I wanted to give you a quick intro of some of the musicians here. Because I am a singer snob, I will start with three of the vocalists. These folks are amazing. I'm enjoying noticing the stylistic and timbre similarities and differences as well as vocal ornamentation.
This is Alsarah on the left. She is Sudanese, now living in Brooklyn. This video was produced by Peter Varshavsky of Porto Franco Records in San Francisco. Read more about her here.
Mekuanent is from Ehtiopia. He loves to dance and has awesome outfits. For more info click here.
We also have the gorgeous voice of Dina El Wedidi. She only started singing four years ago when she was 19. Brazilian superstar Gilberto Gil is her mentor. For more info click here. Click ahead in this video a little bit.
The Fekra Cultural Center from across a small bay. The Philae (Isis) Temple sits directly behind
Right off the bat, you will be glad to know that I am exactly where I need to be. There are no words to describe the gratitude I feel for this opportunity to be in Aswan at the Fekra Community Center for these couple of weeks. I am so appreciative for the all moments and decisions that have brought me to this place. And so I appreciate all my readers (my friends and family) for the encouragement you may have directly or indirectly given to me. Thank you for that.
The smiles of the Nile Projects co-founders Mina Girgis and Meklit Hadero right after the musicians have all introduced themselves and their instruments.
Please hang in there with me as I process all of this so my brain won't explode! This is the first day the musicians are here and it's taking a moment to settle in.
Today have been thinking about the reasons why I was so initially drawn to The Nile Project. It was like a magnet right from the beginning. From first knowledge, I could see that this is the sort of project I needed to be part of as ethnomusicologist. It was "a dream come true".
As a student of ethnomusicology, I was aware that I loved music and was fascinated by the reasons why and how people create it. But this project has brought to surface the logical application of this passion and reasons I was not initially aware of.
This is sort of the logical and emotional journey of how I got here:
I love music
I love making music and I love witnessing the joy of its creation and performance
I am passionate about sharing this joy with others, whether it is through performance, education or simply listening
I want to improve lives. Providing joy in a moment of musical creation and performance is one thing, but making someone’s day better because they can feed their children, live peacefully with their neighbor, and not have to worry about survival is something else entirely different.
Musicians from Ethiopia and Egypt jam for the first time
The Nile Project uses music as a medium to bring about larger conversations to improve lives and communities. Bringing these musicians together is a microcosm of what we would like to bring about in Nile Basin communities: come to together to learn, respect eachothers rhythms and negotiate compromises for peaceful co-existence.
Egyptian singer Dina El Wedidi performs in the musical instructions. Gil Giberto is her mentor. I asked her to give me a voice lesson or two while we're here.
So, at the moment I am sitting outside the tent listening to a musical jam from musicians from three different countries. The vocalists are sitting on the roof teaching each other songs, and two percussionists are sitting in a house down the road learning traditional rhythms from their respective countries. It's going to be like this all day and all night for the next two weeks.
This is like wandering down the practice room halls of a music conservatory. All the beautiful cacophony. It's one of my happy spots.
The vocalists sit on the roof teaching each other songs.
It's amazing to watch a percussionist from Egypt teach a rhythm to another musician on a completely different instrument. Witnessing the learning of different scales is just as incredible.
I cannot even fathom the music that will be created here in
the next two weeks. I can’t wait to hear it. I can’t wait for YOU to hear it.
And, we are still waiting for musicians from Kenya and Sudan
to arrive. So there is more to come. Way
more.
Hello! Welcome back to my blog. I know it's been so long, but this is the best way for me to report on what I've been experiencing here in Egypt and the Nile Project.
I am in Aswan, Egypt, located in the Southern part of the country, home to the Aswan Dam, the High Dam, The Philae Temple and the region where the ancient Egyptians quarried the stones used to build the Pyramids in Cairo. The people here are Nubian, the food is yummy, the weather is mild, the internet isn't reliable, I'm sure I am getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, and the River is beautiful. I will be in Aswan until January 29th, then in Cairo for a few days to produce some concerts and then I travel to Israel to visit family.
So, why am I here? I am volunteering for the Nile Project. In a nutshell, the Project is seeking to bring the people of the Nile River (consisting of 11 countries) together and encourage them to rethink of the River as a communal lifeblood and common eco-system. It is an ethnomusicologists dream. Music is wonderful, and it makes people feel beautiful things. But adding an extra level of this kind of community engagement and humanitarian dream is something I couldn't pass up being a part of.
This first of many residencies to come has two parts. The first part, that has just ended, brings together scholars, musicians, scientists, conflict resolvers, engineers, educators, community organizers, etc. from across the globe (Africa, North America, Europe and Asia were all represented). As of today (Tuesday January 15th) most of these people have left Aswan.
The second part of the residency is the music. Starting tomorrow, twenty-or-so musicians will begin arriving representing the eleven Nile basin region. They will write music inspired by the Nile River and perform this music at the end of the month both in Aswan and in Cairo. There will also be an audio recording.
It has been amazing listening and learning from these talented and motived people from across Eastern Africa. Check out the photos below. They are all beautiful people and I'm looking forward to keeping in touch with them.
So... PHOTOS!
This is the most expensive horse ride I've ever been on. I had many hours to kill in Cairo before flying to Aswan, so I decided to take a cab down to the pyramids. They hoodwinked me into riding a horse and spending more money that I should have... but alas, when in Cairo...
The Fekra Cultural Center, where I am staying for the 2.5 weeks
Meeting in the tent
A local musician hanging out showing off his homemade string instruments.
Meklit Hadero (one of the Bay Area founders) and me on the Nile
Elephantine Island - Populated by Nubians displaced by floods caused by the construction of the High Dam. There are beautiful wall treatments all over the Island.
Downtown Aswan
Arty. One of the Nile Project organizers brought her. She's being fostered and is encouraging me to take her home. There are so many stray dogs in Egypt, for realz, let me know if you're interested. This chicky is a sweetheart. And it sounds like international adoption (of pets) isn't too difficult.
Folks meet on the top of the Fekra Center overlooking the Nile.
The living room of the AMAZING apartment I stayed at for the first three days.
This is a trashcan. No joke.
Check out this video blog tour of the apartment. Don't laugh too hard at me. I had just woken up. I was trying to be quiet because people were still sleeping and I have a cold :)
Rooftop with the Nile behind
Nile Project co-founder Mina Girgis shares a laugh with Ali Askouri from Sudan (we co-wrote this article together)
A map of the Nile Basin, covering eleven countries.
In the Nubian village, they also must summon Batman from time to time.
Abeer (Egyptian) and Barbara (American)
Meklit (Ethiopia via USA), Abdi (Kenya) and Lama (Egypt).
Moses (Uganda) and Ezekiel (Kenya)
Awesome wall art in Aswan
All the cabs in Aswan are from the 70s. I love them.
The High Dam, which the USSR helped to build
Jen and me at the High Dam overlooking Lake Nassar. We originally met at a pool party last summer in the Bay Area. She's now researching the social effects of the Renaissance Dam in Ethiopia.
Egyptian FEAST for every meal.
Weaving scarves
Lunch at Anakato Hotel
Hibiscus sweet tea
Stay tuned for more to come. I will also be posting more photos on facebook.
Just in case you've not seen this yet. It was emailed to be by three different people today. That makes me very happy. This is important. And beautiful.
Landfill Harmonic is an upcoming feature-length documentary about a remarkable musical orchestra in Paraguay, where young musicians play instruments made from trash. For more information about the film, please visit facebook.com/landfillharmonicmovie.
I'm terribly sorry for the several month absence. The best excuse I can come up with is that I've been distracted by life, both wonderful and annoying. Let's just say that I'll get through all of it and life is grand.
At a recent Conspiracy of Venus retreat (my all women's pop choir) up at the American River, it was pointed out to me that I know lots of silly and dirty songs. Yes. I. Do. And I'm very proud of it.
So I figured I'd share some of them with you.
1) "Sit On My Face" by Monty Python. This song was first played for me in High School and I nearly peed my pants it was so funny.
2) "Jizz in My Pants" by The Lonely Planet. The song has Justin Timberlake painted all over it, making it pop-tastic.
For another Lonely Planet classic, watch "Motherlover" featuring Justin Timberlake. This one of the most hilarious video I've ever seen and features Patricia Clarkson and Susan Sarandon.
3) "Till the Cows Come Home" by Lucille Bogan. Kim Kattari brought this vocalist to my attention. She is astoundingly dirty. I love that this music existed one hundre years ago. It makes even the dirtiest Top Forty tunes seem like church hymns.
For more info on Bogan see this article, and for another insanely dirty awesomeness song see "Shave 'em Dry" with lyrics like:
I got nipples on my titties Big as the end of my thumb I got somethin’ between my legs That’ll make a dead man come. I f***ked all night
And the night before, baby And I feel like I wanna f*** some more Oh, grind me honey… and shave me dry
Stevie with one of his insanely hot backup singers.
Another year, another Outside Lands Festival in Golden Gate Park. I (happily, these things are tiring) didn't get there all three days, but was surprised with a VIP ticket to Sunday, which was the BEST day to be there. Two words: STEVIE WONDER.
But first things first. We got there early to see this Italian dude Jovanotti, who was SUPER fun. His fabulously hooky song "Tutto L'Amore Che Ho" was featured on the festival's site and I just had to see what his deal was.
Turns out this guy can rock a crowd, hard. His energy was infectious, reminding me of Manu Chao, like this video...
Toward the end Jovanotti popped down into the crowd (which was WAY smaller than what he usually plays for in Europe, I'm sure) and sang to us. Not bad for high noon. I enjoyed seeing the sort of folks who knew who he was, and would get to the festival so early to see him.
"We usually play for three hours" Jovanotti said in the cutest Italian accent, "So we're trying to give you the highlights in forty minutes!
After some fried pickes from the Fabulous Frickle Brothers, we came across Dr. Flotsam's Hell Brew Revue, returning bigger and better than last year. "It's an extraordinary setup, envisioned and handmade by an artist named Mike Shine and his posse of Carny Bastards to evoke a family carnival ambience." (SFWeelkly blog)
And guess who was playing? The Brother's Comatose (a fabulous local bluegrass band)! And I later found out that's where The California Honeydrops and Tumbleweed Wanderers had been playing all weekend, to pretty large crows! I'm glad that local bands got to play for the throngs in such a fun and quirky spot.
Then we caught some of Caveman's brooding set, who I became familiar with after NPR featured them on one of their Tiny Desk Concerts. I love that their guitars are made by one of the band members and I love that dude's outfit. (Yes, I had some fun with the color saturation.)
And then it was onto Amadou & Mariam. The other highlight of the day for me. I've been wanting to see this Malian couple perform live since I first heard about them in grad school. My afropop ensemble covered a couple of their tunes (with varying success, this music is complicated!) And they did not disappoint!
A totally oversaturated photo of Amadou y Mariam. With those colors I couldn't resist
And then it was onto Mr. Stevie Wonder. HOLY SHIT. It was all I could have wanted. I mean the dude walked out onto stage with a freaking KEYTAR. He played all the hits, even the corny ones. That's OK Stevie, we'll let that go, because you can do whatever you want. Really WHATEVER you want. You're Stevie Wonder.
He really did whatever he wanted. It was pretty obvious that the band was pretty used to Stevie changing the order of the setlist, calling out keys and songs, and teaching them (Beatles) songs on the fly. Everyone was having a ball.
Aisha Morris, Stevie's daughter is second from the right.
I was particularly mesmerized (as I often am) by his backup singers. Not only were they too hot for words, but Aisha Morris, STEVIE'S DAUGHTER, is one of them.
I heard that Metallica (who played the night before) was really fun, but I'll catch them next time. Two more artists checked off the bucket list: Stevie and Amadou & Mariam. w00t!
This is a cool photo of the Wine Land's tent. It's just purdy.
Robert Gurney conducts 250 singers - I'm right above his left hand. photo: Timothy Lee
I think it's safe to say that last Sunday, August 5th performing the Berlioz Requiem (and several other pieces) was one of the most exhilarating and exhausting musical experiences I've ever had. It's really special to pull off something so amazingly beautiful with 350 other people, with 1700 other people in attendance (check out the standing ovation).
Actually, I would have done it all just to hear the Richard Strauss Sprach Zarathustra, Fanfare (also known as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey), which we did, four times. THAT was one of the most thrilling things I've ever sat through.
You can only see twelve, but I promise there were thirteen timpanis. Photo by me.
Watch the video below. There were 13 timpani (kettledrums) and it was absolutely incredible to hear them all get pounded at once. And that major chord they hit at 1:06? Just goosebumps all over... from what wasn't all tingly already. What an absolutely thrill. I was so excited after the first run through at the dress rehearsal I literally raised the roof. I felt like such a huge dork, but I loved seeing all the smiles on everyone else's faces.
350 people strong. Photo: Timothy Lee
Performing the Requiem was equally as thrilling, and totally exhausting. This piece is something like 80 minutes long, and the chorus sings for most of it. As an Alto 2, I got to sit down a couple times, but that's it. And I kept wondering how the folks twice my age were faring. I was physically sore to the core for the next couple of days.
The group of musicians we worked with are the Redwood Orchestra, also a group of volunteers, from the peninsula. They were fabulous and conductor Eric Kujawski was a pleasure to work with. We lovingly called him "The Dude" because of his likeness to Jeff Bridges in the Big Lebowski.
From the first balcony. Photo: Elisabeth Wakcher
One blogger (one of the 80 choristers that joined us from New York) wrote about one of the funniest moments at the dress rehearsal, Kujawski called things to a
halt, saying:
MORE! We need MORE! You, in the back row (of the
percussion section), what are you doing standing there! Find something
and hit it!!
Awesome.
Eric "The Dude" Kujawski - check out his shirt... photo: Timothy Lee
There's talk about going to Carnegie Hall next year. I'm on the list.
Cute photo of some of the Alto 2s. photo: John Martin
