Category Archives: long read

Six times Amazon: Songs of the Forest

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The indigenous people in Brazil are largely seen as exotic creatures. There are Indians who adapted to modern civilization. But those how live remotely want to maintain their identity. They fight for their rights as you can read in the article about Belo Monte. Modern people tend to see their life style as the only right one. But why not learn from the indigenous? This is what the music group Mawaca coming from São Paulo did. They not only learned songs from them but they had a true musical exchange. In this article (including the documentary Mawaca – Cantos da Floresta) Brazilian journalist and photographer Eduardo Vessoni gives a report of Mawaca’s encounter with six indigenous groups in 2011.

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Parallels in the development of Jazz and Ghanaian Brass Band music – a lecture of John Collins

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It is fascinating to see musical changes in society. Sometimes these changes are linked to sociopolitical or economical motivations. Sometimes a culture tries to superimpose other cultures. Or sometimes music from other cultures is just a source of inspiration. It is never a one-way track, but rather back and forth, upside down, and inside out. In this article John Collins is going to enlighten us about the roots and the routes of African rhythms. This is a transcription (edited by Collins) of the lecture held at the World Blend on June 28, 2013, during the Jazz Days in Rotterdam. This World Blend carried the smart title: Bye Jazz, Hello World.
Mind you, this is a long read with lots of pictures and music.

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The Ottoman Armenian

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French President Nicolas Sarkozy has ordered his government to draft a new law punishing denial of the Armenian genocide. The French parliament recognized the killing of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during the First World War as genocide in 2001. In December 2011, The French MPs went further, approving a bill that would make denying the Armenian genocide a criminal offence punishable by a one-year prison sentence and a fine of 45,000 euros. France’s top court struck it down last month as unconstitutional. Sarkozy, running for re-election next month, stressed again to the Armenian Diaspora in France (around half a million strong) his commitment to a new law.

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Silvio Berlusconi’s Songs of Freedom

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Italy – Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who recently resigned due to the severe economic conditions besetting his country, has launched the new anthem of his party. The song entitled “People of Freedom” is the latest addition to the specific marketing strategies that distinguishes Berlusconi’s party since many years. As usual, lyrics are based on the keyword of his party/organization: freedom.

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Three Songs from the Syrian revolution.

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For a long time, the Palestinian plight and general Arab national themes dominated Syrian political singing. The regime of Al-Asad (father and son) left no space for songs critical of Syrian domestic politics. These days however singer-songwriter Samih Shuqair, the young Syrian singer Wasfi Massarani and the popular goalkeeper Abdul-Baset Saroot are criticizing the regime in their songs.

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