Month: June 2015

  • Soz and Nauha and Singing for God

    Soz and Nauha and Singing for God

    In this song Kabir evokes the image of our body, our self, being like the five-stringed musical instrument – the tambura. Made of the four elements and containing the fifth element – shoonyata or emptiness – we hold within our self the capacity to resound to a higher sound. But only if we learn to…

  • Bizarre Ancient Persia in Snoop Dogg's Video

    Bizarre Ancient Persia in Snoop Dogg's Video

    Iranian singer Amitis Moghaddam – stage name Amitis – released a bizarre ancient Persian-themed music video on Monday featuring well-known American rapper Snoop Dogg. The song is in English, although Amitis’ past tracks were mainly recorded in Farsi. On Facebook, Amitis has around 64,000 followers compared to Snoop Dogg’s 35 million, leaving us scratching our…

  • Ajam Feels Like a Stranger

    Ajam Feels Like a Stranger

    A few years ago, when I was searching on the Internet for Iranian mahali (folk) music, I came across the music of a London-based group called ‘Ajam’. Their music not only impressed me, but intrigued me as well. After listening to several of their singles, I made it a point to follow up with the…

  • An Arabic love Song by Israeli Band

    An Arabic love Song by Israeli Band

    The music video for “Habib Galbi” (Love of My Heart), a sorrowful Yemeni folk song, opens with a simple shot across the desert. Inside a small hut, an exasperated woman pulls back the woven curtain of a Bedouin tent and croons in Arabic over a hollow, hypnotic drumbeat and ghostly minor key: “Love of my heart…

  • Will You Die in the Next Five Years?

    Will You Die in the Next Five Years?

    Doctors claim to have found a way to predict a person’s risk of dying in the next five years – using a simple questionnaire. With predictable questions on smoking habits and history of illness, but also more nuanced inquiries about the pace of your walk, your attitude to your own health and even how many…