In a present that escapes and is constantly under threat, is seeking a direct, material and not abstract contact with what surrounds us something that can help human beings find their way back? The Floating Notes festival tries to answer this question, choosing the mountains as its chosen location, with its beauty and its dangers.
We have asked a number of artists to create something special for San Bernardino, with special moments of improvisation to represent this moment, both historical and existential, precarious for culture and for all of us, who are facing the need to reinvent ourselves, to re-read a present that is at times indecipherable, but which is also rich in opportunities and small treasures. Transforming these sensations into a language understandable to anyone who listens is the task of every artist.
This is why Floating Notes is not just another festival. It was born with a particular attitude, that of not wanting to comfort ourselves or rest on tried and tested solutions. We don't want to please at all costs, we want to make you dream, think, be curious, or even annoy you; the important thing is that our artistic vision comes through: to translate the beauty and danger of the mountains into music.
Never before have we needed to re-evaluate our spaces, appreciate what surrounds us, know how to put ourselves on the line and be ready for novelties, sudden changes and finding new solutions. The musicians accepted the challenge of laying themselves bare and proposing music that at times could be gentle, at others striking or frightening, like a rock breaking away from the top and running straight towards the village.
And an audience that listens and is inspired is an audience that finds solutions, that is tolerant, that picks up hints of improvement and correction, that also reinvents itself by questioning itself without anxiety but creatively.
What may seem like casual music is therefore a starting point. Free from all rules, let us be inspired by the moment.
