photo: © Peter Koudstaal
The book Music Brings Us Together by photographer Peter Koudstaal is a sociological account of festivalgoers and artists from around the world that is as unique as it is photogenic. It features Glastonbury, Lowlands, Roskilde, Sziget, and lesser-known destinations such as Lake of Stars in Malawi and Nashestvie in Russia.
Koudstaal photographs festivals, artists, and visitors as if you were standing beside them. Unobtrusively, he captures special moments between both artists and audiences, as well as among visitors themselves.
The striking design of Music Brings Us Together, created by Monica Morales and Rodrigo Aguilar from Guatemala, reflects what the book conveys: the festival experience. It describes and explores what that feeling really means. Why do festivals sell out months before the lineup is announced? Why are festivals so popular, and what does the festival experience actually look like?
In an effort to answer these questions, the 480-page volume includes not only Koudstaal’s beautiful photographs—for example, of Amy Winehouse and of his road trip through Japan with New Cool Collective—but also interviews and other stories. Scientists and journalists including Simon Warner, Bram Posthumus, Zeba Blay, and Keith Still are featured.
Music Brings Us Together is not a festival survival kit, but a large, beautiful, and raw book that makes you feel as though you were there—festival after festival.
Music Brings Us Together - Peter Koudstaal
Pages: 480 (English-language edition)
Price: €95
Publisher: Uitgeverij Komma
ISBN: 9789491525667
