A few weeks ago, Danish sampling kings Den Sorte Skole (which translates to The Black School) released their much acclaimed and long-awaited fourth longplayer "Indians & Cowboys", a riveting 77-minute, genre-transcending patchwork of obscure samples and interweaving sounds from vinyl records across the globe, made available to the general public on a 'name your price' basis via their website.
In a fundamentally significant and highly recommendable guest commentary published via the Nothing But Hope And Passion online magazine this week, the duo shared its thoughts on the current international refugee crisis, the political handling of the situation, especially in Denmark, as well as the overall effects on society, the music industry and their own creative process.
Inspired by the simple roadside claim, "If you have more than enough, build a longer table, not a higher fence!", Den Sorte Skole felt urged to speak their mind, while reflecting on their own music:
"We are in this boat together and our future is inevitably interdependent. Iranian funk horns can play alongside Senegalese Sufi chanting and Italian throat singing. American drummers can play together with Syrian flutists and French chanson singers. The conception of them and us doesn’t have to structure our future."
As such, music itself should not be limited by any self-imposed boundaries or a Western-centric view of life, but rather nourished by inclusion, i.e. 'sharing is caring':
"Before big business and private ownership captured music, music was a practice alive amongst people. Songs would travel, transform and mutate from generation to generation. Music was a practice, an act in itself, not a commercial object. Music was something you did, together, without a purpose – or rather ‘just’ with the purpose of doing it. Playing music together. And this is perhaps the greatest loss caused by the music industry. Music has become a passive object of consumption instead of an active practice of living. It has become something we can own!"
Read the full statement here and make sure to catch Den Sorte Skole on tour. Here are the upcoming dates for Germany and Switzerland:
Nov. 28 Berlin, Gretchen
Nov. 29 Hamburg, Golden Pudel
Dec. 03 Cologne, CBE
Dec. 05 Winterthur, Kraftfeld