A musician needs a lot of space and freedom

'It is incredibly difficult for someone to feel as an outsider, especially in his own homeland. Due to the bitter and painful reality of my homeland, my music began to flow motivated by a distinct melancholy. It is my dream that the music has risen from my heart will find a place in the hearts of others...'
That belated contribution to the debate about the Israel Philharmonic's BBC Proms appearance comes from Palestinian oud player Hosam Hayek. Despite an eclectic style which he describes as "I just play and compose what I feel - those Western elements in my music are the result of playing the piano and listening to classical and jazz music" his debut recording adroitly avoids the fusion soup trap. On Stranger in My Homeland Hosam Hayek is joined by musicians from the İstanbul-based Taksim Trio. Born in Shafaram in Palestine, Hayek explains that the album was recorded in Istanbul because “Especially when you are musician, you need a lot of space and freedom that we don’t have in our lives”. His new album is released on the Turkish Doublemoon label and is not distributed in Israel or the Palestinian Authority. The English language Turkish website Sunday's Zaman has an essential interview with Hosam Hayek. I found Stranger in My Homeland in a French palace of serendipity, and, appropriately, the Taksim Trio featured in my 2008 post Bookshops and the state of the nation. Elsewhere there is music from a war zone.

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Comments

Pliable said…
Can anyone explain why, despite a number of attempts, Facebook blocks the automated upload of this post and the associated graphic of the album? - an upload procedure which has worked for every other post.

Could it be because Israel and the Palestinian authority are mentioned in the text?

As Hosam Hayek says in the linked interview - "“We live in hard circumstances with big hopes but narrow opportunities.”
11:47 am
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