sour. this is how 2024 has tasted so far. confronted with quite a few major life changes that have tossed me around and bruised me in ways i never thought i’d have to experience to this extent, i’ve had to leave in search of media as an afterthought to things. 2024, objectively, has been a shit year. and yet here i am, on the second sunday of november, compelled to write about how i feel new life again, both personally and via the blog.

marty’s corner is probably going to be a new thing i’ll try once or twice and likely never do again, as with a lot of things i attempt. i carry very chaotic, adhd energy – if you’ve met me in person you could probably tell i’m prone to being all over the place organisationally, and consistency in writing has been a struggle for me recently. should i address it? or should i just write when i feel like writing and not give a fuck? with stresses of unemployment and other personal life things dominating my state of mind in 2024, i’ve had to redefine the expectations i have for myself and the website. i’ve come to the conclusion that ‘success’ (a term i’ve grown to despise due to it’s naturally capitalist implications) to me, isn’t growing in search of media in terms of readership – whether i get 20 visits a day or 120, i don’t really care – it’s just about covering the music i love and sharing it with the world. i don’t want the pressure of having to cover every great new release that comes out on a daily basis, but my lack of activity this year and years in the past has carried a sense of guilt in me, that i’m not doing enough, covering enough, etc. and sometimes this has resulted in a mental block where i can’t even bring myself to write when i do have the time. a lot of this is of course self-imposed and perhaps a little ego driven. i know i’ve made an impact on people with my words in some way, which still feels kinda surreal. and even more so is getting recognised out of the blue from people who are fans of the blog. to those reading this who have approached me off the back of my writing, thank you! the occasional little ego boost i get from it and people saying nice things is simultaneously nice and uncomfortable to me. i’ve always been modest about in search of media and my role as a culture writer. i just see myself as someone who documents and archives music releases via a review of a project, that’s all. and someone who occasionally interviews people (new ones are coming soon, apologies for the delay!) and does a bit of diy radio. i will keep doing all of that, hopefully on a more consistent basis, now that stability is coming back into my life again . having moved to a new space recently, i also see myself doing more interactive, in-person events too – that would be saved for london-based patreon subscribers (something that is still tbc).

part of this surge of new energy has come from we out here festival earlier this year. it was one of the funnest, most soul replenishing long weekends i’ve had in a while. i feel like it deepened my relationship with music. seeing artists like andre 3000, sampha, mount kimbie, ron trent, moodymann, aba shanti-i, bryan jackson and mala, to name a few, filled me with so much joy. it was the best music festival i’ve attended thus far, and am hoping to make this an annual pilgrimage for myself and friends. the stages were fantastic, there weren’t too many clashes and the sound quality in general was great! (though a reminder to use earplugs a lot more consistently).

here are a few albums i’ve been listening to recently:

i’m also back watching more films, i suppose it’s natural as we come into the colder, darker, winter months.

films i’ve recently watched and recommend: the substance, a different man, dahomey, a short story, toni erdmann, the kingdom (lars von trier tv series).

that’s about it! i just wanted to share thoughts about how i was doing and where my mind is at with the blog. in search of media is very much alive and well, and will be running it now with more intent and consistency, now that life stresses are slowly dissipating. if anyone wants to write, contribute etc, get in touch!

ciao and until next time!

marty, in search of media founder