This was originally an Algerian folk song that was sung in Arabic. Taha, Khaled, and Faudel released a rocking' live version of this in 1998. We have reimagined it into a lullaby. Babies everywhere can ease into slumber with the beautiful melodies of Ms. Kader. 

Abdel Kader (feat. Hanady Kader)

This is an original song written for a personal hero of mine who lived her life in utter devotion to the oppressed and downtrodden. This song would not be possible without the time and generosity of Tony and Annetta Boyajian. While in Berlin, they brought us to various sites related to the life of Rosa Luxemburg. Upon visiting the canal in which she was senselessly murdered by the Freikorps, it was this passage from one of her letters that reverberated through me:

“You didn’t take me seriously, Mathilde, did you? Yes, laugh about it. On my grave as in my life there will be no conceited phrases. My tombstone may have only two syllables on it: 'tsvee-tsvee.' That’s the call of the tom-tits, and I can imitate it so well that they come running here right away. It’s usually a clear, fine sound, as sparkling as a steel needle. But imagine! For some days now there’s been a very small warble in this tsvee-tsvee, a tiny chest note. And do you know what that means? That is the first rustling of the coming spring. Despite snow and frost and loneliness, we - the tom-tits and I - believe in the coming spring. And if I don’t get to experience it because of my impatience, then don’t forget: nothing should be on my tombstone except 'tsvee-tsvee.' "

-Rosa Luxemburg

The Spring (feat. Hanady Kader)

This is an original song written to be performed for my wife at our wedding. There is a weary beauty and deep love that resides in the history of enduring relationships. This song is a meditation on that notion. 

The Same Way (feat. Hanady Kader)

This song is a meditation on the fervor of revolutionaries during the early 20th century. These figures had a willingness to sacrifice everything in the unlikely goal of radically transforming society. I have always been drawn to these figures, for their sheer commitment to a cause, but at the same time, felt repulsed by their willingness to oppress and kill in the name of communism. Most revolutionaries would sacrifice everything, yet simply be relegated to the footnotes of history. However, this piece personally focuses on someone who did achieve prominence, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, also known as Lenin. I ventured to the Elizarov Apartment in St. Petersburg where he stayed shortly prior to the revolution, and could feel the traces of him through the personal items left behind. Most startling was the wheelchair he eventually died in, which was brought from Moscow and left on display there. The last item of a man on fire left an indelible impression on me. This is the song that it sang.

Mona Atallah's Album

Only For You (feat. Hanady Kader)

This song is about the experience of an adolescent Lev Davidovich Bronstein, also known as Leon Trotsky. After reading “My Life,” his autobiography, I could not shake the image of his father riding him on a carriage at night across the steppe of Yanovka, Ukraine. I could vividly imagine peasant fires in the distance as this sleepy young boy faded in and out of sleep, rocked by the irregular beat of the carriage rhythms. This is a prophetic song, where an unaware figure in his youth passes by the lives of those he will determine the fate of in the near future. Countless lives will die from oppression and famine, yet he passes by in what feels like a dream. The fascinating thing is, when I went back to find the small reference to this experience in his book, I could not locate it. I realized that I had imagined this instance and created this vision in my head. Nonetheless, this song is about that very place.

The Steppe of Yanovka (feat. Hanady Kader)

A Home

The third and final song is about Isaac Emmanuilovich Babel, who was not a revolutionary, but rather a Jewish writer who fell victim to the movement in Russia. He is most famous for his Red Cavalry stories, in which he road along with revolutionary soldiers when the Soviets invaded Poland in 1920. This bespectacled Jewish writer was an unlikely candidate to venture alongside Cossacks and witness slaughter and bloodshed. However, he wrote some of the most startling prose about the Jewish struggle, the drive of the communist movement, and the tragedy of war. He became renowned for his short stories in Russia, which were brutally honest in the depiction of imperfect individuals and the horrors of violence. Eventually, Stalin had him brought in, interrogated, wrongfully accused, and killed. Like so many others, the Great Purges wiped out countless artists and intelligentsia for the sake of one man’s power and paranoia. After being tortured and forced to give false confessions, Babel’s last words were, “I am innocent. I have never been a spy. I never allowed any action against the Soviet Union. I accused myself falsely. I was forced to make false accusations against myself and others…I am asking for only one thing - let me finish my work.”

A Home (feat. Handay Kader)

This track features a soundscape from the house I grew up in. The song itself is an original and a meditation on the the passage of time in a single space. The instrument featured in the song is a Ronroco, which is native to Bolivia. Its younger brother, the Charango, traditionally was left by a river so that water spirits could inhabit it. Therefore, not only is it a fitting accompaniment but its cyclical nature was the perfect medium for this sentiment.

Here Through Time

This is an original song that has taken ten years to find its time. The soundscape of rustling poplar leaves weave in and out of the piece, for they are the reason for which this song was written. The song is about what it means to say goodbye to a place that has has been a witness to your countless lives. Places define us and this one has been the hardest one to let go.

Stay

Right before the birth of my son, I recorded the doppler ultrasound of his heartbeat. It had this relentless gallop to it and I knew at that moment it was destined to become the centerpiece of a song. This piece is experimental and represents the evolution of early life. It imagines the sheer will that alone careens us from the void into existence, the declaration of the growing heartbeat, and the explosion of all that is to come upon birth. This is for you, my dear Atlas.

Into The Sun

Memories of home can elicit a nostalgia so strong that it transcends feeling, and becomes nearly palpable. This song puts an outline around that feeling, in the form of a singer having an intimate conversation with her homeland. She relives memories like her first love, addressing her hometown directly like two old friends catching up over coffee and yearning for a time gone by. The song is called 'Helwa Ya Baladi' which translates to 'Beautiful, O Homeland' and originally sung in 1979 by Dalida, an Egyptian-born singer of Italian heritage who sang in Arabic, French, Italian, and English. 

We were finishing this song as the devastating wildfires in California were at their peak, and the nation watched helplessly as people lost homes. The stories of those who fled the fires and left everything behind touched us. We dedicate this song to all those who endured the California wildfires. If their homes are no longer standing, we hope they take comfort in the precious memories they created there.

Helwa Ya Baladi (feat. Hanady Kader)

"When we're young, we see life as an ocean of endless possibility and we stand fearlessly to face it. As time passes, we worry about the undertow, the depth, and all the reasons we shouldn't swim, but the desire remains. Sometimes you just have to turn off the fear and dive into the blue. I dedicate this song to my kids and I hope they are never afraid to get their feet wet, to take risks, and to live every minute with at least some reckless abandon" - Dan

Searching

Three teachers found a sound on a weathered junior high stage. The magic of this room has been our muse and we hope to share with you the songs it gave to us.

Searching

The Drama Room

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