Looking back at 2023 - for the record
A music critic could look at 2023 through the same prism as the years 1973, '83, '93, 2003 and 2013 - years that let's be honest did not set the world on fire. But unlike those years which were very much on a journey as music continually evolved, 2023 was driven not by exciting new genres or even artists but my new challenges that haven't impacted any of those years above, namely climate change and technological change, principally AI. And Taylor Swift... This was the first year that AI created the possibility we could be listening to artificially created music and possibly an artist's work being mimicked . Climate change is now far better understood than ten years ago but such inspiration appears largely lost in today's musical artists. Russia continued their assault on Ukraine whilst Israel-Palestine conflict became brutally and sadly physical. My song of the year is a beautiful and timely reminder on how beautiful music can be: Saint Levant's From Gaza,