A song can strengthen your heart and determination—and thus shape the world. Here's one each from David Byrne and Eleanor Kane
When two fantastic tunes, aimed at a hugely better world, fall in your lap of a week, it’s wise not to ignore them:
David Byrne: Brazil’s Sons of Ghandi revived by an Afro-Brazilian classic
From his excellent newsletter, the ex-Talking Head David Byrne writes:
The roots of samba lie with the African slaves who were brought to Brazil in huge numbers. It took form in Rio, though many of the Afro-Brazilians who helped create it came from Salvador, in the state of Bahia.
No surprise then that in some of these songs there are references to African deities (referred to as Orixas), the shrines where they are worshipped, and heroes of Afro Brazilian culture.
The late Clara Nunes sings a song called Ijexa (pronounced ee-jay-sha, and embedded below) which is an Afro Brazilian rhythm (not technically samba) often associated with a men’s fraternal organization in Salvador called Filhos de Ghandy (the sons of Gandhi).
I once asked Caetano Veloso if he could think of an example where a song had effected real change. He replied immediately that this song, written by Gilberto Gil and Nunes, drew attention to the organization when it was less popular than it is now.
In danger of fading away, the song led to a revival of the organization and now they have thousands of members and parade taking over the streets in Salvador.
The song celebrates the fraternal group, its African roots, and Zumbi; who led the resistance to slavery and established a quilombo, a settlement of free former slaves.
As an example of how convoluted Brazilian culture can be, this group is perfect. Filhos de Gandhy are inspired by his message of peace and understanding. They do community work and take action to stop violence against women.
When I saw them, there was a man who looked exactly like Gandhi and dressed in little round glasses and a loincloth holding a staff. He stood on the side of the stage in the clubhouse while drummers played a West African rhythm, Ijexa, and sang - in Yoruba - songs dedicated to the Orixás, the Gods and Goddesses of that part of West Africa.
The Ijexa rhythm is often associated with Oshum, a feminine river Goddess. They wear turbans made from towels, with a blue jewel in the middle and at carnival they wheel along a large camel.
Those who revere authenticity will throw up their hands at all this mixing of iconography and references, but I find it beautiful. It makes sense on a level that transcends logic and rationality - which is what music does.
Eleanor Kane sings “Miles and Miles” from the new climate change musical HouseFire
Embedded at the top of the post is a performance from Eleanor Kane (full disclosure: her proud dad is one of the co-initiators of The Alternative UK) from a new climate musical by Metta Theatre, reported below by What’s On Stage:
Metta Theatre has unveiled a brand new musical – HouseFire, in response to the climate emergency, as it announces a new consultancy scheme to help the arts and education sectors.
Entitled "Metta Green", the scheme will aim to provide practical strategies for companies to create positive environmental change. Designer Will Reynolds explained: "After decades of personal activism, expanding Metta's sustainability practices over the last five years has been a real eye opener”…
The company has also unveiled a new album for climate crisis musical HouseFire, which has book and lyrics by P Burton Morgan (Metta Theatre's founder) and music by Felix Hagan (Operation Mincemeant).
HouseFire follows a trio of endangered animals, who form a band to protest the ecological crisis. Burton-Morgan said: ""It's a beast of a subject matter - the climate and ecological crisis - and the potential for descending into earnest preaching is very real.
“But I hope we have created a rare thing; combining the painful urgency of the crisis with the political complexities, all wrapped up in epic banging tunes to rock out to. Plus it wouldn't be a Metta show if we didn't end with hope! So there's also hope. Always."
The album, which features Eleanor Kane, Robin Simoes da Silva and Lemuel Knights, is available on streaming platforms now.