La fabricación musical | Giovanna Núñez | TEDxUniNacionalIngeniería
I'm happy to be here. It's a challenge for me to do something other than sing on stage. I'm going to introduce myself again; it was part of my presentation. I can afford to take up that minute of my introduction. Well, my name is Giovanna Núñez. I'm a self-taught musician. I compose, sing, and also produce my music under the name "El Ala." I also studied philosophy at the Antonio Ruiz de Montoya University. Today, I didn't want to tell you about my experience and give a concert, but rather I wanted to share the quiet reflection I have as a musician about the state of music within this context we call the music industry. I'm going to keep reading, because this is a bit conflicting for me. I think that music has certain qualities that aren't necessarily compatible with the qualities of the industry itself. I'll start by asking myself what music has been to humanity throughout our history, and what music is for each of us, atomized. I think that music has been a space to socialize those things that amazed us, that terrified us, that... It mattered a lot, and they were so profound, difficult to grasp with reason alone. They were n't in the day-to-day; they were in the ritual, in moments of catharsis, perhaps with a little alcohol. But music was always a space to channel things that matter to us and that we can't name. And perhaps the very fact that we couldn't name them is what makes them so distressing at times, so passionate at others. And well, what characterizes the industry in the face of this, in the face of this overwhelming thing that we can't control, that we find in art in general, this thing that speaks of a part of us that is n't regulated by the social order, by ourselves, the things that surpass us? What happens when we put music as a product within a production machine, let's say? Because while the music industry is a cultural industry, it has some mandates of any industry, for example, the idea of producing more at a lower cost, the guideline of producing a lot for a certain market. So what happens to an element like music when it wants to fit the demands of an industry that also demands regularity, frequency, a certain type of product? The packaging has to be pretty, that is, one has to be Well, and you have to do extra-musical things like taking photos for something important, and taking photos yourself is like there's a whole process surrounding that delicate and transcendent thing that is music, which has more to do with marketing than introspection or communication of something transcendent, of socializing, of something important collective. These aren't things more typical of the market. In fact, there are many ways to compose; there's no way to compose that's more about thinking about the formal beauty of the piece. And I have very dear colleagues who say that everything in their profession, everything known, can be achieved, but I think that music has a component that, for me, exists and is essential, which is inspiration. And inspiration can't be summoned at will. I ca n't say, "I want to be inspired and write something that moves me and speaks of things that my reason doesn't know." I can't say that. It seems that inspiration will arrive when it wants, and sometimes it makes us say things and do things and think things that we couldn't find, at least not within our rational spectrum. I don't think, or that there is, that collective intelligence that one can grasp, perceive, and ground through an idea or a piece of art... Suddenly it's a spirit that inspires them, suddenly it's a gift from God, and everyone has their own interpretation of inspiration, but for me, art—in this case, music—is a fundamental element. It does what it has done throughout human history: to see and communicate with each other from a place that isn't rational, that is very deep, that is vital. I want to tell you a personal story, and also to stop talking, which makes me very nervous, and to be able to sing something for you. But this song comes from a very strange story. Well, I was 22 or 23 years old and very agnostic, studying philosophy, and I also like art, so who's going to make me a Christian? Well, nothing. But one day I was walking through the park near my house, and suddenly I started to feel the trees vibrating. I've never eaten, friends, but from what they tell me, that's how it was. The trees were vibrating; it was as if everything was vibrating in a kind of Vaseline-like air. There was a spirit in the air, a very strong spirit of love, tenderness, and joy. That's what I felt, and I felt clearly that it was the spirit of Jesus, and I heard and I understood without hearing a single word that this was the path of man, the path that after turning around, after all the hatred, the blows, and the fighting in the separation, one could love a brother like a son, with total love for any person. That's what I saw at that moment, and I told my artist friends. They said, " To begin with, how do you know it was Jesus? Have you taken anything? Are you crazy?" And I fell in love, and I made this song for him, and some words came out of my heart. I said, "I knew him, and I'm going to sing this song to him, which is called Jesus." [Applause] [Music] No, no [Music] the sun [Music] so much that he has me [Music] and well [Music] I already have such millions, not me, and such [Music] to [Music] I am with your cheeks as [Music ] let 's go [Music] thank you [Music] [ Applause] [ Music] [Applause] [ Music] [ Applause] thank you very much. Well, after this schizophrenic situation, according to My crazy friends and living this experience of making a love song, a love song about being in love with Jesus, I felt today. I don't know how I compose, I do n't know if I'm going to stop the song, but over time I keep composing and it's an album, and I started participating in this thing called the music industry. I also took photos and videos and I also learned to compose in other ways, a little bit like putting more thought into it, but not because I felt that what motivated me to compose was precisely that feeling that something was going through me as a human being and uniting me with other people. Well, in fact, I wouldn't want to say or do this, I do n't do this. There are many ways to compose, many ways to enjoy music, and I'm a person who hardly listens to music even though I make music because when I put it on, I don't like background music. When I put on music, it either moves me a lot and I only want to dance or cry, or since I 'm always busy, I can't listen to much, or I don't care, and I don't like food, I don't care because it's very important to me to preserve. I would like people to have a good relationship with art as a space within themselves. Sacred pagan mud in a sacred space for us that connects us with the things we cannot speak of, and it would frighten me to think that this industrial frenzy will cause us to lose sight of that spirit of music and that we will end up consuming it as we consume everything else voraciously, quickly, unnecessarily, not because that is good for the planet, it exhausts our minds, it drains our hearts, it is not necessary, sometimes in silence it is good music. Well, so I just wanted to tell you that I believe that art protects us, that bad spiritual part that allows us to relate with kindness, and that perhaps the reason why I didn't dedicate myself to philosophy is because when I studied I was fascinated not so much by the arguments and the study of these arguments, but by what these arguments pointed to and couldn't explain, what is that great mystery behind the questions, difficult to answer, for example, if God exists, if he is good, what is human nature? We could never be sure of an answer, but our hearts were moved, sometimes excited, almost to the point of fear, wondering what the limit of our existence is, and for that we have art as a language to express that so important and hopefully it will always be there for us as a valuable language, thank you very much [Applause]