An earnest request for monetary assistance in giving this street musician some authentic traditional music training to better serve as a musician in Australia --
As many know, I've dedicated my life to music. Whether it's over 7 years as a street musician internationally or running storytelling world fusion concerts with art installations as multi-media collaborative experiences - I always fall back on music.
I feel strongly that music is a community service. As musicians it is our duty to provide mental, psychic and spiritual stimulus for expression and reciprocation in an energetic form in response to the wants and needs of the public. We speak in unspoken ways a language that identifies unspoken public sentiment. We provide an oiling, a flowing to these waves and energies - which allows for diversity and development within social interaction. In a more general sense, this is the service of art. Without these forms - society stagnates.
For those who know me personally - I often put everything that I have on the line for a project and end up with very little or nothing at the end. I've little respect for the classic sense of a budget and instead just 'go for it'. It's how I choose to do things and have come to discover this method of 'complete giving' is a key to my abundant creative reservoir - which I have found is not accessible through regular means of enterprise or expansion in a monetary/business sense. So what is given to me as a gift - being a talent to be able to pick up these instruments and teach myself - I must also give back as a gift in order for my 'flow' to be continuous and consistent. It's like when I focus on the money and attempt to 'play the industry' - my inspiration dries up quickly - and I find myself scrounging for morsels. When I am open and free - the wells overflow and I have no way of handling such abundance but I can make a little use of what I can direct for a moment - then I must let the rest go. This detachment from control - allows for the reservoir to remain full and abundant at all times.
Keeping in with this law, this law of gift exchange, is paramount to my success in public expression - I have found that this is how I can maintain my authenticity on the long-term.
The struggle between making a living and being true to one's self in art is a hardship of many the artist looking to culture this sacred wild flame within - yet cages of money, a name, and power encroach around this innocence as it is exposed to greater society - as greater society imposes capital value on the artist's productions.
Thus far, through the 'threats of worldly success' I have remained true to my light within and will continue to do so. I do not seek to 'make it big' - I seek to be the most effective.
As a result, I work hard - I work at a dairy here in Denmark, I worked at others in Margaret River when was there - I will make what money I need and I will fund my next project on the steam of honesty. I will keep doing this - because without doing it like this, I lose my dream - the energy doesn't stick around - I must be an integral part of society in order for the blood of my blood to be the blood of others - to feel what they feel in the ups and downs of this economic world and nature dependency; and thereby I can offer what is relevant or needed for them - because I am them. I must remain an equal to remain effective. As soon as I reach a pedestal, I've lost my ability to be as effective as I might - because others see where I have gone as separate from them and thereby decide it is not possible for them to be there but by a leap of effort or a special talent.
In remain true to my authentic mission and feeding this flame of creativity this way - I have found a way to individual creative sustainability. The idea of a 'creative block' doesn't exist for me - I must always make sure the right ingredients for authenticity are there - and then I am assured of the flow and the energy for what it is that I do.
Regardless, money is indeed needed for things. So in the mission of being a better musician and having the skills and the authentic recognition for traditional forms which I appropriate as a street musician - I am going to a week long seminar in Crete in late July - which I will stretch my resources to do. I put myself on a waiting list - in a hopeful moment a few weeks ago to get into Ross Daly's modal music seminar in Crete which marrys Arabic, Turkish, Persian and other systems of modal music. I asked myself then - if somehow magically I get accepted or someone drops out or they expand their intake - can I commit to going? I toyed with the idea in my mind, wondering about this commitment. Then it happened, the course intake was expanded and I was accepted and I have registered for the course and accomodation all without having to pay anything up front (which was the only way it was possible at this time). Now I have committed to it - and see it as absolutely necessary for my musical development for my forms to remain relevant and grounded in cultural authenticity - as, although I am well travelled, I have no heritage in any of these cultural bouquets I tease.
My request for assistance is that I could stay longer and do more courses as this music school runs courses all summer long every year - I would love to be able to stay up to 7 weeks at this music school in which seminars of various music disciplines, material ranging from India to Eastern Europe are being run as intensive sessions as week long seminar series.
I am well acquainted with the authentic mission of this school (Labyrinth) and have decided I will make a distinct effort to follow their happenings. A good friend attended when I was in Crete in 2017 and from that connection I have found a realm of resources which helped me on my traditional music path even before I picked up the Klasik Kemence. Coming to Crete was an outflow from my experience at the 114 day Sema in Turkiye where I stayed and played music for three of the weeks it was running. These experiences were led from meeting a beautiful group of young Macedonian ladies a couple of years before playing their haunting versions of eastern european folk on the streets of Chambery, France - this led me to Macedonia, Bulgaria and then onto Turkiye - then to Crete.
My story is quite extraordinary and my discovery of traditional music and traditional forms has been one of providence. After my stay in Crete in which I saved enough money through street music to do recording in Skopje, North Macedonia - I put together an impromptu band with the intention of recording jazzy blues material - my friends, Umur, an oud player and Katerina, a gadulka and bendir player were traditionally minded though open to anything. Instead, I allowed the direction of the recording to go with the flow of the energies brought to the table and we recorded an album of beautiful Western fusion - having chosen only songs that represent traditional form the best featuring poetry readings by famous Eastern poets. You can download it for free here - https://archive.org/details/kelebek-evrimi-the-butterflys-burden
I then when returning to Australia started accumulating and learning instruments as my taste for traditional musics deepened. After doing a voiceover job for a war museum in the Netherlands (as you do, lol, of which you can hear it on repeat at Willemstadt - thanks to Hans Timmermans aka Budhabuilding who saw in my speaking voice something worth repeating!) it was just that money I put towards a Klasik Kemence - which I ordered from Ankara. I later self-recorded and produced a world music album 'Open the Door' based on a story about a boy facing the unknown and released it in August 2022 with an exhibition by Amanda Forward and an animation with illustrations by Jessica Berry. Listen to 'Open the Door' here: https://indance.bandcamp.com/album/open-the-door-with-a-guided-dream
And much more recently a new story was developed and made into a concert, reaching into the musical imagination of Hindustani and Qawalli musics with the strong vocals of Ram VJ - full concert here:
Instruments in my repertoire now include: Klasik Kemence, Macedonian Kaval, 12 string guitar, Bendir/Daf, Udu, Tabla, Sarangi, Accordion and of course my voice. I am ever interested in the labyrinth of pathways of marrying all these elements and disciplines - I am well aware of the risk of appropriation and so perform music in the light of story telling or Sema to provide it as accompaniment, as a flavour, as a theme - and not to usurp traditional forms - but to add interest to them while still allowing myself permission to add my own impetus. Of which with traditional music in the culture of Eastern Europe and Turkey there is indeed a growing interest, as more and more young people find renewed value in these rich cultural sounds which then becomes a backbone of integrity for their character in an uncertain world - this momentum of this cultural revolution has been helped in a large degree by Labyrinth music school in Crete.
I've done my budget, creatively jigged around my finances and I've worked out I can reasonably stay and pay for course fees in Crete for 1 week and return, having paid rent where I am in Denmark, Western Australia and having living expenses afterwards before I earn again at the dairy here. I fix and sell a car here and after some tax back and some hard saving, and maybe some busking - holding onto my pennies. I can do it.
I would like the option to stay up to 7 weeks. For this to happen - I have worked out I need approx 1200 extra per week for five weeks and 800 for one week - this includes accomodation 400 weekly (discounted for students of Labyrinth), weekly course fees 400 for 5 extra weekly courses, rent for my place in Denmark 200 weekly while I am there, living expenses and other needs 200 weekly.
So I come to a figure of 8000 exactly - of which I don't expect any one large gift - but rather can adapt my stay according to the budget if I purchase a changeable return ticket.
As well as doing Ross Daly's week long seminar which is my primary driver for heading there - If I was to stay for 6 more weeks, will do a course on Indian Raga, Armenian Traditional musics, Azerbaijain Traditional musics, a seminar by reknowned Kemence player Derya Terkan on music from Istanbul and a general group participatory music seminar which culminates in a concert at the end with multiple world musicians of various disciplines performed by the students at a rustic and beautiful Minoan setting (there's plenty to choose from around Crete).
I feel my music and my relevance to culture will increase greatly by making this effort to attend this school.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read - I hope you feel it in your heart to support my endeavour. I hope to gift back with these skills and musics giving back with the opportunity to broaden the musical horizons of individuals within Australia - to respectively tap into the rich resources hidden within these vast cultural heritages in various tones, timbres, instruments, modes, makams, raags, rhythms, songs and spirit. Then also to weave the relationships between all cultures as coming from a single origin - music is a pathway to find that unity.
Thank you!
Kindest regards,
Monty
Opportunities for contact:
+61422563234
monty@montycash.au
Opportunities to gift:
Australian bank account (no fees for transfer):
BSB 116 879
Acc# 424 536 546
Paypal: kelebekevrimi@gmail.com
Busking tip platform (credit card options available): https://busk.co/monty
Edit: Regarding scam alert on my bank account number - this is the correct account, the numbers are correct - it is coming up on some people's transfers as being a possible scam - please click through it and send anyway. Sorry about this, I can't do anything about this on my end. Grateful if you made it through the gauntlet and got some cash to me!
Below is some photos and fun from my travels:
