Danish media report on the "Songs in the Key of Collaboration" album
Danish news outlets "Magasinet Søndag", "Ude og hjemme", "Familiejournal", "Horsens Folkeblad" celebrate the release of "Songs in the Key of Collaboration."
Excerpt from Horsens Folkeblad:
"Scientists travel the world extensively. They learn about other peoples and their problems. They may study social conditions or the consequences of the climate crisis, and when they return home with a lot of data, they write a scientific report. It might be published by a university press.
However, there are also those - or at least one - who, in the service of science, take a completely different path and write songs and release them on a record label.
One such person is Martin Høybye.
The musician and researcher has just released his eighth album. It's called "Songs in the key of collaboration" and is the audible result of a five-year PhD project in which Martin Høybye traveled and wrote music together with ordinary people from different parts of the world, notably also South Africa.
His starting point was some of the major crises that people across the globe are experiencing these years, such as climate change and the corona pandemic, and his research idea has been to investigate and document how to write songs together with people affected by the climate crisis, for example, that tell about their lives and the problems they face."
Full article:
https://hsfo.dk/kultur/melodisk-videnskab-martin-fra-horsens-har-skrevet-baade-sange-og-en-ph-d-efter-besoeg-i-cape-towns-raa-kvarterer
Daily Voice: Danish artist teams up with SA student
Danish artist teams up with SA student
DANISH singer and songwriter Martin Hoybye has dropped his newest album titled “Songs in the Key of Collaboration.” One of the tracks is called Crossfire which he did with a talented student from Stellenbosch University.
Marsha Dean/Daily Voice/May 6 2024
The track is a testament to the resilience and hope amid adversity, and captures the emotions of mense navigating the complexities of life in Vrygrond, gripped by poverty, crime and violence.
Hoybye met Avela Booi, 10, in 2019. The Bachelor of Education student says:
“I met Martin ad Sozo Educentre, an after-school programme for high-school students in the Vrygrond community, where he shared his experiences as a musician and performed some of his songs. He then invited anyone interested in collaborating on a new song to join him. I eagerly volunteered and we collaborated to create the song.”
“The song Crossfire is a heartfelt narrative of my experiences of growing up in a tough neighbourhood. I delve into memories of childhood, the facade of toughness among local kids, and the underlying fear for the future, particularly for my brother.
Resilience
Despite the harsh realities portrayed there’s a glimmer of hope symbolised by a bright future.
“I emphasise resilience and the importance of finding optimism amid adversity. I basically share my innermost thoughts and fears, but I also cling to hope, urging others to do the same. It’s a song of resilience, reminding us all to keep pushing forward, even when the odds seem sracked against us.”
Songs in the Key of Collaboration is available on all major online platforms. Avela Booi’s “Crossfire” about growing up in Vrygrond is track number 4 on the album: https://hoybye.lnk.to/songs
Radio 4 interview: "A Song Says More Than Numbers"
Martin was recently interviewed by radio host Maja Hald at Radio 4 on collaborative songwriting as ethnographic research into lived experience (in Danish).
From the radio's pitch: "A song hits us in a different and more direct way than, for example, numbers in an article. That's why a new album, the product of a PhD project, can provide a better understanding of what it means to live with the effects of climate change and crises. Guest: Martin Høybye, researcher and musician."
Check out the interview, in which Martin gives a quick introduction to the collaborative writing of lyrics and melody in the project:
https://radio4.dk/podcasts/morgenrutinen/en-sang-siger-mere-end-100-tal
"Songs in the Key of Collaboration" is out
In Martin’s words:
Prompted by a serious water crisis in Cape Town, I set out to explore songwriting as a response to anthropogenic environmental impact, broadly speaking.
Environmental crises will continue to impact the planet for generations to come. Droughts, floods, sea level rise, wild weather events, and resulting changes to sense of place and identity will follow.
10 of 35 songs written in the project are presented on this album. They comprise a meeting of sentiments and ideas from different people, different countries, and very different living situations.
A song is a drop in a very big pond, but I believe in ripple effects and taking action by sharing ourselves, our experience, and knowledge. That may sound radical, but I believe inaction and non-sharing is actually more radical 
DO add this album via your streaming service , and let’s show the algorithms that actual humans make art with and for other humans in this world still 