It’s been far too long, and that’s because, instead of writing about my research and practice, I have been living it, which is the best possible reason.

I’m now about a year into my PhD and doing fieldwork in earnest, visiting as many different ukulele groups and events as I possibly can, meeting some amazing people in the process, and improving enormously at the instrument myself. There have been some surprises, particularly given the intersectional angle of my research; across many axes the community is less diverse than I had initially assumed, but with some exceptions which are all the more noteworthy for their relative rarity. One exciting angle I hadn’t anticipated is the field of ukulele players on YouTube, which will form the basis for my next chapter; it’s a world that’s both very much linked with and entirely separate from the field of offline ukulele jams, and I’m really looking forward to being able to plunge in and start writing.

I’m awaiting news on my first submission to a peer-reviewed publication, have released my second EP as Deerful, Home, and am in the mixing phase of my first album, which will be out in the spring. I’m very busy, very contented, usually pretty tired, and looking forward to seeing what the second year of my PhD will bring.

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