I grew up listening to both traditional African music and western music. But each lived in its own world.
Today i combine both experiences in the music i write and perform. I called it Mixed Heritage
No submissions for Beyond Music Project Volume 4.
There comes a time, when conflict stares at you in the face. And your only choice is to look it straight in the face and call it by its name. You are stressed, you are scared, but you have to beat it. Photo by Gift Habeshaw from Unsplash
In movies, novels and news, War, for lack of a better word is "exciting" if not romanticized. We tend to forget that real bones are broken, real people die, several families are separated, people become refugees, and several people's lives are scarred forever including innocent children Dyllann is an internally displaced person due to the war in Cameroon and as we wrote the song, the conflict between Israel (Anat's Country) and Palestine had just escalated. Image by David Mark from Pixabay
From time to time in life, things fall apart. But together, we are much better.
"Friend Not Foe" is a song that talks about accepting people we do not understand despite the fact that we can have contrary views about life. Knowing that it's very okay to agree to disagree. We must not all be on the same page, thus accepting our various differences will help us live a less confrontational lifestyle. Should we agree to open our minds to accept those who have different points of views from us, we will learn to be more tolerant and understanding. We will not only grow our sense of empathy but also grow emotionally.
Na Tetea is an original protest song, played in a serious but fun way (African Protest syle). In the song, we declare our commitment to defend our cause for a better planet by shouting (I Defend) Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels
"Planet says" is a reggae song with an ironic approach. The planet tells us that we better worry about us than her because, as humans, we're probably the ones who will pay the worst for our mistakes while she will keep on turning. She has been here so long-time before us, she will keep on bouncing on the different scenarios that will appear with the other planets and stars of the Universe. We are the little ones. It seems that our arrogance makes us feel even able to destroy nature while actually we're probably just able to destroy ourselves.
This is what may happen when our hearts find a direct channel with Planet Earth, we start to decipher what kind of vibration our Planet broadcasts. This song represents that channel. The attempt to forget that we are human, that we have borders that separate languages and cultures, so that we may be able to understand this mysterious telluric vibration that comes to us without pre-concept, without words, yet vibrating as a single Culture!
Survive is about hope for the world, and for our future. To remind the world to show love, be united in love, and in strength, only then can we do the impossible and most importantly, carry on during difficult moments.
Life can be so busy that sometimes we forget to live in the now and to appreciate the beauty, and bounty of the diversity that surrounds us. Agora is a song that calls for us to appreciate the little things that make life in our ecosystem livable
Our planet is our cradle, of enchanting beauty. "Sento chiamata" is Mother Earth's call to be aware of the incredibly rich diversity of lifeforms that has evolved over millions of years – I protect what I love.
Very often, the human race marveled by its own intellect and strength tends to forget that we are one with the planet; and that we need diversity even for our own survival. Rise Again is a song of hope. it doesn't condemn but acknowledges that mankind has been wrong a lot of times in the past and that there is the opportunity to rise again as one with the planet.
Humanity is but a small part of nature and Earth is our mother. An African quote says: The Child who keeps his parents awake at night also doesn't sleep. When we take care of nature; we take care of ourselves because we are part of it. When nature is hurt, we are hurt, so it's important to take care of nature and to treat it as we would treat ourselves. There are things happening to us without anyone being able to answer them. Our world is falling apart because of our nonsense. And we still haven't understood.
The song “Our world is blue” is a declaration of love to our blue planet. It describes the beauty of our world in wonderful colorful pictures and is nevertheless critical. This song should remind people of the unique but fragile beauty of our world and: The worlds impermanence. We´ll lose our blue planet, our only home, if we will not immediately begin to stop the environmental pollution and the climate change. The song was recorded with 15 musicians from all over the world. “Our world is blue, we never get another”
If we do what we've always done, we'll get what we've always gotten. It is time to put our thinking caps on to think again. It is time to make new choices encompassing every aspect of the planet and beyond.
Meadow, Is a love letter to nature from humanity; The song expresses how we enjoy the benefits of nature, but also our regrets as our actions turn to endanger nature. The song is dedicated to all the animals and nature that have gone extinct because of human action. The song expresses our need and appreciation for biodiversity and says its time for us to look at the universe as a meadow for all biodiversity
Climate Change is an international concern, but the truth is that each community experiences it differently. Tropical regions that depend on agriculture, are having inconsistent rain and dry seasons which lead to low yields and on the other side of the globe ice is melting. All changes are frightening especially to local communities that don't have enough power. La Yo Yavsin Koy is an original African folk style fusion which calls for leaders and for humanity at large to not fold our arms towards the issues brought about by global warming.
In our quest to make the best of life mankind is lost in finding meaning and balance with the universe, and because of that we are hurting ourselves and our environment. Just like a leaf from a tree, we are drifting, not knowing what to do, where to go or what the future holds. Inspired by Hindi folk sourced from : Pati Raam Maravi ,Pradhan priest of Gond tribe in the Garakamatta Village , Dindori district , Madhya Pradesh , India
All children simply want to live, grow up and be smart. They want to live in harmony with the animals and the planet. Our children will breathe the air we leave behind. Now it is time to think ahead and make sure the air is clean for every living being on earth. With special contribution of Roos Marijn van Voorden, 6 years old (The Netherlands).
No submissions for Beyond Music Project Volume 1.