Song Club #28: Psychogeography

This week, we pay attention to the emotional and psychological impacts of different spaces in cities

When I first moved to New York, I would spend hours wandering around Brooklyn with no particular destination in mind. It wasn’t legal for me to work yet, so I had a LOT of time. I'd leave my apartment and let my feet carry me wherever—soaking it all in. I learned both the geography and energy of the borough this way, letting the bodegas and the brownstone stoops and the neighborhood voices wash over me up and down streets in Bushwick, Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, Williamsburg, and Greenpoint.

It wasn't until years later that I learned there was actually a name for what I'd been doing: psychogeography. The term, coined by theorist Guy Debord in the 1950s, describes the practice of exploring urban environments in unconventional ways, paying attention to the emotional and psychological impacts of different spaces, letting yourself drift. (The walks themselves are called ‘dérives’, which means ‘drifts’ in French.) I was fascinated to discover that my solitary meanderings were part of a broader artistic and philosophical movement.

Psychogeography can be a wonderful tool for sparking creativity. Unplanned walks through a city open up new perspectives and experiences that feed directly into music. The way a certain street corner feels, an overheard conversation, the unexpected beauty of a reflection in a dirty puddle—all of these can become seeds for songs. By engaging in these dérives we can tap into the hidden rhythms and stories of our urban environments, enriching our writing with authentic, place-based experiences.

This week, let’s use psychogeography in our writing.

Big love and keep going, 

Lucy 

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SONG PROVOCATIONS

Write a song inspired by a dérive through your city. Take an unplanned walk through your urban environment. Let your instincts guide you. What do you notice? What emotions arise? Use these experiences as the basis for a song.