Music
Melodies In My Head
Melodies In My Head is the new duo by anthropologist, author, and audiovisual artist Thomas Burkhalter (founder and director of the platform Norient) and music producer and musician Daniel Jakob (Dubokaj, Dejot, Filewile). On their debut album Joy Anger Doubt, the duo delves into the emotional landscapes of the present day—their own, as well as those of participating artists from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the UK. Themes like hope, joy, ecstasy, fear, doubt, depression, anger, and trauma weave through the songs, tracks, and skits, crafting a multi-layered portrait of a rapidly changing world. The music oscillates between pop, club, underground sounds, kitsch, and trash. Some of the lyrics are excerpts from ethnographic interviews that Burkhalter has conducted over the last fifteen years, while others are based on fictional characters. The album was mixed in Gothenburg by Christoffer Berg (Depeche Mode, Fever Ray).
Featured musicians: Sophie Adam (singer, Zurich, aka Namaka, Nin Lil), Kacey Moore (singer, Accra), Christophe Jaquet (singer, Lausanne), Joy Frempong (singer, Berlin, aka OY), Balbir Bhujhangy (singer, Birmingham), Chad (singer, Biel), Renee Van Trier (performer, Tilburg)
Interview clips from: Joseph Kamaru aka KMRU (Nairobi), Emma Nzioka aka Coco Em (Nairobi), Boutross Munene (Nairobi), Hitman Kaht (Nairobi), Mr. Lu (Nairobi), Leon Omondi aka Debe (Nairobi), George Githuma Njogu aka Baby Elephante (Nairobi), Victor Munyasya (Nairobi), Ali Gul Pir (Karachi), Garo Gdanian (Lebanon), DJ Ritu (London), Jenny Mbaye (London), Michael Calandra Achode (London), Federico Campana (London).
The interviews were conducted and recorded by Thomas Burkhalter in Lebanon, Ghana, Kenya, and the UK over the last fifteen years. All singers and interviewees receive remunerations, royalties, or shares of the proceeds. The goal is to find new ways of collaborating between the so-called Global North and Global South. This vision was influenced by British anthropologist Tim Ingold. In his book Why Anthropology Matters, he writes that today it is about learning from others, gaining insights into other perspectives, motivations, narratives, experiences – to get ‘under the skin of the world’ and tell new stories. Ingold sees the future of anthropology in speculative, experimental, and artistic formats.
Burkhalter wrote about his approach extensively – for example, in his article ‘Norient: From Tastemaking to Multimodal Storytelling’ in the book Politics of Curatorship, 2023. Burkhalter is the director of Norient, which he founded in 2002. Norient is an audio-visual gallery and community platform for contemporary music and sound, quality journalism, cutting-edge research, projects, and events like the Norient Festival. Norient conceives music, sound, and noise as seismographs of our time, facilitates space and place for thinkers and artists from currently sixty countries to tell new and different stories of the now and tomorrow. The goal is to support (sub)cultural diversity, broaden horizons, and open dialogue across people, continents, and disciplines.
«Ethnographic interviews & experimental pop make up this debut from Swiss producer Daniel Jakob and Norient founder Thomas Burkhalter» Bandcamp, New + Notable
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