The past 2 years have given most of us food for thought. I spent a lot of time contemplating what sort of future we should be cultivating for future generations. How can we take care of our world and be stewards for all we deem ourselves to have power over - be that those who are “other” to us, or other life on our beautiful home? How can we encourage dialogue rather than polarity? What is my place in this big mess that has raised issues of my own identity as a privileged black man in a culture that has been so hostile to those who don’t conform to a narrow, sterile view of the world? How do I raise my children to ask the right questions and to challenge the inertia steeped in generations of normalising patriarchy, racism and ecocide? Can we rewild ourselves and stop trying to distance ourselves from nature?

I started by asking. I met friends on the way and started to feel myself emerge from hiding. I decided to take a journey to reclaim myself, my place in my world, my community and my connection with the land I call home. I ran and ran and ran along the river Dart from her origin to the sea, camping wild and stretching myself to my limits to discover who I really was underneath the many layers of conditioning. In this initiation journey I sat by the river, slept under trees and stripped away many, many layers. I was uncomfortable, and was forced to face that head on in the wilderness of my darkest corners. I was fully met by my community at the end of my quest and felt loved and seen like never before, in a space of vulnerability. That itself disintegrated any part of me that was not true.

What emerged afterwards came slowly over many days and nights, moons and months. I had to offer something back and what came was not what I expected: I rediscovered the music. This song came to me along the river where I journeyed in silence for 3 days and 3 nights. It was recorded to document my experience and my prayers as I took that humbling pilgrimage along the river and discovered the depths of myself. It speaks of the intersection between my identity, the journey we are all on to find our authentic selves, and how nature can teach us more than we know. I had the amazing fortune to work with some incredible musicians on this track who I’m honoured to now call my friends. Thank you all for being a part of this journey and may we all live in authenticity ❤️