Our 2019 OneBeat U.S. Mixtape represents some of the musical works that crystallized over the course of this month-long residency and tour. The theme for this year’s program was Human Ecologies -- which led us to use a musical lens to examine the ways groups of humans can interact in the spirit of collaboration and compassion. The OneBeat ecosystem is perhaps one-of-a-kind on the planet, in that it’s made up of an incredibly diverse collection of individuals with radically different musical approaches. And yet we are able to find a common spirit of unity, a respect and mutual admirations that binds the group together into a collective of artists who are truly accountable to one another. 

2019 Colombian Fellow Andrea Hoyos described this unexpectedly cohesive OneBeat ecosystem in “An Unlikely Thing We’ve Found” a song she co-wrote with U.S. Fellow Dylan McKinstry:  “For the past four weeks, a group of 35 people have been sharing sound, ideas, thoughts, laughter, dance steps, workshops, music, videos, movements, meals, sunrises, sunsets, walks to the beach, and thousands of other beautiful things. From the beginning of the residency, there was an energy in the air that got thicker as time passed by. The energy of love. Love as a decision. We did not know each other, yet from the beginning we were willing to become a family and a community. And that’s what we have become.”

OneBeat is an initiative of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in collaboration with the groundbreaking New York-based music organization Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation.

OneBeat Mixtape 2019

OneBeat is an initiative of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in collaboration with the groundbreaking New York-based music organization Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation.

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The OneBeat 2018 mixtape takes inspiration from Carl Sagan's famous 1971 Golden Record, sent into outer space aboard two Voyager spacecrafts, setting a human record for the farthest flung human LPs. Our OneBeat Golden Record record was produced by an international cadre of sonic explorers, and features all 24 of the OneBeat Fellows, who hail from 17 different human countries. And while we don't have the funds to launch physical copies of this record beyond the stratosphere, we do hope to circulate it widely within the known world.

This mixtape is divided into six chapters, which follow the path of the Voyagers from our home on Earth, around Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and into the great unknown Heliopause. Rather than follow existing traditions of assigning the planets meaning --per their Greek and Roman namesakes or astrological implications-- we have instead assigned the planets novel musical meanings.

The third installment of the Golden Record B-sides brings us to the ringed planet of Saturn. Here we move into the realm of hip-hop and creative sampling, led by The Edge, a collaboration between a group of OneBeat fellows and Brooklynite multimedia artist Boombayé.  

Recorded at The Atlantic Center for The Arts, Florida + Figure8, Brooklyn
Produced by Found Sound Nation
Engineered by Jeremy Thal + Christopher Botta
Mixed + Mastered by Jeremy Thal and Christopher Botta

Follow us; stay tuned, and let us know which tracks are making their way into your personal playlists!

www.1beat.org

OneBeat Mixtape 18: Golden Record B-Sides V.3 - Saturn

OneBeat is an initiative of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in collaboration with the groundbreaking New York-based music organization Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation.

----------

The OneBeat 2018 mixtape takes inspiration from Carl Sagan's famous 1971 Golden Record, sent into outer space aboard two Voyager spacecrafts, setting a human record for the farthest flung human LPs. Our OneBeat Golden Record record was produced by an international cadre of sonic explorers, and features all 24 of the OneBeat Fellows, who hail from 17 different human countries. And while we don't have the funds to launch physical copies of this record beyond the stratosphere, we do hope to circulate it widely within the known world.

This mixtape is divided into six chapters, which follow the path of the Voyagers from our home on Earth, around Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and into the great unknown Heliopause. Rather than follow existing traditions of assigning the planets meaning --per their Greek and Roman namesakes or astrological implications-- we have instead assigned the planets novel musical meanings.

Cold-hearted Uranus is dedicated to electronic sounds, fronted by LLLB (Love It Leave It Let it Burn) featuring Umlilo (Johannesburg), Luss (Bronx), and Nina Marie Fernando (Washington DC) and Malfnktion's (Delhi) downtempo Afterplace.  

Recorded at The Atlantic Center for The Arts, Florida + Figure8, Brooklyn
Produced by Found Sound Nation
Engineered by Jeremy Thal + Christopher Botta
Mixed + Mastered by Jeremy Thal and Christopher Botta

Follow us; stay tuned, and let us know which tracks are making their way into your personal playlists!
www.1beat.org

OneBeat Mixtape 18: Golden Record B-Sides V.4 - Uranus

The OneBeat Colombia 2019 mixtape presents the sonic results of this historic gathering of socially engaged musicians from Colombia, Venezuela, and the U.S. The first-ever OneBeat program on the South American continent, OneBeat Colombia took place in El Valle de Cauca, Bogotá, and Boyacá regions of Colombia in May-June of 2019.  The program focused on how music can serve as a healing force in situations of post conflict resolution, and how we can build lasting creative ties between these three countries. 

This mixtape includes a dizzying variety of genres, ranging from traditional to hiphop to experimental, and many genre combinations that the world may have never heard before, (such as traditional Armenian songs mixed with Pacifico Sur marimba patterns). Five of these mixtape tracks were also made into videos (El Celoso, Kilele, Para Consolación, and No Llores Mas -- check those out by visiting: www.youtube.com/foundsoundnation.

Produced and mixed by OneBeat co-founder Jeremy Thal, the OneBeat Colombia Mixtape also includes three tracks produced by 1B-Colombia staff member MonoKike (Patacoreo, Mucxs Chiques Chichiques, Pool Party), one produced by Santander de Quilichao-based Colombian fellow Chambimbe (Etiquétame), and two tracks mixed by U.S. fellow Tatev Yeghiazaryan (Junglas, Love it Shoots).

OneBeat is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, & produced by Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation. Additional support is provided by the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá and the U.S. Embassy in Caracas.

OneBeat Colombia Mixtape

Big Bang

Wael Jegham @a5tuna-tunis (Tunisia) - Electronics and Production
Aquil Charlton (USA) -  Vocals & Production

Gone Gone

Alon - New York, NY, July 27, 2013

This Guided Walk is part of OneBeat Virtual's Sonic Dive performance. To learn more visit, https://1beat.org/program/virtual-2021/

Everyone is invited in real time from different parts of the globe, to engage in a guided meditation, followed by a guided walk.This audio guide takes you for a short excursion, and is an attempt at facilitating a connection between the mind, body, and your environment. 

After the walk, the listener is prompted to :
Take a photo of where you ended up
Send us an audio recording/voice note on what you heard - describe it in words or record the actual sounds! 
Email to sanaya@foundsoundnation.org or upload to https://bit.ly/3BzxSdc

At the end of the piece, we’ll create a playlist of these crowd sourced field recordings from various parts of the globe.

OneBeat is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, & produced by Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation.

OneBeat Virtual - Sonic Dive Guided Walk

This playlist features the work of the Everything Old is New Again elective for OneBeat Virtual Session 2
Facilitated by Domenica Fossati 
With @sean-sanby, @irfana-hameed, Emmanuel Nkomo, @ganthermusic, and Alvaro Quisbert

How does a traditional song stand the test of time? 
How does this music connect us in our shared humanity? 

In this elective we explored how humans are able to reframe, revise, re-tell, and re-create the songs of their ancestors in ways that make them fresh and relevant to new generations.

Duerme Negrito

Sultana

Salwa Jaradat(Voice)
Firas Andari (Jawzah)
John Murchison(Qanun)
Dani Shukri(Drums)
Ali Hoot(Percussion)

Lyrics by Salwa Jaradat
Music by Firas Andari and John Murchison
Recorded by Ezra Tenenbaum
Mixing by Chris Botta and Ezra Tenenbaum
Mastered by Chris Botta

Last summer, we brought together 12 musicians from Lebanon, Syrian, Palestine and the U.S. as part of OneBeat Lebanon, our 5th international Abroad program. It was our first in-person program after a year and a half of pandemic semi-isolation, and came amidst Lebanon’s economic crisis and lingering anniversary of Beirut’s tragic port explosion. We gathered in the legendary downtown Beirut neighborhood of Hamra to share songs and stories, re-connect and create music to share at neighborhood fixtures Metro al Madina and Barzakh. Today we’re proud to share some of this music which we recorded together at One Hertz Studios and other spaces around Hamra. Link in bio to listen!

OneBeat Lebanon is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and produced by Found Sound Nation. This program was produced with the generous support of the Public Affairs Section at the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon. 

For more information, visit https://1beat.org/program/onebeat-lebanon/

Inta Mana Wala Mahom

Produced by Mustelide and Sean Angelo from material recorded at a street studio in Munich, Germany on June 21st, 2022

For more information visit www.makemusicday.org/national-projects/street-studio-cities and www.foundsoundnation.org

These Street Studio Cities, organized with Found Sound Nation and HARMAN, bring world-class DJs and producers onto the streets for Make Music Day, setting up their mobile recording studios in front of art galleries, on downtown plazas, and in parks. In one afternoon, producers invite passersby from the community to join in a completely improvised music creation session. At the end of the day, each producer mixes down one track, using only the material recorded on-site, to share the sounds of their city with the world.

Mustelide & Sean Angelo - Munich, Germany

Body (by Sohib)

Living space (by Anton)

Lando and Marina — Te Quiero

Vocals - Jenna Camille, Additional Instruments by Labib Benslama
Produced by Ibrahim OmarMokhtar, Jenna Camille and Labib Benslama, Mixed by Chris Botta

Blending hip hop, gnawa, Maghreb electronica, soul, desert rock and more over eight tracks, the OneBeat Sahara Mixtape was written and recorded during the three week North African residency and tour program this past spring based Taghit and Algiers. Bringing together 23 genre-bending artists from Algeria, Morocco, Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, Libya, Tunisia and the United States, and led by Co-Artistic Directors Chakib Bouzidi, Domenica Fossati and Haile Supreme, OneBeat Sahara encouraged musicians to  "collaboratively create original work and to explore black diasporic musical traditions that traveled from Africa to the Americas, and back to Africa again". 

For more information, visit https://1beat.org/program/onebeat-sahara/


OneBeat Sahara is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State Department of Educational and Cultural Affairs, produced by Bang On A Can’s Found Sound Nation and The U.S. Embassy Algeria, in partnership with the Algerian Ministry of Culture, and with additional support from The U.S. Embassy in Niger, The U.S. Embassy in Tunisia, The U.S. Embassy in Libya, The U.S. Embassy in Mali, The U.S. Embassy in Mauritania and The U.S. Embassy in Morocco.

The Water

Vocals - Jenna Camille, Additional Instruments by Labib Benslama
Produced by Ibrahim OmarMokhtar, Jenna Camille and Labib Benslama, Mixed by Chris Botta

OneBeat Sahara is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State Department of Educational and Cultural Affairs, produced by Bang On A Can’s Found Sound Nation and The U.S. Embassy Algeria, in partnership with the Algerian Ministry of Culture, and with additional support from The U.S. Embassy in Niger, The U.S. Embassy in Tunisia, The U.S. Embassy in Libya, The U.S. Embassy in Mali, The U.S. Embassy in Mauritania and The U.S. Embassy in Morocco.

Tell Them No

Aziz azzi ozouss - Vocals & ribab 
Nazim Bakour - Guitar 
Hadja Fanta - Vocals
Karim Bourass - VOCALS & Mandole
Produced by Aziz Azzi Ozouss & Nazim bakour
Mixed by Chris Botta. Additional Engineering by Simo Chafai

For more information, visit https://1beat.org/program/onebeat-sahara/


OneBeat Sahara is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State Department of Educational and Cultural Affairs, produced by Bang On A Can’s Found Sound Nation and The U.S. Embassy Algeria, in partnership with the Algerian Ministry of Culture, and with additional support from The U.S. Embassy in Niger, The U.S. Embassy in Tunisia, The U.S. Embassy in Libya, The U.S. Embassy in Mali, The U.S. Embassy in Mauritania and The U.S. Embassy in Morocco.

Gnaoua Spirit

"Elenna Canlas: lead & BG vocals,
keyboards & synthesizers,
programming/sampling, songwriter, composer
• Hadja Fanta Diabeté: lead & BG vocals,
acoustic guitar, songwriter
• Nazim Bakour: BG vocals, electric guitar,
composer
• Hind Ennaira: BG vocals, guembri
• Esraa Warda: guellel"

Produced by Elenna Canlas, recorded and mixed by Chris Botta

Hala

Vocals - Nappy Nina
Vocals & Guitar - Bouba
Guitar - Garba Oumar Tourè
Drums - Matt Evans
Vocals - Raja Kateb
Vocals - Haile Supreme

Produced and Mixed by Chris Botta
Additional Production by Matt Evans

OneBeat Sahara is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State Department of Educational and Cultural Affairs, produced by Bang On A Can’s Found Sound Nation and The U.S. Embassy Algeria, in partnership with the Algerian Ministry of Culture, and with additional support from The U.S. Embassy in Niger, The U.S. Embassy in Tunisia, The U.S. Embassy in Libya, The U.S. Embassy in Mali, The U.S. Embassy in Mauritania and The U.S. Embassy in Morocco.

Rachid And Fethi

Sound engineers are typically the unsung heroes of music festivals. Recording ace Misha Goldman, however, can sing pretty darn well himself -- throat sing that is. Dashing between his Big Ears responsibilities, Misha belted out some growling overtones. Before the day’s torrential downpour put an end to our outdoor studio (for shame, rain!), we squeezed in some lilting phrases by Laith Keilany, a masterful player on oud, mandolin and a couple of other strings of his own inventions.

Shame Rain - Knoxville, TN, March 29 2014

Recorded by Leo Sidran @leo-sidran at Let 'Em in Studio, Brooklyn
Additional recording by Yang Fan in Beijing, China
Ruth Danon @ruthdanon - Vocals, Keyboard
Yang Fan - Guitar
Elena Moon Park @emprojects - Violin
Jeremy Thal @jeremythal - French Horn

Habayit Sheli

Strawberry

Sky Song

SAVE

RHYTHM

REFENTSE

Vho Alilali

Muneyi Song

MOY WA LERATO

MODUMO WA MEROPA

Jam 8 -

Council

CLAPTRAP

Vincent

Recorded in February, 2020 at the Artist's Institute in Jacmel, Haiti

Hippop

Racine

Anna Roberts-Gevalt (USA) - Vocals & Guitar 
Peni Candra Rini @peni-candra-rini (Indonesia) -  Vocals 
Kyla-Rose Smith @kyla-rose-smith (South Africa) - Violin
Neil Chua @neilchua(Malaysia) - Ruan 
Sara Lucas @sara-lucas-974634158 (USA) - Vocals

OneBeat Mixtape 2014 - Butterfly Song

Recorded on June 21st, 2016 by producers Noga Erez & Ori Rousso, this track incorporates sampled sounds and improvised performances by passersby in Tel Aviv, Israel. This track is part of Street Studio Cities, an international public music project organized by Found Sound Nation, Harman and Make Music Day.

Visit foundsoundnation.org & makemusicday.org for more information.

Nora Erez & Ori Rousso - Tel Aviv Israel

Recorded on June 21st by producers Noga Erez & Ori Rousso, this track incorporates sampled sounds and improvised performances by passersby in Tel Aviv, Israel. This track is part of Street Studio Cities, an international public music project organized by Found Sound Nation, Harman and Make Music Day.

Visit foundsoundnation.org & makemusicday.org for more information.

Levontin By Noga Erez & Ori Rousso - Tel Aviv Israel

This concert was recorded live at the SantralIstanbul at Bilgi University in April, 2016.

OneBeat Istanbul brings together young socially-engaged musicians from Turkey’s many ethnic backgrounds and those temporarily fleeing conflict, with musicians from the U.S. to collaboratively invent music-driven projects that contribute to building resilient civil societies. OneBeat Istanbul is a public/private initiative in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, Bilgi University Department of Music, and Found Sound Nation.

For more information, please visit 1beat.org/projects/onebeat-istanbul/

Gorani | Rain and Snow

Produced by Rotimi
Featuring sounds recorded on location in Lagos, Nigeria on June 21st, 2017
Recorded for Street Studio Cities 2017, a project by Found Sound Nation (www.foundsoundnation.org) & Make Music Day (www.makemusicday.org)

Rotimikeys - Your Love - Lagos, Nigeria

Negcha is a reimagining of a traditional Gnawa song led by Agadir-based guembri player Mehdi Nassouli, accompanied by touches of tremolo guitar, pulsating synths and bubbling percussion.

Traditional Gnawa 
Mehdi Nassouli - Vocals, Guembri, Karkaba, Riq, Background vocals, Djembe
Mehdi Qamoum - Guembri, Karkaba, Background Vocals
Livia Mattos - Accordion
Paulo Sartori - Electric Guitar
Yu Hsin Chang - Percussion
Natallia Kunitskaya - Synthesizer
Devin Greenwood - Synthesizer, Bass, Additional Percussion

Negcha (Neu Gnawa)

from Suites For A Broken Orchestra
Produced by Diego Abelardo (@diegoabelardo)using the Symphony For A Broken Orchestra Sample Bank.
* All samples provided by Found Sound Nation and Symphony For A Broken Orchestra.
Symphony for a Broken Orchestra was commissioned by Temple Contemporary at The Tyler School of Art. Major support is provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from the Barra Foundation.

Ideia Comum - Diego Abelardo

from Suites For A Broken Orchestra
Produced by Derick Gomes (@notquietsound)using the Symphony For A Broken Orchestra Sample Bank.
* All samples provided by Found Sound Nation and Symphony For A Broken Orchestra.
Symphony for a Broken Orchestra was commissioned by Temple Contemporary at The Tyler School of Art. Major support is provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from the Barra Foundation.

Broken Bones - NOTQUiETSOUND

Composed by Simone Bridges
Vocals + Programming - Nina Bridges
Vocals - Umlilo
Vocals - Nina Fernando
Andrés Rigau - Cuatro

High Socks

Street Studio recorded outside Creative Alliance, Baltimore
Produced by Jeremy Thal and Luss

Vocals - Gugulethu Duma
Vocals - Luss 
Vocals - Carlos Bejarano
Clarinet - Zsolt Bartek

9 Times Out Of 10

Composed by Ali Santana and Gugulethu Duma

Vocals - Gugulethu Duma 
Programming - Boombayé
Winds - José Gavilondo
Drums - Dylan Greene

The Edge with Boombayé

Composed by Younes Kati
Bass, Vocals, Percussions - Younes Kati
Cuatro - Andres Riggau 
Flutes - Zolt Bartek 
Horns - Elena Moon Park, Jeremy Thal + Tsanta Randriamihajasoa
Vocals - Lucianne Dom, Margaryta Kulichova, Akinyemi, Elena Moon Park, Ricardo Nigaglioni

AfroGnawa

Street Studio recorded at Creative Alliance, Baltimore
Produced by Jeremy Thal

Vocals - Akinyemi
Vocals - Luss
Vocals - Gugulethu Duma
Vocals - Nina Bridges
Rap - Aditya Alamuru
Karede - Nursalim Yadi Anugerah
Drum Programming - Travon Henry AKA eu-IV 
Programming - Jeremy Thal

Adi Raps

Written by Margaryta Kulichova + Akinyemi

Vocals - Margaryta Kulichova
Vocals + Programming - Akinyemi

I Don't Wanna Be Strong

Composed by Umlilo, Nina Fernando, Ricardo Nigaglioni + Tsanta Randriamihajasoa

Vocals - Umlilo 
Vocals - Nina Fernando
Vocals - Luss
Moog - Tsanta Randriamihajasoa
Programming - Jeremy Thal

LLB (Love It Leave It Let It Burn)

Recorded as part of the Bronx Museum Bronx Speaks project. Featuring the voice and story of Esther Afum, owner of Eddie's African Market in The Bronx.

Programming - Aditya Almaru

Esther's Interview

Written by Aditya Almuru, Zsolt Bartek, Andrés Rigau + Lucianne Dom

Vocals - Luciane Dom 
Clarinet - Zsolt Bartek
Cuatro - Andrés Rigau
Programming - Aditya Almuru

4 AM

Written by Akinyemi + Carlos Bejarano (aka Kike Milmarias)

Vocals - Akinyemi
Bass + Programming - Carlos Bejarano

Whose To Say

Produced and Mixed by Jeremy Thal
Featuring Street Studio participants in Buenaventura, Colombia, MonoKike and Chambimbe

Recorded at a Street Studio at the Escuela Taller in Buenaventura, Colombia, Pacifico Fuerte y Libre was mixed from a collectively improvised recording session based at this well-respected center for culture and education in Buenaventura, a city known for its rich cultural traditions and the brutal gap between the wealth entering the port (which accounts for 60% of Colombia’s shipping traffic) and the extreme poverty of the majority of its residents. This piece begins with the defiant and proud voice of a very young rapper who says “I’m going to demonstrate to you what a child can achieve. I always focus on reality, and I’m never going to let them beat me down.” The chorus then intones: “We are one people — a Pacific [region] strong and free.”

OneBeat Colombia Mixtape - Pacifico Fuerte y Libre

Produced by MonoKike
Mastered by Jeremy Thal
Featuring Monokike and Austin Ashford

Pool Party (aka “Viva Colombia”) features poet and rapper Austin Ashford (originally from the Bay Area, now pursuing his doctorate in Texas), A break from some of the other headier OneBeat Colombia Mixtape tracks, this electro-cumbia track celebrates the fun side of Colombia, which Austin was exploring for the first time.

OneBeat Colombia Mixtape - Pool Party

Produced by MonoKike
Mastered by Jeremy Thal
Featuring: MonoKike, Mathieu Ruz (voice), Maria Betania (violin and cuatro), Adrián Viáfara (marimba), Eryen Ortíz Garcés (voice)

Patacoreo, produced by Bogota-based producer MonoKike, is an electronic piece that mixes together various traditions from different regions of the country. The rhythmic base of the piece is the trance-inducing 6/8 rhythm typical of the Pacifico Sur style, which is driven by marimba, bombo (bass drum), and guasá — a local shaker. This is mixed with a song from Palenque, another afro-Colombian musical tradition from the Atlantic coast, wonderfully performed by Mathieu Ruz.

OneBeat Colombia Mixtape - Patacoreo

Recorded by Jeremy Thal
Featuring: Mathieu Ruz (vocals), Daniela Serna (tambor alegre), Martin Masakowski (bass), María Betania Hernández (cuatro and violin), Adrián Viáfara (marimba), Sincerity (vocals) y Fabián Sanchez (percussion)

No Te Olivido was created by a OneBeat ensemble which focused on how the many years of conflict in Colombia, and the region at large have led to "Forgetting." This collaboratively composed song, meaning "I will not forget you," talks about how love impels us to remember "what we want to be."

OneBeat Colombia Mixtape - No Te Olvido

Recorded by Jeremy Thal
Traditional Bullerengue song featuring original verses by Mathieu Ruz and new chords by Andres Pinzón
Featuring: Mathieu Ruz (voice), Januar Palacios (clarinet), Andres Pinzón (guitar)

Lucero De La Mañana features the enigmatic voice of Mathieu Ruz, a Barranquilla-based singer and scholar of the traditional afro-colombian musics of the Carribean coast. This track is a re-imagination of a Bullerengue song which tells of a man gazing on a morning star (lucero) and asking “why didn’t you wake me, when my beloved departed?” For the rest of the song, Mathieu improvised his own original verses. On this recording he is accompanied by two master musicians from the Pacific side of the country: Quibdo’s clarinet wizard Januar Palacios, and Cali’s very own guitar hero Andres Pinzón (Herencia de Timbiqui, Pacifican Power). 

Lucero es una colaboración entre la enigmatica voz de Mathieu Ruz, Cantante conocerdor de la tradición musical afrocolombiana de la costa caribe. Esta canción es una reversión del bullerengue que cuenta la historia de un hombre que mira el lucero  y pregunta "por que no me despertaste cuando se fue mi consuelo" En el resto de la canción, Mathieu improvisa sobre sus propios versos. En esta grabación, él está acompañado por dos maestros del pacífico colombiano: El mago Januar Palacios clarinetista de Quibdó y el gran guitarrista Andrés Pinzón (Herencia de Timbiquí, Pacifican Power).

OneBeat Colombia Mixtape - Lucero De La Mañana

“Patinada” is a piece composed by Brazilian Fellow Juliano Abramovay, who explained that “Patinada's are songs that you sing while wandering around in the streets.” Juliano wrote this song while in Thessaloniki, in collaboration with Andre Goldfeder @andre-goldfeder, who wrote the lyrics. The song finds itself in between several cultures, as “there is some eastern Mediterranean influence in it, but you can also hear the northeast of Brazil there at some points.” For this recording, Juliano played Oud, and was accompanied by Chakib Bouzidi (Algeria) on Kamélé N’goni, Shruti Bhave (India) on Violin, Dylan McKinstry (US) on Mandolin, and the voice of fellow Brazilian Yantó. 

Written by Juliano Abramovay
São Yantó @saoyanto - Vocals
Chakib Bouzidi  - Kamélé + N’goni
Shruti Bhave @user-553981206 - Violin
Dylan McKinstry @dylan-mckinstry  - Mandolin
Juliano Abramovay @julianoabramovay - Oud
Recorded by Dylan McKinstry at The Atlantic Center for The Arts
Mixed by Christopher Botta + Jeremy Thal 
Mastered by Christopher Botta

Patinada

“Too Much to Digest” was recorded on the last day of OneBeat 2019, when the group was staying in the mountains of western North Carolina. Ivy Alexander (Kenya) laid down chord patterns on guitar, and Lwandile (South Africa) pulled out a very personal verse that he had recently penned about his ambivalence of the role of formal education in South Africa. He reflected: “I had just completed my graphic design studies, but I felt like I hadn’t done enough despite the 3 years I’d spent. Was I even ready to enter the working world? The year was almost over so I was reflecting on it and introspecting. I tend to overthink easily, so those thoughts just led to many others, I was turning stones that weren’t even within my radius at that time.” Building off this beat and rapped verse, OneBeat lead producer Jeremy Thal added drums, a bassline, and samples of the voice of Shibani Sur (India). 

Written by Lwandile Nkanyuza, Ivy Alexander @ivy-m-alexander and Jeremy Thal
ByLwansta @lwansta - MC 
Shibani Sur @shibani-sur-official - Vocals
Jeremy Thal @jeremythal - Production 
Recorded by Jeremy Thal at the YMCA Blue Mountain Assembly
Mixed by Christopher Botta  + Jeremy Thal
Mastered by Christopher Botta

Too Much To Digest feat ByLwansta

“Mimoun Sadiye” is a song from the Moroccan Gnawa tradition, which has its roots in sub-saharan African music and spirituality. Led by singer and Guembri-player Farid Ghannam, this version of Mimoun Sadiye incorporates two Latin American percussionists: Jenn del Tambó (Colombia) and Rodney Barreto (Cuba). The four members of this ensemble --rounded out by Algerian Fellow Chakib Bouzidi-- found this combination of musical styles particularly meaningful, as the lyrics speak about the journey of enslaved peoples from sub-saharan Africa to Morocco, and on ships sailing to the Americas. Both Jenn and Rodney play music that is very much part of African diasporic traditions, and the group found a unique swing in the uncharted rhythmic terrain between these two sides of the Atlantic. The track was recorded live in the library at the Atlantic Center for the Arts during the first week of the OneBeat residency.

Traditional arranged by Farid Ghannam
Farid Ghannam @ghannamfarid - Lead Vocals, Guembri, Krakebs + Electric Guitar
Rodney Barreto  - Drum Set
Chakib Bouzidi @ifrikyaspirit - Backing Vocals + Gnibri
Jenn del Tambó - Tambo Alegre
Recorded by Jeremy Thal at The Atlantic Center for The Arts
Mixed by Christopher Botta + Jeremy Thal
Mastered by Christopher Botta

Mimoun Sadiye

"Ilay Lalana” (meaning “the way”) is a composition by Malagasymulti-instrumentalist, arranger and composer Jax Ravel. He wrote it in the Tsapiky musical style, which is often associated with traditional ceremonies, particularly funerals in Madagascar. Jax wrote the song to play with Kenyan Fellow Ivy Alexander on bass and Cuban drummer . “The song and its melodies are one of the ways I chose to illustrate the life paths God had me go through and at the same time, it expresses the joyful thrill one feels when a challenge is successfully overcome (so, the obstacles are dead). That's why its title is Ilay Lalana which means ‘the way."

Written by Jax Ravel
Jax Ravel @jax-ravel-2 - Electric Guitar
Ivy Alexander @ivy-m-alexander - Bass
Rodney Barreto - Drums
Recorded by Jeremy Thal at The Atlantic Center for The Arts
Mixed by Christopher Botta + Jeremy Thal
Mastered by Christopher Botta

Ilay Lalana (The Way)

“Chha Gham” (In the Light of the Shadow) was written by OneBeat’s first-ever Nepalese fellow, Jason Kunwar. It tells of a star-crossed romance between lovers from different castes. The lyrics are translated as:

There is light, thus shadow 
The heart, thus yearning for love
Your hand embraces me
Your spirit holds me together.

Show me the dreams that are sweet
Bury the bitter reality in oblivion
Ask your heart if there is a room for love
Uphill and downhill, I am a wandering wind
Open your eyes, speak up, say something.

The arrangement was developed with Bailak Mongush, a percussionist and drummer from the Tuvan Republic in eastern Russia. Bailak played vibraphone on the initial recording, and overdubbed a series of drum and percussion parts. 

Written by Jason Kunwar
Jason Kunwar @jason-kunwar- Vocals + Sarangi
Bailak Mongush - Vibes + Percussion
Mixed by Christopher Botta + Jeremy Thal
Mastered by Christopher Botta

Chha Gham (In the Light of the Shadow)

“Mvua” was written collaboratively by Kenyan guitarist Ivy Alexander and New Orleans-based composer and multi-instrumentalist free feral.  Meaning “rain” in Swahili, Mvua began as a set of chords created by Ivy, capturing the sombre mood of a rainy day during the OneBeat residency in Florida. After hearing the guitar pattern, free developed a set of melodies that fit Ivy’s sonic atmosphere, adding lyrics that compare the falling of rain to falling in love: “I’m floating on a cloud, and then suddenly I’m tumbling down…” free then added a set of viola harmonies that fill out the emotional texture of this poignant song.

Written by free feral and Ivy Alexander
free feral @free-feral - Vocals + Viola
Ivy Alexander@ivy-m-alexander - Guitar
Recorded by Jeremy Thal
Mixed by Christopher Botta + Jeremy Thal
Mastered by Christopher Botta

Mvua

Recorded in 2009, by Found Sound Nation at Ashram Paryavarn Vidhyalaya School (APV) in India.

Meditation Guide (Short Version)

Found Sound Nation (FSN) is a collective of musicians and artists who leverage the unique power of creative sound-making to help build strong, just, healthy communities. We believe that the art of listening extends far beyond the practice of making music — it is one of the major ways we can become aware of the beauty, tragedy, and hidden potential present in our neighborhoods, institutions and families. Our work emphasizes a mobile, accessible, collaborative way of recording and producing professional quality music, a technique developed by combining the innovative art music traditions of musique concréte, hip hop, audio-journalism, and contemporary composition. This method is highly adaptable to different environments, based on finding the unique sounds and resonances of each space, drawing upon the talents of musicians in the local scene, and examining issues most relevant to each community.

To get in touch, write us at around@foundsoundnation.org.

Found Sound Nation

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