One of the undeniable factors of music is its inherent propensity toward catharsis. As a medium, it can transform an emotional experience into a solid sonic state. As an art form, it provides an infinite array of expression, unrivalled by other creative means. And as a vessel, its transportive way of carrying messages across languages and cultures is as timeless as it is universal.

All of these aspects come to the forefront with our cover artist Surfbort. A punk outfit out of New York. The aforementioned may not immediately come to mind as band that closely correlates with all of these qualities. Yet look a little closer, and dig a little deeper, and you will see a band that typifies all these facets, just as so many others do. 

The music they make, the creative arts they incorporate in order to spread their sound, and the universal human condition they share with each and every member of this global community make what they are saying and the cause they are championing as important as any that strives for a better society and how best to process difficulty when it invariably presents itself.

It is always the driving force of Musicology to highlight such offerings and to promote the power of music. This is what we aim to cover in every issue and in the many ways it manifests itself. 

In this issue, we have the shapeshifting Japanese electronic artist Soshi Takeda and the ego death of his previous musical adventures. The musical unity Ulrika Spacek create despite the vocationally disparate members of the band who spend the bulk of their time as experimental physicists and graphic designers. A Parisian who traded in her Fender for a mixer as Tomorrow Woman, who begins a new chapter in her musical story. The Austin-based Annabelle Chairlegs who has musical blood coursing through her veins. As well as a sense of connection that comes from a place of birth as part-time member of Pond and Tame Impala, and full-time member of Gum, Jay Watson harnesses the beauty of his native Western Australia.

All sharing one common denominator of music and its ability to transmute all manner of mixed feelings into a coherent force of articulated energy. It’s Musicology.