The First Statement
15 musicians from all over the world. Some field-recordings of Israel and The Westbank. And a lot of stories to tell...
The music of The First Statement is a journey through the conflict in Israel/Palestina. It's a report of my experiences in the Middle-East.
Together with Iris Vos I started to work on this debut-project. I started composing and looking for musicians for the ensemble and Iris took care of the management and organisation. In the end around 25 people participated for The First Statement.
The music is a meeting between East and West. I wanted to let these cultures meet on equal terrain. Instead of sampling and borrowing sounds it was about complimenting one another. I studied Arabic music in Ramallah. Studying the rhythms, the tonal scales (maqamat) and ornaments in the Arabic musical tradition.
Every composition is about one place or experience I had traveling through Israel/Palestine. At the bandcamp-page you can find more info.
The artwork is done by Hoax and they did a magnificent job translating the concept to image. This was the first project ever done on the creative grounds called 'Kytopia'.