“Sometimes less is simply what it is. Less. And let me be damned and cursed, irrevocably predestined and irrevocably mutilated by a culture of “would you like a little more, Madam?”. And even aside from that, in all honesty: ‘less’ is a lie. ‘Less’ is a cowerdly construct, lazy deception, minimalist kitsch.”
– Tom Lanoye
Can it be a little bit MORE, Madam?
In times of individualization, impoverishment, abstraction, budget cuts and elitism in a sector that is doomed to do more with less, MORE IS MORE Agency translates the “can it be a little bit MORE, Madam?”-ethos from the butchery to the musical sector in Brussels and beyond.
When is music that little bit MORE?
Music is MORE when it places content above form and defies superficial categorization.Today, form has a primacy over content across society. People come to concerts to look rather than to listen. Many actors in the cultural field are more concerned with the form than the content of cultural production, or assume that quality naturally flows forth from a range of formal characteristics: storytelling as much as age, gender, origin, social background, colour, looks, style,…
Stating this is not to undermine the struggles that underpin each of these categories. Quite to the contrary. Clinging to politicized categories as criteria to evaluate artistic expression contributes not only to a cultural impoverishment, but also to an increasingly superficial adherence to these struggles. When they are mere criteria to receive funding, they become boxes to tick regardless of the motivation and political engagement that should be at the basis of cultural action.
As such, music is MORE when it is political, in the sense that it questions established beliefs and practices, and is dedicated to exposing the power brokers in the sector and beyond. MORE music works in full transparency, with the aim of raising public awareness about the conditions of artistic production and inspiring others to do so as well.
Music is MORE when it is independent. MORE IS MORE Agency is dedicated to raising agency and solidarity among independent music makers and actively looks to reduce financial and professional dependency. The principle of FAIR PAY, FAIR PLAY is central to that ambition.
Music is MORE when it is authentic. By authenticity we mean the ability to express oneself without resorting to given or distorted ways of expression and imagery. MORE music does not create social distance through the mystification of difference. As a consequence, music is MORE when it grows from the ground up. No top-down initiatives from big cultural brokers, but music that comes from proximity and a desire to create and collaborate among musicians themselves.
As such, MORE music is rooted in community. In a context where individualization is promoted and applauded, MORE music puts primacy on the collective. MORE IS MORE works not only to foster community around its projects, but also aims to base musical production within a community, lending music again a societal function. Hence, music is MORE when it is participatory. MORE music will always be engaging audiences in its practices and breach the boundary between musician and audience.
Music is MORE when it is (a)live. Founded at a time in which artificial intelligence is increasingly taking over music production and consumption, MORE IS MORE Agency is dedicated to stand for music that will never find expression through AI. MORE music projects embrace diversity and complexity. Live performance remains the prime objective of MORE music. MORE projects are generous as they try to include as many people as viable, and remain open and inclusive so as to not foster an elite or in-crowd around then, and actively look to be heard by a diversity of audiences.