NIKKI BONSOL | GRIEF IS LOVE PROJECT
Project Sample for Balay Kreative Grant 2022
OVERVIEW: For the Grief is Love project, I will write and record a new EP: three songs about grief + healing in the Filipino diaspora during this era of pandemic, violence, and climate collapse. Two of the three songs will be written using a process called “Collective Songwriting.” This project sample will give you a sense of that process.
Meet the Franciscos…
Sometime in the 90’s: A rare photo of the Philippines and Canada sides of my family all in one place. My Uncle Boy’s front yard in Calgary, Alberta.
These are my elders. A few of them have already passed away. I will be inviting my surviving elders, my cousins, and my nibblings to talk about grief and write songs with me for this project.
The Collective Songwriting Process
(in pictures and audio)
Quetzal’s Collective Songwriting Workshop at the Brava Theater in San Francisco.
Earlier this year, I attended a 2.5-hour Collective Songwriting Workshop facilitated by the band, Quetzal.
Phase 1: Testimonio/Storytelling
The prompt for the workshop was, “The personal is political.” Each of us shared stories about how we related to the quote, and Martha Gonzales (facilitator and scribe) wrote down phrases from our testimonios on the big Post-It pads. You can see her notes on the back left wall of the group photo above.
A photo of our final lyrics
Phase 2: Dialogue
In the “Dialogue” phase, we collectively decided that the point of the song was that as oppressed people we didn’t have the privilege of separating the political from the personal, and that at times it was very painful. But one of the ways we could get through the pain was to talk with other people about it.
Phase 3: Imagining
In the “Imagining” phase, we brainstormed metaphors to use for the song and started with the metaphor of the body (which had been part of a story that Martha had written down on the board earlier.)
Phase 4: Collective Knowledge Production
When we started songwriting, more metaphors emerged. We wrote lyrics in both English and Spanish, to honor the languages of everyone in the room. One participant who had been more quiet during the earlier phases found her strength in this section, and crafted the melody for us!
Listen to a live recording of us performing the song at the end of the workshop below! (Note: the quality of this recording does not reflect the quality of the recordings that I will create for this project. This is to give you a sense of what the Collective Songwriting process can yield.)
So, what will the final EP sound like?
To get a sense of what my music sounds like, please check out my portfolio.