I am caught in a conundrum. I create music inspired by the wild unfettered spirits of the natural world, and have been attempting to use the binary energy of a technology based artistic medium to channel the voices of the organic and the vibrant growing living things. I've built my career in this in between space, dedicated to offering the sense of warmth and presence found in nature a home in the futuristic rubicon of electronic music and festival culture. It's a constant balancing act, and as I grow in my relationship to the holy spirits of the wild, I find that I am challenged more and more in finding ways to proceed in an ethical and conscious path.
The last few years, I have been using funds from the sale of my music to support non-profit projects centered around indigenous land rights and critically endangered habitat in the Amazon rainforest. However, there has been a growing dissonance between my desire to collaborate in positive change and the carbon footprint created by my creative process. I live on the big island of Hawaii, surrounded by lush lowland rainforest and many critically endangered species, and I find that the battle for change and consciousness has a frontline much closer to me than South America. The power I am using to create music in my home is literally destroying the beauty and the species that surround me.
Because power is mostly supplied by fuel brought in from outside the island, local power barons in Hawaii are looking to expand the geothermal projects on the Big Island. The energy project, undertaken by True Geothermal Company and endorsed by Hawaii’s governor and other imposing figures, has already invaded the largest intact tropical lowland rain forest in the United States. Now they are seeking to expand and build a new geothermal plant right on the coast, disturbing one of the most beautiful community beaches in the area.
There are massive ecological consequences of drilling geothermal wells in the near-pristine Wao Kele O Puna rainforest. Lawsuits have been ongoing in the history of the existing geothermal plant, PGV, since it’s inception. Many accidents involving venting of toxic gasses into the surrounding neighborhood have happened, most with inadequate warning alerts and reporting to the public. The people here are traumatized by an earlier blow out that forced a major evacuation.
There is often steam and brine in the air. The noise often exceeds the rural and residential standards. Drilling noise has gone on all day and night for many months, destroying the peace of this rural community. Local people finally passed a new regulation that prevents drilling at night in the future.
The hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and other toxins have been documented in significant quantities. We believe this has led to illness and deaths of plants, animals, birds, fish and humans, and studies still need to be done.
This development is literally in my backyard. The current plant is less than a mile away, and if you travel down my road you arrive at the Isaac Hale Beach Park, which is the next proposed geothermal project in the county. The members of the Hale family are actually my next-door neighbors, so this is about as close to home as it can get.
The larger issue for me is that once I decided to take a stand as a lover of life in all it's myriad prismatic forms, every aspect of my life demanded re-evaluation in the light of an ecologically conscious ethic. The only responsible option for me to stay in integrity with my mission of using art as a vehicle for change and healing is to find a cleaner source of power to continue to create and do my work, so that I am not writing music on the backs of the plants, animals and birds that inspire me to create.
I am going to be purchasing and converting a used shipping container into my studio, which allows me to build a structure entirely with recycled materials. I've already dreamed of planting passionflower vines and other fruit vines around the studio and training them to grow up a trellis so that I'll be creating music in a recycled, solar powered, food producing creation pod!
I have a keen awareness of the extensive footprint created by my music related travelling, as well as of the festival sounds systems, lights, and other power needs. I'd love to inspire the electronic music culture to begin to think of more ways of minimizing our impact on the surroundings we use for festivals, as well as finding creative ways to achieve carbon neutrality through interactive crowd sourced power generation.
I'm attempting to expand the narrative around conscious music and festival culture by using my own story as a discussion point. For me, it's just not enough to raise funds for exotic locations and feel satisfied that I am operating at full capacity in my ability to be an example and inspiration of a new approach to the music industry. If I am going to be effective, I have to examine and address the spiritual and ethical inequalities in my own backyard.
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Bluetech is the musical alias of Evan Bartholomew, a classically trained pianist and composer. In addition to his Basement Dubs EP, he has just released a new album called "Dreaming Into Being". The liminal states between waking and dreaming are often where we access our greatest insights and creative gifts. Dreaming into Being is a tribute to this mysterious domain. Inspired in part by Bluetech's work with Stanford-based lucid dreaming expert Dr. Stephen LaBerge, these compositions invite us on a perception-expanding journey to "the worlds behind the world." Evocative, hypnotic soundscapes with embedded pulses and ambient drones make this record a great choice for lucid dreaming practice, yoga, meditation, bodywork, or simply relaxed listening.
www.bluetechonline.com
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