Gear Talk Mixtape by Ale Hop

Gear Talk Mixtape Snap by Ale Hop
Gear Talk Mixtape by Ale Hop

How does the relationship of artists with their gear affect the composition? Listen to a mind bending mixtape-collage with statements about gear in electronic music compostion, eerie sounds and weird loops by the Peruvian musician and sound researcher Ale Hop.

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Design: Alejandra Cárdenas, Ale Hop
Sound: Alejandra Cárdenas, Ale Hop

Building Kinder Worlds – Mental Health in Ghana

Norient Snap by Heinz Reber
Building Kinder Worlds – Mental Health in Ghana

2,816’000 people are suffering from a mental disorder in Ghana. In her essay, Ghanaian journalist Akosua Hanson reflects on how the perspective of wholesomeness in African philosophies could tackle this problem.

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Design: Heinz Reber
Photo: Thomas Burkhalter & Peter Guyer

Manele – Memeified Music

Manele Snap
Manele – Memeified Music

The Romanian music genre manele has recently undergone a very postmodern reception. Widely shared through memes seemingly ironically, the genre could also be the predecessor of a new counterculture.

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Design: Robert Crahmer
Sound: Busted Fingerz

DisOrient – An Orientation

Official artwork for «DisOrient – Welcome to the Hall of Mirrors» (Design: Ali Sayah 2020)
DisOrient – An Orientation

The Norient Special «DisOrient» presents contemporary music videos from the Middle East as well as Central and South Asia, that challenge Orientalist stereotypes. Project curators Dara Shikoh Channa and Theresa Beyer know this is a sensitive topic.

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Design: Ali Sayah
Sound: Mashrou' Leila, Rehab Hazgui, Manizha

Self-Orientalism in Arab Pop Music

Norient Snap by Ali Sayah
Self-Orientalism in Arab Pop Music

When Saad Lamjarred’s hit song «Lm3allem» topped the charts, little attention was given to the self-Orientalist imageries that were propagated by this song. If anything, this music video is another invitation to further endorse the global trend of Orientalist consumerism.

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Design: Ali Sayah
Sound: Ali Sayah

Challenging Orientalism Pt. 3

Norient Snap by Ali Sayah
Challenging Orientalism Pt. 3

Six international curators from the Norient community have researched contemporary music videos that re-imagine, parody, or deconstruct Orientalism. Here is the shortlist by curator Neil van der Linden, who predominantly focuses on videos from Saudi Arabia.

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Design: Ali Sayah
Sound: Ehab Farouk

Unheimliche Heimat

Norient Snap by Ali Sayah
Unheimliche Heimat

With four main notes only, the video game «Prince of Persia» tries to build a soundscape that illustrates a mysterious and timeless «Orient». Composer Rehab Hazgui took the Orientalist motive and turned it on its head to create a spooky deconstruction of musical stereotypes.

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Design: Ali Sayah

Challenging Orientalism Pt. 6

Norient Snap by Ali Sayah
Challenging Orientalism Pt. 6

Six international curators from the Norient community have researched contemporary music videos that re-imagine, parody, or deconstruct Orientalism. Here is the shortlist curated by anthropologist and musician Daniyal Ahmed, who focuses on Pakistan.

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Design: Ali Sayah
Sound: Bipin Panchal

Challenging Orientalism Pt. 1

Norient Snap by Ali Sayah
Challenging Orientalism Pt. 1

Six international curators from the Norient community have researched contemporary music videos that re-imagine, parody, or deconstruct Orientalism. Here is the shortlist by the curator and researcher Berit Schuck, who focuses on videos from Morocco, Egypt, and Lebanon.

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Design: Ali Sayah
Sound: Women of the Iranian Revolution Records

On the Rise: The Complexities of Middle Eastern Opera

Norient Snap by Ali Sayah
On the Rise: The Complexities of Middle Eastern Opera

Norient spoke with the Lebanese-American media artist, composer, and educator Joe Namy about his new project on opera and about «Libretto-o-o: d’artifice». The audiovisual work unravels Middle Eastern opera, nation-building processes, and the architecture of the opera house.

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Design: Ali Sayah
Sound: Joe Namy

Challenging Orientalism Pt. 4

Norient Snap by Ali Sayah
Challenging Orientalism Pt. 4

Six international curators from the Norient community have researched contemporary music videos that re-imagine, parody, or deconstruct Orientalism. Here is the shortlist curated by artist and musician Ali Sayah, who focuses on the Iranian indie scene.

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Design: Ali Sayah
Photo: Fabio Fabbi
Sound: Ali Sayah