Working together

On my recent visit to Denmark, I spent a lot of time with the people in the group Slaraffenland, and their close friends and family.  It was clear, in many ways, that this was a tight knit group. Friends hung out with other friend’s parents, some members were actual twins; their lives seemed integrated in many ways.  Certainly, this is reflected in their work.  From an outside perspective, we don’t know what goes into the process of creating their work firsthand, but I’m betting it’s different than other processes where the people involved don’t acknowledge their group in the way these people do.  There’s a special bond.  There’s history, friendship, and the understanding that the people involved mean a lot to you and what you do. The results of the work must reflect this in some way too.  Maybe fans of theirs take that for granted, or maybe that essence is what drew them to support the group in the first place: that undefinable attraction.

It made me think a lot about the ‘groups’ I work with.  How many people feel that essence is present with the group they work with, whether musical, corporate, or otherwise? And if you feel it’s there, how often do you acknowledge it?