Have you ever experienced the feeling of nostalgia while listening to music, when one song floods your mind with a memory of a time and place and the people that shared that moment with you?
There have been many studies regarding the brain and it’s connection to music, Psychologists and Neurologists have been documenting the effects for years, however I personally believe that this nostalgic feeling is a kind of magic, and emotional reaction I cannot quite describe in words.
Memories stimulated by music often come from a particular times in our lives, and predominantly our youth, Psychologists have called it the ‘reminiscence bump’ and suggest that it may work this way because this is an especially important and exciting time in our lives.
Music evokes emotion, but the sound and feeling of it, while important, don’t necessary define your feelings, a sad song could be associated with a happy time, a happy one with a sad one.
For me as a DJ the nostalgia that music evokes is twofold, there are the songs that cause me to reminiscence and then there are the songs that stir up a memory in others. The events and functions I enjoy most are those attended by party goers that I have known for years, the friends I’ve made during my DJ journey and the songs that cement our relationships.
Recently I had the privilege of going on a road trip with an exceptional bunch of people for a rather #Smart 40th Birthday weekend. We travelled through the Majestic Karoo to the breath taking town of Graaff-Reinet, the hometown of the birthday boy, to celebrate this milestone with a party weekend themed “Back to the Karoo”.
The attendees included family, old friends and few newer friends, essentially a bunch of people filled with the excitement that a weekend away brings and the hunger for a good party. I had such fun playing the soundtrack for the celebrations with a mixture of songs from different genre’s and decades. There was even some karaoke and I can’t help but smile knowing that we will be reminiscing about the fun and shenanigans for years to come.
Although all good things must eventually come to an end, everyone left the Karoo with memories that will last a lifetime, I secretly hope that I was able to influence these memories with the music I played during the course of the festivities.
Looking back after a perfect weekend like the one we all had, I returned to the Free State inspired by the Karoo landscape, the pretty town, the friends who went along for the ride and the music we listened to along the way.
Written by Margaret Whitfield • DJ Magpie • our in-house Music Maven
