Crises abound in the world at the moment, resulting in divisions and stresses affecting our collective state of mind. ‘Freedom Is a State of Mind’ was co-written by Justine Hansen and Martin Høybye in Cape Town and has a crosscutting theme of space. Both inner space and physical space in the form of a sanctuary or safe haven, which the writers urge us to protect.

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At the planetary level, it is not only our planet’s ecosphere that is threatened but also our relationships with the natural world and one another. Attitudes that are “poles apart,” as the song mentions, are also apparent in South Africa where systemic inequalities and crime as well as environmental, political, technological, and economic stresses have contributed to widespread despondency. In the face of this, how do we retain resilience?

The co-writers discussed this and other issues during their songwriting session – the first that Hansen had been part of. ‘Freedom Is a State of Mind’ is about finding and protecting places of refuge both “deep inside” and in the spaces, the commons, still accessible to us. Our oceans, nature reserves, communal gardens – places where we can connect with nature, ourselves and one other, and become more mindful of our interdependence.

“The song is a call to protect places of sanctuary, inner and outer, in order to gain increased self-possession and with that more humanity, simplification and healing with ripple effects,” says Justine Hansen. It is also a call to create safe spaces for dialogue where people can speak their truth more freely, even when it goes against convenience and convention.

Listen to “Freedom Is a State of Mind” here: https://hoybye.lnk.to/mind

Watch the music video here: https://youtu.be/OyoD0JzkQ-g 

Although literally hailing from different ends of the world, Scandinavia and South Africa, the songwriters quickly found common ground in a desire to try to speak to what we might have in common across divisions, and to look critically at the deeper reasons for our crises

“During the session, we came from a theme of responsibility for others to a theme of convenience. The kind of convenience that drives not only environmental damage but also a market-driven colonization of inner space,” says Martin Høybye.

He co-wrote songs in Cape Town in 2018 and 2019, and in Denmark between 2020 and 2021 as part of an arts-based doctoral research project. ‘Freedom Is a State of Mind’ – out on January 19^th 2024 – is the third single from the upcoming album ‘Songs in the Key of Collaboration.’

“We had a give-and-take-conversation and took careful notes, before playing a melody game. After a few hours this song was born, drawing on Justine’s backstory, which is one of overcoming a great deal of turmoil and hardship in her youth. It is a call to protect our sanctuaries, whether tangible or intangible, from being slowly appropriated in the midst of the many interconnected crises we are living through,” says Martin Høybye.

More info:

‘Freedom Is a State of Mind´ is the 3^rd single from Martin Høybye’s upcoming album “Songs in the Key of Collaboration,” a The New Songrise production released May 3rd 2024 through Songcrafter Music

“Songs in the Key of Collaboration” contains 10 songs written with people who accepted Martin’s open invitation to co-write – regardless of any musical experience. All songs were created based on the experiences of the collaborators.

The album was produced by Dennis Ahlgren, and is the product part of Martin Høybye’s arts- and practice-based PhD thesis “Songs in the Key of Collaboration – Engaging with Anthropocene moments through personal and collaborative songwriting,” (Aarhus University, 2023).

See also:

The project “Co-write with Martin”: https://martinhøybye.dk/co-write-with-martin/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ArtistMartinHoybye/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martinhoybye/

// DANSK //

Ny single fra Martin Høybye opfordrer til at beskytte vores indre og ydre fristeder

Verdenskriserne står i kø for tiden, og det kan medføre splittelse og stressfaktorer, som påvirker vores sindstilstand. ‘Freedom Is a State of Mind’ er skrevet af Martin Høybye og Justine Hansen i Cape Town, og menneskers fristeder er et gennemgående tema. Både indre frirum og ydre frirum – for de fristeder og sikre havne, må vi værne om.

I det store billede er det ikke kun planetens velbefindende, der er truet, men også vi menneskers forbindelse til naturen og hinanden. Manglen på sammenhæng kan skabe polarisering, som sangen nævner, hvilket også er tydeligt i Sydafrika, hvor systemisk ulighed og kriminalitet såvel som miljømæssige, politiske og økonomiske belastninger har bidraget til udbredt modløshed. Hvordan bevarer man sin modstandskraft midt i dystopien?

Sangskriverne diskuterede dette og mange andre emner i løbet af deres møde – i øvrigt den første sang, Justine Hansen havde været med til at skrive. ‘Freedom Is a State of Mind’ handler om at finde og beskytte tilflugtssteder både “deep inside” og i de fælles rum, der stadig er tilgængelige for os.

Havene, vores naturreservater, offentlige parker – de steder, hvor vi kan gå i et med naturen, finde os selv og blive bevidste om vores samhørighed og afhængighed af naturen og hinanden.

LYT til ‘Freedom Is a State of Mind’ HER: https://hoybye.lnk.to/mind

SE VIDEOEN her: https://youtu.be/OyoD0JzkQ-g 

Selvom de bogstaveligt talt kommer fra hver sin ende af verden, Skandinavien og Sydafrika, fandt sangskriverne hurtigt fælles fodslag i et ønske om at skrive om det, mennesker kan have til fælles på tværs af skel, og i samtalen rettede de fokus mod de dybere årsager til verdens kriser.

“I løbet af samtalen bevægede vi os fra et tema om ansvar for andre til et tema om bekvemmelighed. Den higen efter markedsførte bekvemmeligheder, som både skader miljøet og i virkeligheden fører til en markedsdrevet kolonisering af vores indre liv,” siger Martin Høybye.

Han inviterede offentligheden til at skrive sange med sig i Cape Town i 2018 og 2019, og i Danmark mellem 2020 og 2021, som led i et kunstbaseret ph.d.-projekt. Singlen ‘Freedom Is a State of Mind’ udkommer 19. januar og er tredje single fra det kommende album ‘Songs in the Key of Collaboration.’

“Mens vi diskuterede, førte det ene stykke papir førte til den næste på sofabordet mellem os. Så spillede vi et melodi-spil og fandt nogle guitarakkorder. Og efter et par timer var en sang blevet født, der bygger på Justines baggrundshistorie, præget af en hård opvækst med fattigdom og psykisk sygdom. Den er en opfordring til at beskytte steder, vi kan være os selv, hvad enten de er håndgribelige eller mere udefinerbare. Beskytte dem fra langsomt at blive overtaget midt i de forbundne kriser, der præger os i vores samtid,” forklarer Martin Høybye.

Mere info:

’Freedom Is a State of Mind’ er tredje single fra Martin Høybyes kommende album ‘Songs in the Key of Collaboration,’ der udkommer 3. maj 2024 på Songcrafter Music. Pladen indeholder ti sange, der bl.a. er skrevet med folk i Sydafrika og Danmark, som har taget imod Høybyes åbne invitation til at samarbejde med ham – uanset om de havde foregående musikalsk erfaring eller ej.

Alle sange tager afsæt i klima- eller biodiversitetskrisen og er skabt på baggrund af samarbejdspartnernes oplevelser og erfaringer.

Albummet er produceret af Dennis Ahlgren, og det indgår som et produkt i Martin Høybyes ph.d.- afhandling ’Songs in the Key of Collaboration – Engaging with Anthropocene moments through personal and collaborative songwriting,’ (Aarhus Universitet, 2023).

Mere om projektet “Co-write with Martin” her: https://martinhøybye.dk/co-write-with-martin/

Martin Høybyes Facebook-side: https://www.facebook.com/ArtistMartinHoybye/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martinhoybye/