- Release Info -------------------------------------------------------------- -
ARTiST... Issa Boulos & Nermin Kaygusuz
ALBUM.... Rif
LABEL.... cdbaby
CAT.NUM.. n/a
GENRE.... Instrumental
RiP.DATE. Apr-04-2009
SOURCE... CDDA
PLAYTIME. 49:24 min
SIZE..... 54,2 MB
ENCODER.. LAME v3.97 -V2 --vbr-new
TRACKS... 11
QUALiTY.. VBRkbps / 44.1kHz / Joint-Stereo
- Track List ---------------------------------------------------------------- -
[01] gharib [04:48]
[02] masafa [02:59]
[03] murur [05:12]
[04] raqs al-janub [04:20]
[05] raqsat al-khityar [04:09]
[06] sabah [02:49]
[07] samai nahawand [07:19]
[08] sual [05:23]
[09] tahlilah [03:53]
[10] wad [04:44]
[11] zaytun [03:48]
- Release Notes ------------------------------------------------------------- -
Rif (Countryside)
The little things that our senses got used to interacting with since childhood,
at first seemed a little out of place for a little boy who is supposed to be
paying attention to matters other than those claimed by most to be irrelevant,
or non-inspiring. However, my observations as to how these elements interacted
with each other grew to become an intense fascination with their general
movements, rhythms, sounds, patterns, reactions, conflicts and harmony. A
different usage-area of my senses has accordingly emerged and later constituted
the bases for nearly all my instrumental compositions, regardless of
instrumentation or musical tools incorporated. The idea behind this mechanism
of energy extraction remained the same, and simple. Hence the search for the
inner energy of the self was much more complex in itÆs own way. The idea behind
Rif is to musically integrate the internal energy of the ôlittle thingsö:
leafs, dew, insects, birds; with everything else that comes with them! During a
quiet evening at our Ramallah home veranda, one physical spot set the main
theme for Rif ; the fig tree, the oldest artichoke plant in the neighborhood,
the Mediterranean scenery, the color of soil, and the feeling of coziness and
unity with everything that exists in that little corner. I carefully observed
all the events that were taking place within that spot and started moving
inward, towards the alienated one! It wasnÆt my intention to tell their
stories, or mine for that matter. I was, rather, telling stories through them,
and with them.
At that point, music started popping up and I started transcribing it. The
musical key that I used to unwrap the complexities of the inner self while
articulating the sense of being through other beings has become the obsession
that followed me throughout the journey of observing my own sounds and
transcribing them. The issue of instrumentation was one of the technically most
difficult to resolve. I wanted an instrument that immediately gives the
impression of versatility and simplicity, while rich. I also wanted an
instrument that can hold up to the technical challenges that were evidently
coming up as reflection of other types of complexities. Although my sketches
were nearly complete, good fortune found its way to me and was able to meet
with Turkish kemenτe master Nermin Kaygusuz through Martin Stokes, a mutual
friend. We got together the following week and I was mesmerized by the energy
of her instrument. It was the kemenτe that I wanted; itÆs tone characteristics,
simplicity, depth and sophistication. It reminded me of how ôthingsö really are
rather than how ôthingsö may become. As for percussion, using the simplest form
of all percussion instruments, the bendir, was the way to go. The final result
is an open-ended mixture of experimentations with maqam and some vague drawings
of melodies that ceased to exist. I was able to resurrect an old man who danced
in a wedding in his village the day after his wife passed away in Raqsat
al-Khityar, and to make the southbound Chicago bus dance for an immigrant on
his way home in Raqs al-Janub; I witnessed the birth, transformation and return
of a dew in Radhadh and confessed my surrender to alienation in Gharib; tasted
the smell of olive trees in Zaytun; calmed down the elements in Tahlilah;
reminded myself of mortality in Murur; wondered about whom we have become in
Su`ual; made promises to loved ones in Waæd; bridged the roughness of exile in
Masafa; and prayed for a better world while touching the morning breeze in
Sabah.
Issa Boulos
Issa is a composer, 'ud performer, critic, researcher, writer and lyricist, his
works have covered various genres and acquired worldwide recognition. He is
featured in many recordings and festivals throughout the world as both composer
and performer and covered by virtually all media major networks including CNN,
PBS, CBS, NBC, CLTV, CAN TV, Chicago Tribune, the Suntimes, the Reader, Chicago
Weekly, RedEye. His latest commission was by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
where he wrote four pieces for orchestra and takht. His works include Kawkab
Akhar, Shortly After Life, Lysistrata, Catharsis, Sama, al-Hallaj, Rif, Being
Peace; A Palestinian Memoir, and the music for the PBS documentary "The New
Americans," and most recently for the critically acclaimed documentary "Nice
Bombs." Issa writes music reviews for Four Magazine and This Week In
Palestine and is a recipient of several awards and fellowships including most
recently an Artists Fellowship Award by the Illinois Arts Council and the 2006
Palestinian Cultural Fund Award. He is a lecturer at the University of Chicago
where he directs the Middle East Music Ensemble.
Nermin Kaygusuz (Ph.D 1992)
Nermin is an Associate Professor at Istanbul Technical University, in the
Social Science Institute. She was born in Ankara, and studied with many masters
including Tⁿlin Korman, ╓zdal Orhon, Erdog(an Saydam , Sadettin Heper, Yalτ?n
Tura, Demirhan Altug(, Bekir S?tk? Sezgin, I.hsan ╓zgen, and Ercⁿmend Berker.
She is a member in several Turkish groups including Tⁿrk Mⁿzig(inde Yeni
Aray?s,lar. She is a highly celebrated performer and scholar, both locally and
internationally. Nermin has two recordings out: G÷nⁿlden Damlalar and Kemenτe
ve Gitarla Saz Eserleri.
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