Compelling change through music - Alice Phoebe Lou

At the age of 18, Alice packed her bag and headed for Europe.

 

Alice: "I had very little money nor a plan but a hunger for adventure. I soon realised that it can be hard to get by without money and I knew I didn’t want to have a steady job as this would restrict the spontaneity and limit my movements. I discovered that street performance was a great way to keep moving while still making enough money for the basics. I started with fire-dancing on squares in Paris and Amsterdam, which was fun and a great way to meet people. But after six months of travelling, I arrived in Berlin and began using the few chords and cover songs I knew with a guitar to sing at some subways. In the beginning it was a means to an end and I felt very self-conscious and slightly uncomfortable. But once I started writing my own songs and gaining some confidence, I really started to enjoy it and it seemed to be having a positive impact on passers-by. I guess there was a snowball effect from there, as I started to take music and writing more seriously; I bought a good street amplifier and my life became about busking."

 

 

Project Loud: What made you want to up and leave South Africa and seek your fortune abroad?

 

Alice: "I love my home and feel very fortunate to have grown up in the place I did and I am definitely not running away from anything. I fell in love with street music and the lifestyle that it enables and I’m afraid that it is not a very respected and appreciated career / art form in South Africa yet. I do think that in general the music scene in Cape Town is really doing some amazing things right now, but the place that I feel the most appreciation for my specific art form is in Berlin. Hopefully I can bring some of that sentiment home too."

 

PL: What's it like busking in the streets of Europe?

 

Alice: "I think that the busking experience is very much dependent on the individual, that attitude towards busking, etc. I have been very fortunate in the way I have been received and in the variety of ups and downs I’ve experienced. In the beginning, it was hard; I was 18 years old and being exposed to a lot of different kinds of people and experiences that have taught me so much and helped me grow and learn about my own moral compass. Now busking is independence to me; I am self-sufficient, I make hundreds of busy passers-by stop for extended periods of time and I turn streets into performance spaces, bringing music to the people. Each day there is a new lesson. Being on the street can make you exposed and vulnerable at times and I have had many challenging experiences with people that try to use my sensitivities against me or suck my energy, but I take all of these experiences under my wing and learn from the interactions, the conflicts, etc. There is definitely an overall positive reaction and people share a lot with me and make me aware of how much I have moved them in that moment."

 

PL: What inspires your music?

 

Alice: "One of the biggest inspirations to my music is the different people I meet and stories I hear. I am a very social person and I love to travel and meet people, to gain different perspectives and learn through the experiences of others. I feel as though one of my roles as a street musician is to hold a mirror up to society and to make music that is relatable and that people can reflect on. That is why I learn from friends, acquaintances, family and strangers to build up a body of work that can be accessible to all sorts of people."

 

 

PL: You've become somewhat of an internet sensation since your performance at TEDx Berlin - where do you hope to see your career heading from here?

 

Alice: "After experiences like TED and going to Palestine and playing concerts there, I have realised the endless possibilities that there are to use music as a platform to voice the things you believe in or amplify ideas of change or support different causes. It is a beautiful thing for me to realise because it brings a greater weight to my career and opens up endless opportunities and directions that my music can go in. I am not someone who likes to make five-year plans, I rather like to go with the momentum of my feelings and take the many opportunities that come your way when you keep an open heart and open eyes. But I do know that my musical journey will include many other elements and facets including social and political projects and motivations, because the structures of society still have a long way to go before they are fair and for the people as opposed to the elite and I do hope that I can make a change through music. "

 

While Alice is based in Berlin for much of the year, she does still spend a lot of time in Cape Town. She'll soon be gracing Joburg, along with multi-instrumentalist Matteo, on 6 December to open for The Lumineers. Don't fret Cape Town, they'll be gigging in the Mother City too. 

 

For more info on Alice Phoebe Lou, go to www.alicephoebelou.com.