“Think of those flowers you plant in the garden each year, they will teach you that people too must wilt, fall, root, rise, in order to bloom” - The Sun and her flowers, Rupi Kaur This Argentinian - Palestinian collaboration steps into the war zone, where the lines of suffering, hope, despair, resilience and vulnerability are crossed, and people are forced to learn how to navigate through the darkness in search for the light. We must always keep believing that there is a rainbow hiding behind the clouds of the storm.
The song speaks to the hopeful hearts of those who yearn for a better tomorrow in all facets of life and partly inspired after the October 20th, 2020 incident in Nigeria where a peaceful protest turned violent and lives were lost. It begins with a chill and calm melodic piano and the soothing voice and inspiring lyrics which is accompanied by the aggression of a rapper as the song crescendos, all in the spirit of conquering one’s conflict.
This track is in dedication to those that voice is silenced, victims of institutionalised oppression and post-colonialism. The track aim to highlights how violence responses like an upraising (although not justifiable) are often caused by desperation and angers, provocations and lack of justice and it's often the last resource for the powerless.
Imagine the Bangalore traffic and how all you can hear is honks and more honks. In between all of that, it is a challenge to find peace and silence within you; to find your inner music. Metaphorically, this song is about finding your ‘song of life’ amidst all the beautiful chaos. This collaboration features Varijashree Venugopal (India), Gad Tidhar (Israel), and Sun Xa Experiment (South Africa). The lyrics are in languages Kannada and Zulu. Mix & master : Pramath Kiran at Laya Digi Studios, Bangalore. Cover art : Vinod Gowda.
A middle-eastern bolero combining elements from Iran/Greece/Argentina. A different kind of prayer or confession in the brightest hour of the day when the sun reaches its highest point and nothing can be hidden. Exposed, vulnerable, and yet liberated. Farrokzad, an iconic poetess, a rebel who is moving in the line of the great tradition of Persian poets such as Rumi. Through her verses, Sin transforms and acquires a divine quality. It becomes an anthem of femininity standing against the absurdity and the evolving darkness of our present.
An afrobeat psych jazz monster of a song describing the modern obsession with material wealth and living the easy life. With lyrics in four languages (Swahili, English, Hungarian and Xhosa), 'Wororo' challenges us all to try and appreciate what we already have and to see past superficial desires.
Red Flags is about two lovers that are constantly clashing because of mutual mistrust; constantly pointing out the red flags from the other, and making allegations without substantial proof. Written by Odwa in Khosa and Anna Christensen in English; the song transports you from South Africa (Singing) to Uganda (Xylophone and Bakisimba [cultural rhythm]) to Denmark (singing) to India (percussion) and back to South Africa. A seamless fusion of jazz, African and Indian folk music, and electronic soundscapes.
This collaboration came quite naturally as Gints guitar just rang out through my speakers so eloquently. And I felt compelled to write lyrics about being torn between forgiveness and self preservation. Something I think many people like myself, may have faced at some point in life. Wether it be in love, family, and friendships. Life is a gift that were sometimes forced to protect, to be truly happy & safe.
Three unlikely artists come together from across the globe to create this online collaboration of Syrian Vocal, violin and Kora! the origin of this piece started as a creation by Josh doughty on the kora, then Ali Asaad added his haunting vocal and then came the beautiful moving strings by Simmy Singh. altogether it creates a moving unknowing emotion, moving towards something exciting but yet scary, it could be battle or it could be freedom.
Rose Pepper is the name I give to my mother in a poetic/symbolic way. She always wore that scent and so, as I smell it, it evokes her presence and old memories in a very intense way. The conflict about my mother is to be found in the fact that my mother made huge sacrifices for me and my future, to the detriment of her health and wellbeing, which is incredibly noble, irrational and self-destructive at the same time. The only way of overcoming this conflict, to me, is acceptance.
I originally wrote this piece for solo piano and arranged it for the Beyond Music Project. The idea of the song and of this production is to mix the acoustic with the electric by opposing these two universes and playing with their opposition but especially their complementarity. Conflict is for me a succession of different stages: the calm where some tensions begin to be created, which little by little will take more and more magnitude and end up breaking out. This is what I wanted to show through our interaction in the piece.
The song talks about the conflicts we all experience as humans. Confrontation is part of our daily existence. The writer (as the voice of our subconscious) chooses to alleviate the torments caused by strife. Whereas we may be hurting and fighting, there is also room for dialogue and self-acceptance; the emptiness some may feel is bound to be replaced with gratitude when one dares to look at life from a different angle. Perhaps the voice that speaks to one and all is meant to help us find a way to co-existence...A path to inner peace...
‘Moksha’ in Indian philosophy is the ultimate liberation from conflicts. To me this song is born out of a musical and spiritual conflict. As a guitarist with deep love for both traditional Indian and Western music, I’ve had to earn my freedom a) physically & musically in mastering multiple genres through instrument innovation, and b) socially & emotionally, breaking free of opinion and expectations of purists and traditionalists and carving my own path. ‘Moksha’ is my voice of liberation and ultimately a song that transcends musical boundaries.
“Juju” in African culture is a concept. It might mean “good” or “who you cherish”. In the West Region of Cameroon it is a tribute paid to ancestors, a cultural practice of oiling ancestors' shrine. This song represents two cultures- Cameroon and Jewish cultures. Often conflicts arise from misunderstandings, lack of knowledge and rejection of the unknown. In this song, we tried to resolve the conflict by getting to know each other's cultures, unique traditions and core value.
“Vocalise of the Mind” began with the idea, that putting music to the contrasting feelings and emotions of the covid-lockdown, would be interesting for the theme ”Conflict” - Anna's high floating soprano against Christinas deep chest alto. Christina, also an actress, began the process conducting some acting exercises to create a ‘map’ of our feelings during lockdown - that being the inspiration for Anna's composition and storytelling. Hang tunes by Psalm was then added and creates a meditative sound and poetic depth to the emotions.