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April 16, 2009
Posted: 1020 GMT
From Rym Momtaz BEIRUT, Lebanon - Imagine Louis Armstrong jamming with Pink Floyd on a small red-lit stage and you get the performance of the Franco-American group “NEXT TO YOU” (Click here to watch an extract of the performance) at “Irtijal”, a five-day international festival for experimental music in Beirut, Lebanon.
Joe McPhee, pocket trumpet. NEXT TO YOU
“Irtijal” means “Improvisation” in Arabic, and in keeping with the title, all the performances from April 3rd to 10th were unscripted musical conversations between band members on stage. Some, like the musicians from “NEXT TO YOU” make it seem effortless, suddenly turning what initially sounds like a dismembered collection of Noise into actual Music. That’s when experimental music transcends all tastes. The packed theater of more than 100 music enthusiasts was on fire – applauding for a good few minutes.
After playing with his pocket trumpet full of water, Joe McPhee unloads the liquid before his next set.
Sabu is not only one of the foremost Japanese free jazz drummers, he gives a dramatic performance on the Kokyo, a traditional Japanese 3-string instrument played with a bow
The crowd was an eclectic mix of Lebanese underground artists, artsy students and professionals all under the age of 35, with a few exceptions. Some were festival regulars who have attended every edition since 2000 eagerly returning to discover the lineup concocted by Mazen Kerbaj and Sharif Sehnaoui, the thirty-something co-founders of the festival and themselves experimental musicians. Others were curious first-timers. All were equally enthusiastic, even after the more puzzling sets. Ingar Zach, a Norwegian percussionist, and Alessandra Rombola, an Italian flutist from the band “MUTA” both told me how pleasantly surprised they were by the warm reception they had received mainly because “the Lebanese audience is more open to new things and less judgmental”. On the three nights I attended, artists played to a quasi-packed theater. Unique in the Middle East, the festival is quickly becoming a staple of the international experimental music scene attracting an increasingly international lineup and ever-larger crowds. Yet not every set at this year’s festival was as enthralling as “NEXT TO YOU”’s. As I sat through 20 minutes of nondescript screeching noise only mitigated twice by some “notes” that sounded like bubbles in a hooka, I scratched my head and wondered what it was that Stephane Rives, a French soprano saxophonist (click here to get a taste) wanted to convey and more importantly wished his screeching had reached “dog whistle” frequency and spared my ears. The festival, nevertheless, successfully showcased the incredible musical encounters that can occur when experimental musicians meet on stage. On closing night the different members of “NEXT TO YOU” got to jam with a few artists they had been impressed with but had just met. The result was nothing short of riveting. With its diverse lineup, Irtijal’s main strength remains making such music accessible and offering it in a laid back setting. Artists hung out with the crowd between shows, some even showed a few strings to aspiring young musicians; Mr. Sehnaoui’s mom was on hand every night clapping enthusiastically at the end of each set while Mr. Kerbaj’s eight year old son helped out at the concessions stand one night. As this edition wrapped up, the organizers promised to put on an especially good show next year when "Irtijal" celebrates its tenth anniversary; there is definitely room for improvement so it will be interesting to see just how successful they will be! Posted by: IME Producer |
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