In Sleep by Meklit
"If champagne were a person, it would be Meklit Hadero," Bunmi Akpata-Ohohe*
Yes, Meklit Hadero's voice does have this smooth and gorgeous sound that likens to a sweet champagne. What gets me even more is the depth of her lyrics. I was able to see her perform at Dimitrou's Jazz Alley in Seattle a couple of years ago.
She is the epitome of what happens when we mix cultures in ways that get us to the next level. What do I mean by that? She was born in Ethiopia and immigrated to the United States with her family. Her music combines all of the influences of who she is in a poetic way. As Akpata-Ohohe describes about a recent show, "This singer, musician, and cultural activist simply known as Meklit took us on a musical odyssey of Ethiopian traditional tunes and more besides: American-Jazz, Hip Hop, street-level Jazz, Rock, East African Folk and Ethiopian classics-the lyricist practice of her auditory mother country."
I love it. There have been times I have wanted to mix in influences of Indian and Spanish music into my music. There are times when I love singing hip-hop and R + B. And I realize just how significant different kinds of music have influenced me in different ways. This speaks to a larger experience of traveling the world and getting to live in India and Chile. Of my family coming from Kerala. Of having worked with immigrant communities in the United States and learning about Bachata, Salsa and Cumbia. Of teaching students in urban communities. Of feeling the soul of jazz, and hip-hop and each of their deep historic roots.
A fun question for us all to ponder: How does music define our identity? And how much do we connect with the music that reflects the experiences within our lives?
The musicians who combine all of these different kinds of musical influences resonate with me because of the many worlds they navigate:
Yes, Meklit Hadero's voice does have this smooth and gorgeous sound that likens to a sweet champagne. What gets me even more is the depth of her lyrics. I was able to see her perform at Dimitrou's Jazz Alley in Seattle a couple of years ago.
She is the epitome of what happens when we mix cultures in ways that get us to the next level. What do I mean by that? She was born in Ethiopia and immigrated to the United States with her family. Her music combines all of the influences of who she is in a poetic way. As Akpata-Ohohe describes about a recent show, "This singer, musician, and cultural activist simply known as Meklit took us on a musical odyssey of Ethiopian traditional tunes and more besides: American-Jazz, Hip Hop, street-level Jazz, Rock, East African Folk and Ethiopian classics-the lyricist practice of her auditory mother country."
Art Mural 'Rhopsody,' in Austin, TX
I love it. There have been times I have wanted to mix in influences of Indian and Spanish music into my music. There are times when I love singing hip-hop and R + B. And I realize just how significant different kinds of music have influenced me in different ways. This speaks to a larger experience of traveling the world and getting to live in India and Chile. Of my family coming from Kerala. Of having worked with immigrant communities in the United States and learning about Bachata, Salsa and Cumbia. Of teaching students in urban communities. Of feeling the soul of jazz, and hip-hop and each of their deep historic roots.
A fun question for us all to ponder: How does music define our identity? And how much do we connect with the music that reflects the experiences within our lives?
The musicians who combine all of these different kinds of musical influences resonate with me because of the many worlds they navigate:
- Karsh Kale
- Tribe Called Quest
- Amel Larrieux
- Portland Cello Project
- Meklit
I could go on and on.
And don't get me wrong, I love the musicians that thrive in their specific genre too.
Here's my thought. I think there's something to be said about having an eclectic music taste. Or at least being open to different genres. I get how people find comfort in one, but being open to different kinds speaks to being open to this world: this huge, diverse, gorgeous world in front of us.
photo by Beautiful World
What we saw happen in Paris and in Beirut this past week, the tremendous violence...I can't help to pause and wonder, just how big is the world of the people who did this to innocent civilians? Do they allow for music in their lives? My hope and intention with these tragedies is that there are millions of who us who can see this larger world around us...millions of us who are open to music filling the spaces in our lives, to giving us meaning/significance/possibility. And that there only a small few that refuse to do so. My heart thoughts go to all the loss that has happened.
I was traveling to St. Lucie this past week for work and discovered Meklit's song, 'In Sleep.' You know when you find that song and you keep playing it over and over? Something about the lyrics, the chord progressions and the trumpet really worked for me. It was refreshing because it's been a while since I have listened to lyrics that speak to me on that deeper level:
Rest me from this logic world
The cave where I was born
Slip me under poetry
A million pages torn
Let the words wash over me
The words my soul will keep
In sleep, in sleep, in sleep
I love the way she conveys this idea of living in the world of logic and being able to elevate to a different world where poetry and insight and wisdom make us a stronger version of who we are, subconsciously and consciously. Okay, that last part is my inference, but that's what get to do with music, make it make sense for us, right?!
Here is In Sleep:
And here's to opening ourselves to what's beyond our comfort world, specifically in our musical choices...being open to the blend and the multiple influences that inevitably guide our life.
Because you know what they say about life imitating music...
*
Bunmi Akpata-Ohohe, "An Interview with Ethopian-American Singer Meklit Hadero," http://www.roomsmagazine.com/artpeople/1/8/2015/an-interview-with-ethiopian-american-singer-meklit-hadero.
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