Category Archives: interview

“Rhythm makes you brave” – an interview with Marije Nie

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Amsterdam – This year there have been demonstrations all over the world in the spirit of the Arabian Spring. The reason might be the raise of a bus ticket (Brazil), or the removal of public space (Turkey). No doubt that there is a deeper dismay. The demonstrations are basically peaceful, but somehow the authorities don’t know how to handle the situation and sometimes the situation turns out to be extremely violent. During the demonstrations in Ukraine this week, an EU-decorated piano was placed in front of the riot squad. The 22-year old person was playing Opus 64 of Chopin as a protest (NRC). Maybe it is a bit surreal, but it certainly made an effect. In almost every demonstration music plays a major or a minor role.

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“Open up your mind” – an interview with Dorsaf Hamdani

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‘Stemmerett og stemmeprakt!’ celebrates 100 years anniversary of women’s right to vote in Norway. To draw a line to the present, an encounter has been organized between the well-known Norwegian singers Berit Opheim and Unni Boksasp, together with prominent vocalists from countries of the “Arab spring”, Dorsaf Hamdani from Tunisia and Waed Bouhassoun from Syria. Norwegian folk and Arabic art music alternate and mingle. The performance with support from Fritt Ord took place at the Førde Festival, July this year. A few days before the concert there was a debate about the situation for female artists in countries in the “Arab spring”, with Samara Sallam, Dorsaf Hamdani and Fawzia Baba-Aissa. In the previous post you can find the interview with Samara Sallam. After the concert we asked Dorsaf Hamdani about the project and her work. This (short) interview is held in English.

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Rapping about social troubles – an interview with Sadat El3almy

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In an evening lecture (Amsterdam, May 21st) organized by the North Africa and Middle East department of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the serious title, “Youth Unemployment, Counter-Culture and Instability”, we (Charlie Crooijmans and me) were surprised to see the name of the young Egyptian rapper Sadat among the speaker guests (young political activists and a professor economist). The young street rapper – a star in the new wave of Egyptian popular music called “mahragan” (rap on electronic music with heavy use of Auto-Tune ) – doesn’t speak English. Unfortunately did not get a chance to speak out in such a foreign and formal setting. However, in a 5 minutes rap at the end of the evening, he kind of wrapped it all up.

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The people of Super 11 are in distress – an interview with MPS Pilot

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The war in Mali brings a lot of  instability and poverty for many people. For the nomadic people like the Tuareg, the situation is even more complicated as we saw in the interview with Ousmane Ag Mossa of Tamikrest on News and Noise! This is also the case for the group Super Onze (or Super 11) from Gao, who is unlike Tinariwen, Tamikrest and others, unknown outside of Mali. They play just one rhythm, Takamba, on traditional instruments like the calebash and the n’goni. But the way they do it is amazingly raw and virtuoso. One of the most adventurous DJ’s in Holland MPS Pilot, aka Horst Timmers – active in the ‘cutting-edge World Music scene’ – got fascinated by Super 11 and found a way to work together with the group. Recently he released their second album on his label Two Speakers. I asked him some questions about how they met, their collaboration and how the situation in Mali affects Super 11.

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“Artists are the best way to communicate” – an interview with Yvonne Kahan

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Yvonne Kahan from Norway is the manager of the international booking agency Olamalé. We spoke with her at Babel Med 2013 where one of her artists, the Alaev Family was having a showcase. It was one of the most cheerful and energetic groups at the festival. The 80-year-old master drummer Allo Alaev who has deep roots in the music of Tajikistan and the Jewish music of Buchara, emigrated with the entire family to Israel in 1991. Under enthusiastic supervision of Allo Alaev, the younger generation in the multi-talented band makes true cross over from the old to the new. Kahan reveals the difficulties she encounters working with Israeli artists in the international field.

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