by this story because of how it complicates what’s “natural” or “authentic.” Human interference “ruined” an environment and then tried to restore what was “natural”. 

The brass casings remind me of the paper strip confetti left on stadium floors after concerts. The Great Goat Eradication doesn’t just make me think of ecology, it makes me think of music. Sounds, too, find their way to unexpected places through immigration and displacement. And in music, it’s more subjective what counts as a “happy” accident and what is an unfortunate mistake. I think a lot about how we define authenticity, evolution and positive cultural exchange in music. What is the line between popularizing something and bastardizing it?

In the summer of '22, I took a Music Business course at NYU. For two weeks, I hustled around New York with 20 other high schoolers, meeting producers and music journalists, learning about everything from contract clauses to tour life. Billy Mann, an acclaimed songwriter/producer, told us to resist becoming a cog in the industry’s machine, even if that meant a more meandering road to success. I appreciate him encouraging us to be mavericks. At the same time I’d imagine Mann himself would admit his years at big publishing houses like Sony were indispensable to him learning the business. And there’s a “necessary evil” in having a stockpile of pre-recorded beats that can be easily manipulated at mixing tables. How else would this industry produce the volume it produces? 

When distinguishing what’s soulless from music with a vital human center, I think about two words: intentionality and reinvention. When it comes to technology in music, it’s less about what’s used and more about the intention behind it. Grimes utilizes mellotrons and distortion softwares to attain her cyberpunk aesthetic. Ariana Grande uses autotune and pre-recorded basslines to emulate older R&B singers. In the latter example, the intention is convenience; in the former, it’s creating something new.

Reinvention considers both artistic choices and ethical ones. Elvis sang note-for-note covers of Black Delta Blues singers. Jimi Hendrix took riff structures from those same musicians, merged them with psychedelic funk, and created anthems for the times. Incorporating unfamiliar sounds into your work isn’t inherently problematic. But it’s the artist’s duty to reimagine any found elements. We can draw these same distinctions in other mediums. Photographer Nan Goldin was undoubtedly influenced by Diane Arbus, but where Arbus just humanized her subjects, Goldin celebrated hers.

I see these same patterns when I consider my own identity. I was born and raised in Sao Paulo; I didn’t choose that but Brazil is forever enrooted in me. But I chose to read On The Road, which sparked curiosity about the American South and led me to visit places like Memphis and Charlotte. Following my interests to unfamiliar sounds and places feels like it's made me more myself, not less. I–like most of us–am a track with many samples. 

The goats were neutralized because they were harming the surrounding environment. To create new music you must know what’s come before, both “naturally” and “accidentally”. Admire the finch’s beaks but keep an eye out for bullet casings. Know the difference between evolution and contamination.  Authenticity and ethics in art can get blurry, but I believe clear intentions and a focus on empathy can lead the way to a harmonious coexistence between artists, their creations, and the worlds they touch. 

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My passion for music, art, and cultural criticism led me to creating this blog, which I hope will serve as an outlet producing thought provoking reads, provocation, and engagement with art!