Hangzhou-based video artist Cheng Ran breaks onto the Shanghai scene with his first solo show. Premiering an assortment of short films and video clips, Cheng reveals a deep interest in 20th century art house cinema and rock n’ roll music.
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Ends May 27th
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Every week I post a list of 10 artists, albums or songs to check out, in hopes to share my music library with fellow BNLer’s.
Feel free to leave comments regarding my suggestions or your own music suggestions in the comment box below.
1. Right There – Nicole Scherzinger: Sexy sexy sexy! Nicole and the song both. This is a hot jam that will put you in the mood to dance and seductively. Nicole Scherzinger is the font woman of the group the Pussy Cat Dolls but now has her solo work to be proud of, especially this song.
2. Hard – Rihanna: Yeah, yeah, yeah she’s so hard…This is track you have got to turn up. Bad Girl Riri is so hard! Her thug attitude is the best and it comes out in this song. In the lyrics Rihanna let’s us know that her “reign just won’t let up”…. This song also features Young Jeezy.
3. Glad You Came – The Wanted: This is a song by the recently very popular British/Irish boy band, The Wanted. The song peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, not bad for their second single. I predict that this group is just going to get bigger.
4. Mashrou3 Leila: This is an alternative rock band that Lebanon can be proud to call its own. The band is all from and currently resides in Lebanon. The band has released two studio albums but trust me you must check them out live!
5. November Rain – Guns N’ Roses: Classic! This band and this song are just timeless. The song was written by famous singer Axl Rose and features a sweeping orchestral backing. It is one of Guns N’ Roses’ longest songs and definitely one of my favorite.
6. Gigi l’amoroso – Dalida: Aside from the fact that Dalida is one of my favorite singers/artists of all time this song is amazing. Dalida is an incredible and very cultured woman she recorded songs in literally more than 10 languages that included French, English and Arabic among many others. Check out this song and all of Dalida’s work.
7. Hand That Feeds – Nine Inch Nails: I will most likely mention Nine Inch Nails several times in future posts but I will start with The Hand That Feeds, which was released as the lead single for the album With Teeth. It is the highest charting song by Nine Inch Nails on all charts except for U.S. because their single “Only” took that spot. Nine Inch Nails are raw and unmatched when it comes to rock music. Check them out you will see what I mean.
8. Paint It, Black – The Rolling Stones: This song is more like an anthem to me. It’s the first single from the US version of their fourth album entitled Aftermath. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote this epic song.
9. Save The World – Swedish House Mafia: All year we heard the questions “Who’s gonna save the world tonight?” Thanks to the Swedish House Mafia and John Martin, who sang and co-wrote the song with the house music trio. The song received a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording, and in my opinion should have won.
10. Changes – David Bowie: Changes is a masterpiece. It is one of Bowie’s best-known songs. The lyrics are often seen as a manifesto for his chameleonic personality, the frequent change of the world today, and frequent reinventions of his musical style throughout the 1970s. This is the last song Bowie performed live on stage before his retirement from live performances at the end of 2006.
Hear Bernstein’s beautiful score for West Side Story played live while watching the iconic film at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Last year marked 50 years since Leonard Bernstein’s film of his stage musical West Side Story hit cinema screens. The Romeo and Juliet-inspired story of young star-crossed lovers Maria and Tony picked up 10 Academy Awards on its release, and has enchanted audiences ever since.
In this special showing at the Royal Albert Hall the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra plays Bernstein’s score live, while the remastered film is shown in high definition with the original vocals and dialogue.
The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra is conducted by Jayce Ogren.
At 10, Roushan Illahi says he was too shy to recite his poems in front of his friends or in school. He shared them only with his mother.
When it came to music, he was shy too.
“I have breathed the air of conflict and I am still exhaling.”
-MC Kash, aka Roushan Illahi
“I never thought I could sing, so I never did,” Illahi says.
But in 2007, Illahi debuted both his poetry and his music. He recorded his first rap song in a home studio, using only a microphone and his home computer.
Today, 20-year-old Illahi, who raps under the name MC Kash, says he is proud to be the first rapper from Kashmir. The once shy boy is now taking on the state with his rebellious rap songs. In his new music, MC Kash sings about the youth who were killed in the violent uprising last summer. He says the image of a friend’s scarred face in a coffin prompted him to use rap music as a way to tell the world about the violence in Kashmir. He says he refuses to be silent on the issue anymore.
His rap songs, including his most famous song “I Protest (Remembrance),” are available on music site ReverbNation. It has quickly become a hit among Kashmiri netizens. Illahi says it was his own form of protest about the 2010 violence that left more than 100 youth dead and wounded.
“I Protest, Against The Things You Done!
I Protest, Fo’ A Mother Who Lost Her Son!
I Protest, I’ll Throw Stones An’ Neva Run!
I Protest, Until My Freedom Has Come!
I Protest, Fo’ My Brother Who’s Dead!
I Protest, Against The Bullet In His Head!
I Protest, I’ll Throw Stones An’ Neva Run!
I Protest, Until My Freedom Has Come!”
“It was a protest against what was happening, as well as a remembrance for those who lost their lives,” Illahi says in an interview with The Press Institute. “I want people to remember them forever.”
In his first few songs made public, Illahi’s music was not political. But in 2010,when Kashmir was overwhelmed by politics and violence, he says he knew it was time for a change.
At least 110 people, mostly young people, were killed last summer when police fired repeatedly on civilian protesters in Indian-administered Kashmir. The fatal cycle of killings and protests began on June 11, when a police tear gas shell killed a teenager returning home from a private tutoring center. The killing triggered protests that were met with more force.
When army troops took control of the streets and tried to enforce a curfew, the violence continued. Even funeral processions attracted violence. The government clamped down on the people with undeclared curfews, harsh restrictions, beatings and force. News channels and newspapers were blacked out for more than a week, and text messaging service was banned.
Illahi says he’s frustrated that the world remains unaware of the situation in Kashmir and he wants to be the voice of Kashmir for the world. “I want people to Google Kashmir, thinking, let me see what this issue is all about,” Illahi says.
He believes that his choice of genre is a good way to reach foreign audiences.
“Rap is the best medium for expression,” he says. “It is about expressing real things, not imaginary stuff as in love songs.”
But as his popularity grows, MC Kash says he is also encountering bigger problems. Today, he can’t find a studio that will allow him to record his controversial music.
“The studio I recorded ‘I Protest’ in was raided by police,” he says. “Right now I am not getting a studio.”
But, for now, Illahi says he isn’t worried about the threats that could arise as his work gets increased attention.
“What I am doing is right,” Illahi says. “I say the truth. I do what is right. I write what I see.”
A management student at a local college in Srinagar, Illahi was born just one year after the armed insurgency against Indian rule began in Kashmir.
“Like everyone else, I was also affected,” Illahi says. “I have breathed the air of conflict and [I] am still exhaling. I am born in Kashmir so the scars will always remain.”
“Every morning the newspaper would carry a new face, or a couple of faces, of more guys killed in protests,” Illahi says. “It hurt everyone. I was like, if I don’t do something about it, what is my worth? ‘I Protest’ came out when 65 young men were already in their graves.”
Illahi recorded his song in the midst of the turbulence, when the year’s death toll stood at 65. He recites all 65 names in the song.
“There were people who would say, ‘Oh! How many are they?’” Illahi says. “I wanted to scream, there are many more than I have named.”
With peace relatively restored, Illahi says it was the perfect opportunity to take his message to a larger audience. He is active on social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube. Then, Illahi found ReverbNation, an online site that allows unsigned artists to upload and share their own music.
Today, MC Kash tops the Reverb rap charts from Kashmir. He has more than 3,300 online fans and his songs have been played more than 8,000 times.
The site, he says, is a great way to garner support for Kashmir from people all over the world.
“Let us educate people about our cause,” he says. “That is what artists, musicians and painters can do.”
©2012 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THE AUTHOR(S) AND The GIP
Un concert qui sort du rang à l’Assembly Hall (AUB), avec une note singulière et tonique : la présence d’un public nombreux à prédominance jeune. Sous les spots de la scène, devant les tuyaux de l’orgue, deux jeunes pianistes, Haley Kallenberg et Vladimir Kurumilian.
Pas de programme précis, mais des improvisations, en solo et duo. Voyage libre au bout des touches d’ivoire.
Né à Beyrouth, il a vingt-trois ans, l’allure féline de Justin Timberlake, des cheveux coupés court, une chemise « slim fit », un pantalon moulant, dès qu’il effleure les touches du clavier, Vladimir Kurumilian établit un rapport passionnel avec la musique. Rapport passionnel et libre avec des improvisations qui sonnent comme un feu d’artifice, certes fougueux mais un peu trop assourdissant et fortissimo. Des éclats chaloupés, des accents arméno-orientaux, mais aussi des virées aux luisances entre Darius Milhaud et Eric Satie. Le piano, sans contrainte de partition sous ses doigts ivres d’amour, a le galop débridé.
Longue robe noire satinée moulante pour elle et des cheveux retenus avec des barrettes sur les tempes, en cascades blondes sur les épaules, Haley Kallenberg est née en Alaska et est tombée toute petite fille dans le chaudron de la musique pour ne plus en sortir… Avec elle aussi, dès les premières mesures, le piano est brusquement hanté de féerie comme tous les gestes de la jeune interprète qui dodeline de la tête et emboîte le pas aux rythmes et cadences qui pleuvent comme des cordes, avec des moments de rêverie et de netteté d’un toucher chargé de tendresse. Éclats jazzy favorisés, mais aussi des tonalités américaines à la Joplin, Barber et Menotti. Avec, en figure de proue, des accords riches sur une base fragile de notes aigrelettes.
Et vient le moment tant attendu où les deux pianos fusionnent, dialoguent, se boudent, se menacent, se répondent, cheminent comme de vieux compagnons, se lovent au cœur l’un de l’autre. C’est Vladimir Kurumilian qui ouvre le feu de la discussion et de la narration. Haley Kallenberg prend la balle au vol et s’élance, à notes perdues et éperdues… Humeur à deux pour un esprit vagabond, une narration fantaisiste où les notes font feu de tout bois. Liaison ardente aux tonalités à la fois tendres et drues, aux accents véhéments et détachés, aux chromatismes sinueux sans être périlleux, aux images sonores imprécises, mais aux synchronisations qui retombent toujours sur pied et justes.
Plaisir de fouiller dans les touches, de soutenir un groupe de notes, de sonder un accord, de taquiner un triolet, de dégager des trésors aux naïvetés bordées d’une touchante jeunesse, de se perdre, en toute jubilatoire conscience, dans un monde sonore écumant de souvenirs et débordant d’images multipliant torrides chaleurs de l’Orient et hivernales froidures du grand Nord. Un mélange inédit que traduisent avec une charmante éloquence des pianos qui ne reculent devant aucun déferlement, déchaînement, aucun excès, aucun tumulte, aucun interdit, aucune emphase.
Source : L´Orient le Jour ©2011
