GET TO KNOW: CONCRETE JUNGYALS
In a world full of things to moan and dwell upon, the girls over at Concrete Jungyals are a driving force in wellness, community and inclusiveness. Having hosted and shelled down events since 2017, they have shined a light of positivity, hope and joy in amidst a world that is so easily bogged down in negativity and pessimism.
Amongst the madness, we briefly caught up with the organisers, to discuss the importance of music and live music events on mental health and wellbeing, what they’re all about, and all things behind the doors of the Concrete Jungyals.
What vibes can people expect at one of your nights?
Our vibes would probably be best described as high energy, we’re almost in a constant state of being gassed, although we do have our down days, which is totally normal too. Empowering, we’re all for supporting when and where we can. Fun, because if we can’t have a laugh, what’s the point? And lastly, inclusive - we want everyone to be able to join in.
How important is inclusiveness in music?
We actively make sure all of our events or radio shows are at least 50% non-male, and actively seek out people who are from marginalised groups through our social media channels and our own networks.
It’s really important to us to give a platform to the underrepresented in the industry; it is at the centre of everything we do.
How do you think music in a listening setting, and live music events, can help a person’s general health and mental wellbeing?
For many people, music is a form of therapy and escapism. Music events help foster a sense of community and belonging, being able to enjoy music with likeminded people. You can’t really beat this at live events! Live streams are our best option right now, but it’s great to be able to experience music in a more social setting as opposed to your bedroom.
How have you guys been keeping busy?
We've been busy looking at our business model and how we can provide more to our community and residents. We are all still studying, with Sash and Tiff doing a Masters degree and Emmy doing a bachelors, so we’ve got enough going on to keep us busy despite being stuck at home. We’ve also been taking a lot of time to look after ourselves and our wellbeing, which is really important, now more than ever.
You have been keeping pretty active on radio since your emergence, where can people find you on the airwaves?
We've been doing radio for a couple of years now and it’s honestly been great. We never initially planned to do radio, the opportunity just kind of presented itself quite early on with a friend asking if we’d like a residency on 1020 Radio, and the rest was history. After that we managed to bag ourselves a slot with London’s female-led station Foundation FM and we’ve been with them since the start. We have a show every third Wednesday of the month on 1020, 5-7PM and on Foundation FM every first Monday of the month, 9-10PM. Don’t forget to tune in as we’re always showcasing really talented up and coming artists from Bristol and beyond, so it’s not to be missed!
What’s good here in Bristol?
It’s very musically diverse and there’s something here for everyone. We always say that we’re a bit spoilt for choice in terms of music events here, although there’s always room for improvement in regards to diversity of the artists being booked to play at gigs, and more events run by diverse groups of people… obviously once we can actually all party safely again #LETTHEMUSICPLAY! Change is happening, slowly but surely, and we’re sure that once the rona has buggered off the events will be unreal, with all kinds of people coming together to celebrate and the music will hit differently. We’ll probably find ourselves dancing to music we didn’t previously listen to, catch us at a gabba rave, how ‘bout dat?
Now that the end is almost in our reach, you can be sure to watch out for the Concrete Jungyals crew rinsing sound and providing the party in a venue near you soon.
Matt Knight
March 4th 2021