some food for thought...

some food for thought…

"A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the
violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about
45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that
thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to
work.


Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician
playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried
up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first
dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping
continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to
listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again.
Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tugged
him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally
the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all
the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the
parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for
a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He
collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one
noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the foremost
musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever
written on a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing
in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theatre in Boston and the seats
averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was
organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about
perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a
commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour do we perceive beauty? Do
we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected
context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not
have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world
playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?"

FONT CONFERENCE

hahaha!

you gotta love this!

Sub-Lime Music Video!

My first music video!

Directed by a very talented upcoming Film Director, Sheridan De Myers.

We shot this is August 2008 in London, mostly under the Waterloo bridge where loads of the new Banksy art is. An incredible place. If I was homeless in London, I would make that my home. You could never get bored of those walls. So much to be inspired by. Would be f*cking freezing though...




Anyway. We did this on no budget so all things considered, I think we pulled together and did a wicked job.

Props to Mimi Fresh for the styling, Nick for the camera work, Maya for hair and styling, all the breakdancers..my girl Cat (also a Mestiza ;-)) who features throughout the vid, and to Shan Phearon for photography.



The song is called 'Sub-Lime' and was produced by Colin Emmanuel (awesome UK producer who's worked with the likes of KRS:One,/Terri Walker/Beverley Knight/Jamelia/Tawiah). I wrote it after I came back from Trinidad. In Trini when you're chillin you say you're just 'limin', or you just 'lime'. I kept telling Colin I want sub bass, more sub more sub more sub! i just love sub bass... so we called it 'Sub-Lime'. obviously it has a double meaning. Lyrically the song is about the sublime beauty of life. The realisation that we are all collective energy communicating and being taken on this ride... yeah I was pretty high when I wrote this song.. high on life that is of course ;-)




Sub-Lime [Lyrics]

You said 'do you feel this energy?'
I said 'It sure feels good to me'
You said 'Come a little closer come vibe with me
and get free if you know what I mean'
I said 'Get free baby I got you maybe we can share a joke or two
wild child is my style we can get down if you want to
and I surely do, I surely do, I surely do, I surely do...

Let this melody take you on a journey through my mind
can you feel it so sublime?
can you reach into my mind
high we can fly
we can dance with rainbows in the night
Can you feel it so sublime?
Can you reach into my mind?
Into my mind, into my mind, into my mind

Life is beautiful so beautiful
I didn't know life could be so beautiful
Life is beautiful so beautiful
I didn't know life could be so beautiful

More amazing than I have ever dreamed
I feel light I feel free
It feels like ecstasy
do you feel it coming?
Do you hear the sound of the humming bird?
When you hear it strumming its funny how the world turns..

Let this melody take you on a journey through my mind
can you feel it so sublime?
can you reach into my mind
high we can fly
we can dance with rainbows in the night
Can you feel it so sublime?
Can you reach into my mind?
Into my mind, into my mind, into my mind

Life is beautiful so beautiful
I didn't know life could be so beautiful
Life is beautiful so beautiful
I didn't know life could be so beautiful

So its you and me in the ocean deep
just riding on this wave
eyes dilate as what we say
correlates you make sense to me
Your smile is poetry and the stars shine in your eyes
reminds me of Wilde 'we're all in the gutter
but some of us are staring at the stars'
staring at the stars
and here we are..staring at the stars...

Let this melody take you on a journey through my mind
can you feel it so sublime?
can you reach into my mind
high we can fly
we can dance with rainbows in the night
Can you feel it so sublime?
Can you reach into my mind?
Into my mind, into my mind, into my mind

Life is beautiful so beautiful
I didn't know life could be so beautiful
Life is beautiful so beautiful
I didn't know life could be so beautiful

The Catherine Tate Show

This kinda ting makes me miss the UK!

The New Tracy Chapman???

I am a huge Tracy Chapman DEVOTEE...

beautiful, conscious

voices and songs like Tracy Chapman's are a rare thing to find...



but I think I found a new one!



Check out Asa 'Jailer'...

She is BIG! [not fat, thats just London slang for massive, popular, rockin, wicked, slammin, vibin, cool, the shizzle..I think you get me]




and now lets reminisce with a favourite from the much loved Tracy Chapman.

this song came on the other night when I was in a taxi on the way home. perfect riding home late on your own music... :)

"Give me one reason to stay"..

A Song for Gaza from The Narcysist

Download a song for Gaza "Hamdulilah (Gaza Remix)" By The Narcysist. Ft. Shadia Mansour : http://www.zshare.net/audio/5373504352ef56b7/

This Iraqi rapper is a talented friend and musician that I have been blessed to meet out here in Dubai. I have maAAAd respect for The Narcysist as a rapper and as a political activist...

So show some love & support the movement!!! Download the song, and spread the word!!!!




The lyrics to the song should be read... so here they are....

Lyrics:
Bismillah
Sends shivers when you hear it,
regardless of the hardship, we will never ever fear it
Hamdulilah
For your perseverance,
got me feeling blocked up like egypt's border clearance
Bismillah
May God Bless your dead and gone,
we say we undeafeated, you say we're headstrong
Hamdulilah
for the will to believe in life,
if you struggle God Loves you relieve the strife
Bismillah
Please read Su'rat Yassin
for the purest always fall for the furious I've seen
Hamdulilah
to be grateful for your place you never know what
fate will bring us from the hateful.
Bismillah
for the souls anguish love
and the moments our brothers get snuffed by slugs
Hamdulilah
we see through the politics, when a missile is issued
to kill and follow our kids....

Bismillah
The world trying to kill their dreams, waking up in cold sweats out in Philistine
Hamdulilah
I could really tell you see, turned on the news heard they sent shells to scenes
Bismillah
two hours later In Gaza, the floor starting pounding and they felt the Ha'za
Hamdulilah
Hessa the policies lied, a house was blown to pieces, an olive tree cried
Bismillah
The ch'thib that move too fast out the mouth of Hamas and Mahmoud Abbas
Hamdulilah
We need real leaders instead of fickle beasts wicked streets cripple little beings
rippling through the middle East
Bismillah
God while we're on the subject please cut the strings off our political puppets.
Hamdulilah
bil rooh bil dem when soldiers creep
at the expense of your men thinking our souls are cheap speak....

Let the world know that hip-hop, is the rock that we bring when we aim our
slingshots
Bismillah
The claim you call Israel
and the way you defend it shames Ismaill
Bismillah
See we could live together if the cycle of your violence didn't silence of our life with all your rifles
Hamdulilah
Alaikum Alsalam, Arab Jarab when there's harab man, 3laihum il haram
Hamdulilah
Ta'thamoon lil nas wal hu'ra, we refuse to have anymore Mohammad Al-Durrah's




WEBSITE: www.iraqisthebomb.com
BLOG: http://illuminarcy.blogspot.com/\
MUSIC PAGE: http://www.myspace.com/euphrates

Feng Shui

By Feb 1st [inshallah] I will have moved into my new flat.

can hardly express my joy.

last year I was such a hobo! moving flats, festivals here and there, moving country, staying at a friends, moving into a villa, moving out of villa... its been nuts.

I cannot wait to have all my things in one place. I want to wake up, go to the gym, eat breakfast on the balcony, go to work, come home, cook dinner, drink a glass of wine, smoke some shisha, meditate by candlelight, jam out on the keyboard, writes some lyrics and go to bed.....

I want cushions and art everywhere.

dim lights and bright colours.

I wanna play afro cuban Jazz and smooth neo-soul ..and simply chill the f*ck out.

Its going to be beautiful.

I will leave you with some pictures that have been inspiring me...




[above: some cool home deco style gwannin']



[above: Zoe Kravitz. The love child of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet. Gorgeous.]






[above: New clothing range. DOPE!!!]

I LOVE JANELLE

This girl is kicking musical butt right now.

I am supremely inspired by what she doing.

& I OFFICIALLY LOVE JANELLE MONAE.

F*ck Borders

I feel inspired to write a blog as I am sat here with my flat mate Jonna and her friend Robin from Sweden. They’re big on blogging in Sweden. We just ate takeaway from a Filipino/Chinese place called Chow King here in Satwa, and we’re now all bloated.

We’ve been talking about English adjectives that only the Brits really use, like ‘minging’, ‘munter’, ‘grimey’, ‘tw*t’, ‘rank’ ‘w*nker’ ‘kn*b’. And Robin loves it when British people compliment you, because it really means something, since we’re so cynical most of the time. E.g. ‘Mate, you’re a legend’, or ‘He’s a diamond geezer’.

I actually love being British. Not in a nationalistic way at all. I just love the dry humour and wit. Brits can get a hard time abroad these days. The Europeans often see us as being the fat 51st state [you know how English people are in Majorca], whereas here in Dubai I sense the resentment that people feel towards the Brits and the privileges they receive here in Dubai. After all it was a former British colony..

Thing is, I do not feel proud of British history, [the crusades, wars, raping, slavery..] But then, I do not feel ashamed either. Why should I?You do not choose where you were born, and it is ridiculous to blame someone for what some others did hundreds of years ago in the country they happened to be born into. It’s just the same as hating someone for the colour of his or her skin. It is not logical! It’s like blaming all white people in America today for slavery, or blaming all German people for Hitler.

You know, as humans we all find ourselves hating nations, but we excuse individuals when we meet someone we like. You know too often people say ignorant shit like “I don’t like Indians, except Suresh, he’s cool”.

We’re all human. Can’t we leave it at that? Can we leave our egos at the door please? Can we stop being so general about what a person is like because they were born in a certain country or are a particular skin colour?

I used to get called ‘chinky’ when I was in the playground. My brothers used to get called ‘Golly wog” and “nigga”. People don’t even understand how they can be my ‘real’ brothers. I have to explain, we have the same dad, different mums, so technically ‘half’ blood, but yeah, we’re related by blood. [Like that matters anyway] Yes, it is possible that my brothers have Afro’s, my mum is brown and our dad is white [he just wasn’t so into white women I guess! ;-)]

I suppose that’s what being a Mestiza is, belonging everywhere and nowhere. I feel just as comfortable in any country, but never like that is my ultimate home. And wherever I go no one knows where I am from. Growing up they didn’t think I was born there. When I see my family in the Philippines, people don’t think I am Filipino either, and here in Dubai I sometimes pass as an Arabic girl, but generally people can’t guess. Only in South America do I seem to blend in, but that’s cause everyone’s mixed there anyway!

I feel most at home in the International community…The other night I was at a small house party and a group of us were sat there having a drink and talking about what’s going on in Gaza. 2 of the guys grew up in Jordan, but their parents are Palestinians. There was also a Lebanese guy, [by blood but born and raised in the UAE] an American guy, and a Bulgarian girl. It was really interesting to hear the guys from Palestine sharing their thoughts and feelings. I can hardly imagine what it must feel like to have a home that is taken away from you. Words can’t explain such injustice. There was a lot of hatred from them towards the Israeli’s, as a people and as a Government. I can understand where they are coming from, I too strongly disagree with the way that Israeli Government are acting, as well as the American Government for their support to Israel. But it is not fair to blame all Israeli’s or all Americans. Even if most are acting like complete ***************** [insert some of the British slang from paragraph 2]

When I think about what is happening in Gaza right now, when I think about the war in Iraq, when I think about Afghanistan … I just think. How egotistical can we humans be? How can we still justify violence? How can we be full of hatred to the extent where we wish another person to suffer immense pain and to take away their right to life and freedom? There is more than enough food and water and land in this world for us all. Why are we so selfish that we cannot share?War is such a waste of time. What good ever came out of war?

I can’t believe so many people still justify war. And so often if you do not justify war, then you are labelled as naïve. But this is how ridiculous war is:

The amount of money that the world spends on war in just 2 weeks is enough money to provide everyone in the world with a home, food, clean water, free education and free healthcare.

Digest that fact.

And that was from an old book I have. Imagine how much worse it is now… you can probably add ipod, blackberry and plasma screen TV to that list too now.

Maybe it is ‘immoral’ of me, to be British and to be ‘benefiting’ from life in a former British colony. I have had the odd sly remark from people here and the UK, asking why I am here and how I can be living in an oil rich country, with some real dodgy human rights issues. But otherwise I live in the UK and unwillingly have to pay taxes towards a war in Iraq that I believe is unjust.

So what is more or less moral? Because I move here I now have to take responsibility for the Government? Tell me, what Government in the world is good? Are the people to blame?

This here is the conscription of our times. Go to work, and we will use your money rather than your body to kill other people and benefit ourselves. Then there is the question; if your body is not physically taking part in a war can you be held responsible for it?

I have considered the option of moving to a tiny island in the Philippines and escaping this crazy violent Capitalistic materialistic world we live in. But it seems that whatever we do we cannot help but be hypocrites. The trainers you wear that were made in sweat shops, the meat you eat that was reared by cows in fields that were once the Amazon rainforest, the plane you fly that is contributing to Global warming…

We can do what some do. Eat organic food, buy clothes from charity shops, boycott almost every brand there is out there, walk and take public transport. Go on local camping holidays. But there will still be some line of hypocrisy somewhere. Like the weed that you smoke that contributes to gang violence…

It’s a tough life trying to moral! And I don’t think we should give ourselves too hard a time about it.

I suppose I am the biggest hypocrite ever, because here I am, a typical British person, telling the world how they ought to be and trying to enforce my opinions on others. And what the hell am I contributing to the world as an unknown artist? And if I do ever ‘make it’ will I make it because I have become a product? Will I essentially be selling ‘my self’ [?!]

Or will I divert from being the cynic to the dreamer, and uphold that music is the universal language of the world, and that by connecting with others through energy and expression I have the power to inspire positive change in other peoples lives… ??

[What do you think, wanky or life changing?! Hahaha!]Anyway. I enjoy these challenging thoughts. Though it boggles my mind and pangs guilt in me for some of the things that I do…or don’t do… I’ve enjoyed writing this blog. I’m going to try and be more light hearted next time! ;-)

F* ck Borders *

Your ever-paradoxical cynical yet positive dreamer & hypocrite,

Mestiza xxx