Music and War

Virtual Debate

War is the most horrible drama of human kind. Yet the noises of war – everything from swords clanging to modern machine guns and bombs – have fascinated musicians and composers for centuries. We asked musicians from the Norient network how to make a war audible. A virtual debate from the Norient exhibition Seismographic Sounds (see and order corresponding book here).

Quotes

«To be honest, I preferred to stand on the balcony, to play trumpet and to record those bombs, rather than to stay in the living room and go crazy. When you play, you shift your brain, and you hear those bombs as sounds, and not as killing machines. Just to continue working helped many of us to stay sane.»

Mazen Kerbaj, trumpet player, about his recording «Starry Night» (Lebanon)

«I never felt the need or desire to translate war into music.»

Sharif Sehnaoui, a free improvising guitarist from Beirut. Since 2000 he has co-organized Irtijal, the International Festival for Experimental Music in Lebanon. He co-runs several labels: Al Maslakh devoted to «publishing the un-publishable» on the Lebanese musical scene; Johnny Kafta’s Kids Menu dedicated to rock-oriented experimentations; and Annihaya, which focuses on sampling, recycling, and the displacement of various aspects of popular culture.

«So we have life imitating art, and art dictating life, and plenty of death.»

Bernard Clarke, Radio Producer, RTÉ Lyric FM (Ireland)

«By sampling footage from contemporary sci-fi and action films, the video emphasizes that ‹the world is at war.› It analyses the violence and destructive culture surrounding us. Does life imitate art and are we heading along the path of what is prophesied in these films? Or will we choose a more sustainable mode? Sources are sampled for demonstrational use only.»

Jude MC, visual artist, producer and director of the «Mecca» video for Nguzunguzu (USA)

«Communities can use silence to protest against the omnipresent noise of politics.»

Kamen Nedev aka Acoustic Mirror, Madrid-based sound artist (Spain)

«In western videos you get an exotic and romanticized version of war: the strong army, the beautiful soldier, the massive weapons. I experienced war: the real noise of it, the smell of fire. War is hell. We shouldn’t make it look adventurous and sexy.»

Zeid Hamdan, Beirut-based musician, producer, founder of the duo Soap Kills with singer Yasmine Hamdan, and is a pioneer of alternative music (Lebanon)

«Pop emerged in western liberal societies that haven’t experienced war on their territory in the last seventy years. For these societies war is not a reality, but just an image. Naturally it can be played with, just like any other image. Maybe we need a whole new musical language to construct a musical response to the reality of war and not just to an image of war.»

Nadav Appel, cultural critic and popular music scholar, Bar Ilan University, Open University of Israel and Sapir Academic College (Israel)

«The Khabees are my personal favorite. They are an anonymous noise/industrial act from somewhere inside Pakistan who seek to explore our fetishist fascination with religion and our everyday reality: terrorism. I like The Khabees because of how uneasy they make me feel. It is easier to dismiss Westerners exploring similar themes. The Khabees’ work, on the other hand, is hard to ignore. No edgy BDSM references, no borderline paedophilia, or rape fantasies. Real death and misery.»

Asadullah, Karachi-based musician, part of Lower Sindh! Swing Orchestra, Myosis and Kafir-e-Azam, and co-founder of the now defunct extreme music blog The Iron Markhor (Pakistan)

Video Debate Credits

Statements by

Nadav Appel, Cultural Critic (Israel)
Meira Asher, Sound Artist (Israel)
Bernard Clarke, Radio Producer, RTÉ Lyric FM (Ireland)
Garo Gdanian, Metal Musician (Lebanon)
Rona Geffen, DIY Musician & Artist (Germany)
Ali Gul Pir, Rap Comedian (Pakistan)
Zeid Hamdan, Musician (Lebanon)
David Opp, Experimental Musician (Israel)
Sharif Sehnaoui, Musician (Lebanon)

Music Video Excerpts
David Opp: «Sakata Helicobtir Min Tiraz Sikorsky» (Israel 2013)
Los Tigres Del Norte: «La Bala» (USA/Mexico 2014)
Nguzunguzu: «Mecha» (USA 2013)

Video Cut: Stephan Hermann, Coupdoeil

Some quotes from this debate were published in the second Norient book Seismographic Sounds.

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Seismographic Sounds: Visions of a New World

€50.00

The second Norient book «Seismographic Sounds: Visions of a New World» introduces you to a contemporary world of distinct music and music videos. Written by 250 scholars, journalists, bloggers and musicians from 50 countries.

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Published on April 23, 2018

Last updated on August 11, 2020

Topics

Protest

War

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Seismographic Sounds

Seismographic Sounds: Debates

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5 Video Clips from Afghan Diaspora

Playlist

by Ismael Hares

For Usinesonore Festival 2018 in La Neuveville, Switzerland, on June 2, 2018, Norient collaborated on the creation of an Afghan evening by curating a documentary, a round table, and a party with DJ and Rapper Ismael Hares alias Black Afghan Soundsystem. On this occasion, Norient has reactivated the series Five Video Clips from… and asked Ismael Hares to select his favorite songs that rock every Afghan wedding. His choice: five music videos from the Afghan diaspora in Germany, Canada and the U.S.

Artist: Valy
Track: Panjsher Berawem (Qarsak)

Valy, born in Iran with Afghan parents, but raised in Heidelberg (Germany) is one of the most popular Afghani singers. In this song, Valy is singing about Panjsher, a very well-known place in Afghanistan. He sings about the beauty of its environment, which makes this region so special. He mixes Afghani traditional beats with electro elements.

Artist: Aria Band
Track: Jigar Jigar

On Afghan wedding parties in Germany, these two artists from Cologne are the hottest act right now. In «Jigar Jigar», they mix original Afghani beats with Persian strings and arrangements. They sing about a beautiful woman and how they go crazy for her attractive style. They fall in love with her and try to get in contact with her.

Artist: Sameera Nasiry
Track: Yade Tu

Sameera Nasiry, born in Kabul, but living in San Diego California, is one the few female singers in Afghan pop music culture. She's a newcomer and stands out with a real western sound. In her lyrics she remembers her love and is looking forward to see him soon.

Artist: Saboor Tabish
Track: Qataghani

Video not available anymore.

Saboor Tabish is a famous Afghan wedding DJ living in Toronto. His song «Qataghan» refers to the name of a province in Afghanistan. Qataghani is also a special way of dancing and a type of rhythm in Afghanistan with a long history. The lyrics are about the beauty of dancing to it and of course the beauty of this region in Afghanistan.

Artist: Farhad Shams
Track: Qadake beland

Farhad Shams is a renown Afghan singer, songwriter and musician living in Cologne, Germany. At the age of five he was already performing in children TV channels broadcasted through Afghanistan national television. His song «Qadake beland» must be played at every Afghani party or event. It combines classic Afghani beats with some modern synthesizers. In the lyrics, the singer talks about the tallness of a special woman and how he is falling in love with her.

Biography

Ismael Hares alias Black Afghan Soundsystem is a DJ and Rapper born in Kabul, but raised in Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany). He began his career as a wedding DJ for Afghan communities in Germany. Today, under the pseudonym Malik, he is an established rapper and dancehall musician, collaborating with Gentleman or Richie Stephens. For the final evening of Usine Sonore Festivals he presents a DJ set of current Afghan music and global sounds.

Published on May 27, 2018

Last updated on February 02, 2023

Topics

Diaspora

Place

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5 Video Clips from

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Power and Positions

Virtual Debate

by Norient

Money rules the world. Like everyone else, musicians need to pay rent and taxes. They are also affected by the daily business of producing music: How much does a new computer cost? How can I pay for advertising my new track on social media? How can I use streaming services? We asked musicians from the Norient network how to get heard in global music. A virtual debate from the Norient exhibition Seismographic Sounds (see and order corresponding book here).

Quotes

«The Internet and pirated software have totally changed the power dynamic in global music in the Arab World and elsewhere. It’s not only the rich kids who speak anymore. The best example is the rise of the Egyptian dance music from the streets, called mahraganat, in the years 2006 and 2007. It has become the omnipresent soundscape of Cairo, flying out of every microbus, every taxi and every tuc-tuc. Music in Egypt now is not just about rich kids, nor is music from Egypt about rich kids. It’s about kids from the poor neighborhoods who started making music together. Today, one decade later, mahraganat musicians have just signed distribution deals with Sony International and play gigs all around Europe.»

Maha El Nabawi, writer and co-founder of the independent newspaper Mada Masr (Egypt)

«It is obvious that in non-western countries, many if not most musicians and composers who do play electronic music come from rich families. They have better access to education, universities, academies, and to the Internet. They have more free time, hence they can afford to play music, to compose music, and to buy gear. In families that are not so rich or not rich at all, people don’t have time to think about global music, experimental music, electronic music. They think about what they shall do tomorrow in order to eat.»

C-drík Fermont, vegan artist, DJ, singer, composer and drummer (Germany)

«With our label Activia Benz we are kind of modern day Robin Hoods. But instead of stealing from the rich, we are working with them; instead of giving money to the poor, we give them mp3s. Getting money from brands, big companies, or major labels is kind of a modern way to earn money. I think it’s a really interesting time at the moment because people actually need to think of more interesting ways to see some money, they need to be creative.»

Gregory aka Slugabed and Jake, producers and co-owner of the label Activia Benz (Great Britain)

«In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women.»

T ony Montana in Scarface (Brian de Palma, USA 1983)

«It’s not so much wealth that decides who is actually listening to your music, but it’s more the geographic position from which people speak and act. Global media is mostly dominated by English language and thus producers and DJs from the Anglo-Saxon world have a dominant voice in global music. It is easier for them to promote their music through English speaking media outlets.»

Daniel Haaksman, music producer and director of Man Recordings (Germany)

«Making money is a wonderful thing, but for me the primary function of Pidgen Music was to create the environment that would create the product that could generate the money. Pidgen Music for me has always been bigger than a business.»

Panji Anoff, founder of the label Pidgen Music and music producer of popular Ghanaian sounds in Pidgen English (Ghana)

«One show can pay for your album.»

Emmanuel Jal, rapper and a former child soldier, who became famous with messages of peace and reconciliation and assumes he will shock people by including different experiences in his next album (South Sudan)

Emmanuel Jal, Postcard from Seismographic Sounds (photo: Refantho Ramadhan)

«It feels strange to know that you come from one of the richest places on earth. One of the things I criticize is the distribution of wealth. But I’m doing this by traveling into other countries and I can only do this because of the support of—for example—the Swiss arts council. I go to these poor so-called third world countries and play there for free. Of course it’s nice that I can share something that way, but I never get rid of the feeling that there’s something patronizing about it.»

Dave Phillips, sonic activist, composer, performer and researcher (Switzerland)

«Ten years ago, the music scene in China was exploding and people were experimenting a lot. Nowadays I see that some of the people I knew, who did sound art and so on, have stopped. What are they doing now? Minimal techno and stuff like that. Why? Just because it brings money. In many places there is no sponsorship from non-private curators. It is really frustrating to see people going into another direction just because they need to survive, but I understand them somehow. Meanwhile, the Chinese state starts to care a bit about music because they have to show a positive image to the world.»

C-drík Fermont, vegan artist, DJ, singer, composer and drummer (Germany)

Video Debate Statements by

Simon A. Akindes, Associate Professor in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Law at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (USA) Effy B, Radio Producer (France)
Thomas Burkhalter, Ethnomusicologist and Founder of Norient.com
Rudolf Dethu, Music Journalist and Manager (Indonesia)
Maha ElNabawi, Writer and Co-Founder of the Independent Online Newspaper Mada Masr (Egypt)
C-drík Fermont, Vegan Artist, DJ, Singer (Germany)
Rona Geffen, DIY Musician & Artist (Germany)
Daniel Haaksman, Founder of the Label Man Recordings (Germany)
Arshia Fatima Haq, Filmmaker, Writer and DJ, and Founder of Discostan (USA)
Renato Martins, Blogger and Founder of Funknacaixa.com (Brasil)
Kim Emil Ramstedt, Radio & Club DJ, Producer, Promoter, PhD Candidate in Musicology (Finland)
Bit-Tuner, Musician (Switzerland) Video Cut: Stephan Hermann, Coupdoeil