Stray Landings

2017 has been another year of political turbulence, social degradation and economic turmoil. This doesn’t look set to change anytime soon. But if you’re looking for a source of momentary escapism, the music mentioned above may be helpful in some way. Optimism can seem foolhardy, London’s community can feel like a forgotten dream, and the financial prospects of musicians and artists at large seem to get bleaker by the month. Yet once again we find ourselves overwhelmed by the endless streams of dynamic and inventive new music from all around. These days it sometimes feels like each person flicking through records in a store or queueing to have their wristband fitted at a festival has their own place in the scene, by virtue of making music themselves, running a night, blog or related project. Rather than rolling our eyes in that “everyone’s a pundit” kind of way, it’s worth considering the transformative effects this widespread involvement can have, and is already having in the world of electronic music. We ar