Comments on: Interview with Checkpoint 303: Electronic / Experimental music from Palestine, Tunisia and France

By: Arab Avant-Garde | KABOBfest

Arab Avant-Garde | KABOBfest — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 06:50:44 +0000

[...] Arab Avant-Garde By Nimr ⋅ November 10, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment Share In spite of the glut of often vapid pop from the Lebanese, Egyptian, and Gulf hit machines (admittedly a guilty pleasure of mine) the tradition of abstract, experimental, artistic expression remains quite vibrant in the Middle East and North Africa, and the diaspora. While there are more established voices of the Middle Eastern avant-garde, like Ahmed Abdul-Malik, Anouar Brahem, or Halim Al-Dabh (to name a few), here is a short list of some exciting voices of the new(er)-guard: Axis Trio- The LA based trio recently released their first album The Hand (on the very cool SNP Records). While the three members trace their heritage to Morocco, Iran and Pakistan, the sound of the group is much more indebted to experimental Jazz (e.g., Charlie Haden or Ornette Coleman) and Western European Art music (e.g., Stockhausen or Stravinsky) than anything else. While the music can be quite challenging and abstract, the clarity of Amino Belyamani’s melodic ideas on the piano helps to make the project fairly accessible for those not as familiar with the genre. Dhafer Youssef- Unlike the Axis Trio, Tunisian Dhafer Youssef incorporates a great deal of North African influences into his music. He is not only a strong composer, but also a quality ‘ūd player. Hisham Matter recently wrote a great article on Youssef in this article. For a video of Youssef live, check this out. Al Maslakh- Is a record label in Lebanon dedicated to experimental music. Although the label has a fairly impressive catalogue it proves a bit frustrating as they have very little that you can sample online (and no myspace/itunes presence either). There are several impressive artists in this scene, so I hope they use the full power of the web to develop their reach. Checkpoint 303- Boasts the motto “Free Tunes from Occupied Territories”. While still quite abstract, this collective (from Palestine, Tunisia and France) draws much more heavily on electronic music than the jazz tradition. For an interesting interview to see what they are all about click, here. [...]

By: Zoom H4 Handy Recorder

Zoom H4 Handy Recorder — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:16:45 +0000

Zoom H4 Handy Recorder…

y o c җl Ə] ƈ l o 犴 ӂ d z o c O Ƃ A Ɓ] ƈ K iWin and Happy j ɁA Ƃ ɍ 킹 āA œK Ȃ Ă A o c җl Ə] ƈ l o 犴 ӂ d{ ܂…

By: On Sale Logitech ClearChat Wireless USB Headset - Black - Brands at Electronics Sale

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:45:05 +0000

On Sale Logitech ClearChat Wireless USB Headset – Black – Brands at Electronics Sale…

With Mercedes’ next generation of super sports cars currently under development by the carmaker’ s racing arm, HWA, as well as its in- house tuner, AMG, the current manufacturing partnership with McLaren is set to end once production of the SLR superca…

By: Interview with Sameh Habeeb about the Gaza Concert 2008 - Mideast Youth - Thinking Ahead

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 23:00:17 +0000

[...] music: Checkpoint 303 – “Gaza Calling” Gaza Concert – Using music to end the siege [14:29m]: [...]

By: MEYcast - Broadcasting ahead » Blog Archive » Interview with Sameh Habeeb about the Gaza Concert 2008

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 22:40:46 +0000

[...] music: Checkpoint 303 – “Gaza [...]

By: Eva (Israel)

Eva (Israel) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:16:28 +0000

… and by the way, being a recent volunteer of “Machsom Watch” [= checkpoint watch], I know Checkpoint 300 (unfortunately), as well as Qalandia and others.. I’m planning, btw. to write about all that soon

By: Eva (Israel)

Eva (Israel) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:58:41 +0000

Hey, Esra!
Thanks a lot for this post!! I came upon “Gaza calling Checkpoint303″ by accident, and loved it immediately. It expresses exactly what is happening there – no answer, the checkpoint is closed, “where are the United Nations”…
I did not know where this song came from, and now I’ll download more & forward the link to all of my Gazan (and Palestinian) friends. I already passed the Gaza song to many of my friends in Gaza and they all liked it, although it must be really “unusual for them”.
Great post, thank you & BIG thanks to Checkpoint 303!!