In today’s episode, I am talking to Martha Powell, who is a professional Harpist, an incredible musician in a multitude of instruments, along with a music teacher in the Cardiff/Penarth area.
Myself and Martha went to school together, so we have known each other for a very long time, and when recording this episode, we were collaborating on an exciting project finding connections between her harp music and compositions with my dance practice, which has been really interesting to explore.
It was also wonderful to be able to record this interview with each other in person!! I was staying with her during the time of recording (about a month ago now!!) whilst we were collaborating on the project.
It was really lovely talking with Martha about her career, and how she’s been finding a balance with social media from a personal and professional perspective, and how actually fusing these together has made her feel like she can relate to others in a way that feels more authentic for her.
We also talk about ways she’s been trying to live more sustainably, as well as discussing our thoughts on veganism, and the ethics surrounding the use of animal products.
Martha has found it a bit more challenging to be sustainable in her choices when living in Penarth, as there seem to be fewer sustainable options. E.g. shampoo bars – none available in Penarth so a journey to Cardiff to buy from Lush would be required.
Little things she’s trying to incorporate – only buying things when she really needs to and not just for the sake of it. Using up what she already has before looking for a more sustainable alternative. For example, she is still using up conditioner bottles she has at the moment before buying a conditioning bar.
Finding her Balance with Social Media:
Martha has both a personal and harp Instagram account.
Her harp Instagram was used fairly minimally over the past couple of years, but over lockdown, Martha found she was playing and recording her harp playing more often, and she began sharing these on her account more frequently. Playing what she wanted to play and not what she had to when she was in uni.
At the start it was very much her harp account, not personal account, considered it very much her ‘harp self’/professional self. She has started to make it more personal – she didn’t want to put up this persona that she was practicing every day because that isn’t the reality, and she wanted to share honestly.
Negative feedback – Martha has learned to brush off any negative comments, accepting it’s not for everyone and that’s okay. She hasn’t always been like that, and has taken time to develop that strength, but now she can be more accepting and not take the criticism to heart.
At first, being personal on her harp account was difficult, as she occasionally received negative comments about how her harp wasn’t in the photo for example, but Martha isn’t just her harp. Music is a big part of her life, but she is a human being and she feels it’s important to show that through her professional account too.
If people were paying Martha to play at a wedding for example, she has assurance they wanted her there. But on Instagram/Facebook, if she’s posting, she used to feel more insecure/apologetic in case they didn’t want to see it. But she’s began to realise some people she thought would not be interested were actually really interested in what she was doing.
She reached a whole new audience who could relate to her and her music, who may not usually engage with harp music and this was exciting and what she hopes to achieve – connecting people to harp music who may not normally be drawn to it.
A different relationship has been built with social media – sharing with people the music you’re creating rather than trying to show them you’re doing something. Slight differentiation but very different intent that’s important. More genuine, less superficial.
Trying to access the more positive aspects of social media – gaining inspiration from other artists, connecting with people to collaborate with, sharing her music with people who may not normally listen.
In our collaboration – connecting people to dance and music that would normally not engage with it. Taking it to unconventional performance spaces, in nature, appreciating the natural world etc.
NATURE:
We both grew up in very rural areas, nature has always been a big part of our lives, we built an appreciation for it, which definitely helped inspired us to strive to be more eco-friendly.
Diving into some perspectives on the consumption of animal products:
Martha has never been able to eat lamb since she grew up near a field which was filled with sheep and she would see the lambs which she finds so sweet. Because of this, she could never bring herself to eat lamb as the association with the beautiful lambs in the field was so strong.
When posing the question about whether she would feel differently about eating beef if she had grown up near a field seeing calves was really interesting, as Martha agreed she probably would have felt differently about eating beef.
Martha has mostly cut out meat, still eating fish, for her it is more of a journey, rather than cutting out animal products entirely, but she is wanting to help the planet and is making gradual changes which is so wonderful to hear.
We touch upon speciesism further – for example discussing how in China they eat dogs, whereas here we have dogs as pets. Martha’s Mum used to have a lamb as a pet, so for her she associates lambs with pets as opposed to food.
It is interesting how society constructs these associations with some animals as pets, and others as food/commodities.
Where eco-friendly swaps started for Martha:
Little things she began to realise e.g. plastic – going to university made her realise how much rubbish she and her flat mates were producing over a week – SO MUCH PLASTIC.
They started making little swaps like metal straws and reusable cups for parties rather than disposable plastic ones.
She has started looking into cruelty free makeup, plastic free shampoo/conditioner from lush, Estrid razor, Body Shop (wishing they were plastic free). Native deodorant.
More challenging things she has faced with regards to sustainability:
Buying fruit and veg with less packaging.
Talking with her family about sustainability – Her Dad was brought up in a farming community. He loves eating meat and doesn’t really see the environmental impact, sister has a similar view. But she wants to try talking to them more about it. She loves passing on what she’s learning so wants to educate others more.
We discussed the idealisation of farming, especially in rural communities. But this sadly isn’t the reality. And the reality is so upsetting to see, but we need to raise this awareness.
We know we do not need to eat meat to survive. It is not necessary, so it is purely being done in most cases due to prioritising taste over ethics. Would you be prepared to kill an animal and eat it? I know for me and my morals, I definitely could not, so I cannot justify paying for someone else to do this on my behalf.
“If you really think you could go and kill an animal yourself and eat it then something’s not right”
We had a really respectful, open conversations about this. Opening up a dialogue is so important. Allowing space to learn, challenge our beliefs, and I think encouraging these conversations is so important.
We discussed how training within the arts can encourage you to be more open minded, challenging your thinking and exploring grey areas which is such a valuable thing to do.
Confirmation bias on social media:
Algorithms filtering what you see, encourages a false sense of beliefs/standpoints. Can become very polarised, removes any sort of non-bias perspective.
This can be very dangerous and narrowing of our thinking/belief systems. So quickly infiltrates our views. It is important we actively make the effort to research, follow a more diverse range of people – super important!!
Reusing things and giving them a second life – buying second hand, sense of achievement in re-purposing things.
Next goals she has to be more eco-friendly:
Trying to buy fruit and veg plastic free
Talking to more people about sustainability
Buying presents for others that are more eco-friendly to encourage them to make these swaps in the future. Nice way of sharing without just preaching but offering them something to try.
Two things she’s proud of that she’s achieved:
More sustainable beauty products.
She had really enjoyed eating vegan whilst I had been staying with her which is wonderful to hear – recipe sharing 😊
How do you find a little bit of Lagom in your life?
Since moving to Penarth, she’s loved taking time for herself. Leaving her phone at home, and taking a book to the beach, reading whilst sitting on the beach. Giving herself space away, which she really values to find a sense of balance.
How wonderful does that sound?!
Thank you so much to Martha for talking with me, you can find Martha on Instagram @marthapowellharpist
I hope you enjoy the episode, I’d love to hear any thoughts you have from listening – you can email me on alittlebitoflagom@gmail.com, or send me a message on Instagram @alittlebitoflagom, I’d love to hear from you 😊
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