International Peace Day

@ Banksy

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BANKSY, MASSIVE ATTACK AND BRISTOL: IN CONVERSATION WITH FREQUENCY 21 MAGAZINE

Hello English speakers. Here is the result of my discussion with a young writer for the Frequency 21 Magazine online.

We talked about Bristol, Banksy and of course Massive Attack, ahead of my book release. Enjoy!

IN CONVERSATION WITH MELISSA CHEMAM
Written by Leah Bennett

Our article on the newest Banksy theory received lots of views with some agreeing with Craig William’s claim that Banksy was in fact 3D from Massive Attack. One of those who disagreed was Melissa Chemam, a writer from France who has a book on Banksy, Bristol and Massive Attack. Following this, we thought it would be great to sit down with Melissa and find out more about her book.

Her book Out of the Comfort Zone – Massive Attack to Banksy, the story of a group of artists, their city, Bristol, and Their Revolutions focuses on how the community that you come from can inspire you throughout your life. 

The book also addresses the rumour that 3D from Massive Attack and Banksy are intertwined.   

INTERVIEW:

What sort of background do you have?

I’ve been a journalist for 12 years, I studied at a university in Paris. I studied European Literature, political sciences and journalism.  I started working for magazines when I was 24, about culture, music and literature mainly, and then I was hired on a news channel and I have been a reporter about international affairs for about 10 years. It’s a very competitive environment.  I think what helped a lot was the chance to be an intern, to be there quite young even if you’re not really paid. Later, I lived in Miami, where I was reporting about the Obama campaign in 2008, and then I worked with the BBC Work Service from 2009 about African News and that’s what I’m doing mainly right now through different media in Europe and America.

How did you manage to get into journalism?

Well when I was a child, I had this passion for my little globe and I wanted to travel everywhere and I wasn’t sporty or very good with my hands so I was better at things like having a great memory so I thought the best way to travel would be to be a writer or a journalist.  When I was in high school I had a huge passion for history and social studies and interaction with different cultures and I had a strong appeal for the English language so I wanted to live abroad.  The Eurostar came about when I was 16/17 so my first trip abroad without my parents was when I was in London and so I started writing for very local things.

Tell us about the book you’ve written on ‘Banksy and Massive Attack, Out of the Comfort Zone – Massive Attack to Banksy, the story of a group of artists, their city, Bristol, and their revolutions’ what was the inspiration for this book?

I wanted to write about Massive Attack especially because I knew they had a strong relationship with their city so I thought I could write something special about the environment where they come from and the society at the time in the UK through them.  I was involving their relationship with their city and why Bristol at the time was so special.  Also I thought that it was a very positive story it’s about being very young and using hip hop and music you could express your own view on the world. It’s about expressing who you are from the start, though you are not what the society considers "important".  Also I’m a big of their music and I know all their albums by heart. The lead singer from Massive Attack is a graffiti artist himself and I knew that he inspired Banksy, yet I realised that most people had forgotten about it!  Banksy has become this own huge phenomenon so I thought it might be interesting to go back to that and both of them have a very strong view on political issues, on the world around them, they’ve travelled a lot and they’ve tried to express that through what they create.

What is it that you like about Massive Attack?

What attracted me a lot was that when I was younger, I had a passion for soul music and RnB and then growing up and as a teenager you become oh so much more interesting and then I was very much into Radiohead, very rockish music, but very deep.  Massive Attack had all of that.

What is it about Banksy that you like?

It’s the political message that appeals to me first because I’ve travelled to Africa and I’ve worked with the BBC and I was really always very inspired by the fact that an artist or musician could make so much noise about an issue that I’ve struggled with as a journalist.  They can force people to go and have a look at what’s happening in the world.  They do it in a very inspiring way.  The mystery of Banksy being so powerful yet nobody knows who he is, it’s obviously a great story.

What do you think about the popular opinion that Banksy, rather than being one person is a group of people?

I ask around and I understand the thought because he’s done so much and has been to so many places and has gotten away with it.  He’s got away with stuff you can’t do like he put a manikin in Disneyworld figuring Guantanamo Prison, how could somebody do that on their own? I asked the question to the people who saw him arise from Bristol and they told me “No he’s one person!” It doesn’t mean that nobody was ever with him.  But he is himself, he’s one person.

What do you think of the claim that Craig Williams made of Banksy being part of Massive Attack?

Well I’m very surprised that Craig William’s blog has been spread out so widely. I had seen it a few months ago and it was just a blog and then suddenly, because I think Massive Attack were playing back home in Bristol for the first time in a decade, the Daily Mail and the Sun picked up the blog so that they could probably attract people on their website. Because Banksy is such a big thing for media, anytime you say something funny about him, it just takes people along. If you look at the little evidence of who Banksy could be, for example when he appeared on his film and he was masked, he appears a little younger and a little taller, he’s a different person.

Do you think there is any connection at all between Banksy and Massive Attack?

Obviously what is interesting is that there are very strong links between Banksy and the band, he is a very big fan, he’s been around them quite a lot, he said in his own book. And in Massive Attack’s visual history (3D and The Art of Massive Attack), he’s quoted saying that Massive Attack's leader, 3D, who is a graffiti artist, massively inspired him as a kid because of what he did with the walls and the murals as different from tagging your name, it was a passion and it was already very political so it’s an inspiration.  There’s a spin of inspiration between the two, they foster a lot of energy from each other.  They have a strong link that’s for sure but there’s no real trace that they could be the same person, absolutely not.  

Maybe he’s just a fan, maybe he’s just a friend. If you compare what they create as visual artists, it’s very different.  Of course Banksy has been inspired by the use of stencil by 3D, when he was really young. At the time in the mid 80’s, stencil was considered cheating - it was too easy, it was the era of free-hand. But because 3D was a mini hero in Bristol, he was able to do anything he wanted, he used stencils to apply very famous figures inside his murals, like Robert de Niro, Marylyn Monroe, Margaret thatcher.  It was playful and I’m pretty sure that it was this, among other things, that inspired Banksy. But apart from that, 3D has really moved on with his work.  Artistically they’ve evolved so differently.

On a whole, your book focuses strongly on the art scene in Bristol, how was it that you got into that?

Well I think that the starting point was when I was reporting in the Central African Republic two years ago about a civil war, when I came back home, it was difficult to adjust again, I was a bit depressed because of the impact of journalism.  It was at this time, when I had this feeling that I didn’t connect with my city anymore, Paris, this feeling of being alone and it was the very same week that Massive Attack travelled to Lebanon to support Palestinian refugees.  

Suddenly I had this feeling that we shared so many values.

I lived in London years ago and I really liked London because it’s really big and really mixed, and Bristol is too. I suddenly had this conviction that all their intellectual view son the world came from their city. Nothing has been really written about Bristol, I think people had forgotten about it. Bristol has a strong music scene, all the street art there has a very strong impact of the Caribbean culture and I thought it deserved to be in the spotlight.

As a magazine, we try to promote journalism as a career path for young people and help them get on their way. What advice would you give to those wanting to join the industry?

My main advice is that to be a journalist or in communication you have to be really passionate, you have to write about what you like and what you know.  Trust your gut, pick a topic that is strong to you, always try to remain true.  If you’re really true to what you believe in, work really hard and stay who you are, it doesn’t come easily at first but then one day it’ll pay off, it’s got meaning. What our society needs nowadays is journalists that are really fighting for something that they really think is important.  It’s about being committed to the community.

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The book is a fantastic read and will be of interest to anyone who enjoys art, music, literature or just wants to learn more about the culture that Bristol has. For our readers who are aspiring journalists, Melissa provided us with a great insight into the world of journalism and we would definitely heed her advice when thinking about joining the industry. 


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Link to the site: f21mag.com

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Update, March 2019:

The book is now out in English, find it here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Massive-Attack-Out-Comfort-Zone/dp/1910089729

Discovering poet Nayyirah Waheed

Beautiful words, beautiful ideas...

“you broke the ocean in half to be here. only to meet nothing that wants you. – immigrant” 
― Nayyirah Waheed, Salt

“you
not wanting me
was
the beginning of me
wanting myself
thank you” 
― Nayyirah Waheed

“expect sadness
like
you expect rain.
both,
cleanse you.” 
― Nayyirah Waheed

“remember,
you were a writer 
before
you ever 
put 
pen to paper.
just because you were not writing 
externally. 
does not mean you were not writing
internally.” 
― Nayyirah Waheed

“Someone can be madly in love with you and still not be ready. They can love you in a way you have never been loved and still not join you on the bridge. And whatever their reasons you must leave. Because you never ever have to inspire anyone to meet you on the bridge. You never ever have to convince someone to do the work to be ready. There is more extraordinary love, more love that you have never seen, out here in this wide and wild universe. And there is the love that will be ready.” 
― Nayyirah Waheed

“When I am afraid to speak is when I speak.
That is when it is most important.” 
― Nayyirah Waheed

“i knew you
before
i met you.
i’ve known you my whole life.” 
― Nayyirah Waheed

“there have been so many times
i have seen a man wanting to weep
but 
instead
beat his heart until it was unconscious.” 
― Nayyirah Waheed

“she asked ‘you are in love, what does love look like’ to which i replied ‘like everything i’ve ever lost come back to me.” 
― Nayyirah Waheed

“creativity keeps the world alive, yet, everyday we are asked to be ashamed of honoring it, wanting to live our lives as artists. i’ve carried the shame of being a ‘creative’ since i came to the planet; have been asked to be something different, more, less my whole life. thank spirit, my wisdom is deeper than my shame, and i listened to who i was. i want to say to all the creatives who have been taught to believe who you are is not enough for this world, taught that a life of art will amount to nothing, know that who we are, and what we do is life. when we create, we are creating the world. remember this, and commit.” 
― Nayyirah Waheed

Music: Siêm

This week's musical discovery: a lovely voice from Marseilles, South of France...

Siêm ❖ 'Ana Wi Yek'

[ Lullaby On A Black Note Or 2 ]

Published on 28 Apr 2016

Siêm : voix | auteur, compositeur, interprète _ composition piano & exécution _ photo & artwork.
❖ tous droits réservés : Siêm ❖ FB : https://www.facebook.com/siem.musiQ/
TW : https://twitter.com/siemfolknomade TBLR : http://siemfolknomade.tumblr.com

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The song explained by  Siêm:

[ My _ Almost _ Explicit Lyrics ] 

The prelude of this song is: this is not a song. 

this is a metaphor of U and I. 

ana wi yek [ lullaby on a black note or 2 ]. 

el risèla _ la lettre. 

I wrote a letter.
I hope you'll read through it.
And you'll read it then.
Shall it leads you to You
You, Me elsewhere.
I, the addition of You.

The writing of this song began with 4 keys on a piano

​, an after​

 that invited itself over my w

​h​

ite notes, black notes footprints, then 2 words : Longing & Fragility. 

You & Me, Ana Wi Yek, the essential. 

Necessarily this letter could only be for Her. 

I refer to the past as the silence after the wave, then a letter. The letter. 

One that reminds me of her eyes caravan, which have so lived & wept too. A forgiveness on my promise. & life which gave us a time

​O​

n a

​B​

lack

​N​

ote or 2. 

To the place of the one thing that tells me : She. 

How I wish you

​'​

re still here. Forever. With me. 

You & Me, Ana Wi Yek. 

Then The letter. 

I speak of a love that has not bloomed. 

It has only existed. M

​y​

 chance. It existed. As rosy bouquet in your eyes. Lullaby On a Black Note Or 2.

--

Her first EP is now in the studio. 

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Social media:

facebook // you tube // twitter // tumblr 

"Rekindle the inner spirit"

Ken Loach and the impact of "I, Daniel Blake"

 Back in the UK in a few hours. Here is the creation that is always with me these days:

"I, DANIEL BLAKE" - OFFICIAL UK TRAILER

Published on 15 Jun 2016

The new film by British filmmaker Ken Loach, I Daniel Blake won the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

Daniel Blake (59) has worked as a joiner most of his life in Newcastle. Now, for the first time ever, he needs help from the State. He crosses paths with single mother Katie and her two young children, Daisy and Dylan. Katie’s only chance to escape a one-roomed homeless hostel in London has been to accept a flat in a city she doesn’t know, some 300 miles away.

Daniel and Katie find themselves in no-man’s land, caught on the barbed wire of welfare bureaucracy as played out against the rhetoric of ‘striver and skiver’ in modern-day Britain.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/idanielblake
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/idanielblake
#IDanielBlake

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Extract:

Published on 14 May 2016

The tale of Daniel Blake, a 59-year-old widower carpenter from Newcastle, who is fighting to hold on to his welfare benefits, when he spots a woman in a similar predicament at the welfare office, he tries to help her & the two kids get set up... leading into a surrogate family.

Director - Ken Loach
Winner - Palme d'or, Cannes Film Festival 2016

CAST
Dave Johns, Hayley Squires, Dylan McKiernan, Briana Shann, Kate Rutter, Sharon Percy, Kema Sikazwe

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Listen to Ken Loach's acceptance speech at Cannes here:

https://vimeo.com/172302451



--

I'm writing an article about the impact of the film and of Ken Loach's work in the UK nowadays.

Reach out if you have any thought to share!

Cheers

Important call: Refugees are still needing us

An important call from the International Rescue Committee below.

I'm helping a team of filmmakers for their coming films on refugee camps.

Reminder in picture: photos by myself in Calais, in February 2016

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IRC:

Upcoming refugee summits will be a failure unless world leaders commit to concrete actions

New York, NY, September 16, 2016 — As world leaders converge at the United Nations for the upcoming summits, “Addressing the Large Movements of Refuges and Migrants” and the President Obama-convened “Leaders’ Summit on Refugees,” the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is urging concrete, collective action from the international community to take bold action to address the global refugee crisis.

Refugees and displaced people are the greatest victims of failed political leadership around the world today. In host countries and in the hands of smugglers refugees are at the sharp end of painful neglect.  We are well past the time for analyzing the status quo. It needs to be changed.

The fear of refugee flows - and the toxic political rhetoric of the last year - will only increase if refugees are scapegoated rather than helped.  Compassion allied to competent administration is a winning combination. The last year has seen extraordinary commitment by local people and elected officials - from Lesvos to Hamburg to Dallas, but also in Mafraq in northern Jordan, in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, as well as in countries like Uganda and Pakistan.  Safe refuge for the world’s most vulnerable is right, practical and smart.

These Summits must go beyond stating challenges.  They must expand resources, modernize systems, update strategies and combat the fatigue of refugees and receiving populations alike.

- David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee

Over 65 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict, violence and persecution and one in every 113 people in the world are now either a refugee, internally displaced, or seeking asylum. Given this staggering reality, concrete, actionable and time-bound commitments are needed to address their needs and modernize the humanitarian system to deliver better aid.

The IRC calls for bolder responsibility around three mutually reinforcing pillars: 

- More robust and long-term support to host states;

- State policies that promote greater self-reliance and solutions;

- Increased use of resettlement and alternative forms of admissions to other states?

The IRC also calls for 10 percent of refugees worldwide to be resettled over the next three years. The White House letter spearheaded by the IRC and signed by more than 130 groups urged President Obama to demonstrate global leadership by making bold new commitments to refugee protection, assistance and solutions, including increased U.S. resettlement. The recent announcement of the Administration’s intent to resettle 110,000 refugees in 2017 (up from 85,000 this year) is good progress, but remains a small fraction of the global need.

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The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is at work in over 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities.

Link: www.rescue.org 

On parle de Banksy sur France Inter

Lundi 12 septembre 2016

LE NOUVEAU RENDEZ-VOUS

PARLaurent Goumarre

Nouvelle autobiographie pour Cherfi, toujours motivé. Premier roman pour une histoire du hip-hop américain signé Laurent Rigoulet. Les 100 ans de Roald Dahl.

et

La chronique de Stéphanie Cabre : Mais qui est Banksy ?

Pour écouter l'extrait : 

Lien : https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/le-nouveau-rendez-vous/le-nouveau-rendez-vous-12-septembre-2016

Words from Rushdie

Salman Rushdie on Saturday in Paris told Wajdi Mouawad that he didn't think books could change the world... but that they could change people. 

Books can change people, I agree! And films and music and art and performances.

Salman Rushdie au Théâtre de la Colline, Paris, Sept. 10th, 2016

I want to thank here Salman Rushdie and all the wonderful people who believe we can change and improve our world... Especially the wonderful ones I've been honoured to work with.

This included more than any other irreplaceable filmmaker Raoul Peck and multitalented musician and artist Robert Del Naja.

Massive Attack in Croatia, August 2016

Just thank you for all you created and for spreading the world...

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En dehors de la zone de confort - De Massive Attack à Banksy : mon livre sur Bristol sort le 6 octobre

Depuis le 6 octobre dans toutes les bonnes librairies! En France, Belgique et Suisse :

En dehors de la zone de confort

De Massive Attack à Banksy, l’histoire d’un groupe d’artistes, de leur ville, Bristol, et de leurs révolutions

Mélissa CHEMAM

Editions Anne Carrière

Copyright / crédit : Robert Del Naja

Qu’ont en commun le Pont suspendu d’Isambart Brunel, l’acteur Cary Grant, le groupe Massive Attack, le plasticien Damian Hirst et l’artiste de rue Banksy ? Ils sont tous originaires de Bristol, une ville moyenne de l’ouest de l’Angleterre. Une ville marquée par une histoire riche et complexe, mais encore jamais racontée !

Marquée par une fortune précoce liée à l’ouverture de l’Angleterre vers l’Amérique, elle devient aussi un des points névralgiques du commerce triangulaire. C’est justement cette histoire qui va nourrir, de manière inédite et radicale, la génération d’artistes éclose à Bristol à partir de la fin des années 1970. Post-punk et reggae se rencontrent autour de groupes comme Black Roots, le Pop Group puis The Wild Bunch.

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En retraçant l’histoire du groupe Massive Attack, ce livre dessine le portrait de leur ville, Bristol, dans une enquête qui mêle musique, art et politique.

Des mouvements post-punk et reggae nés dans les années 1970 au trip-hop et au révolutionnaire Banksy, en passant par les débuts du hip-hop britannique et la naissance d'un mouvement de street art unique, l’auteur interroge les destins croisés de Mark Stewart et son Pop Group, Smith & Mighty, Portishead, Tricky, The Insects, Inkie et, bien sûr, Massive Attack - ayant passé des mois à les interviewer.

En 1983, lorsque le jeune graffeur anglo-italien Robert Del Naja signe de son pseudonyme – 3D – sa première œuvre sur un mur de la ville, les DJs d’origine antillaise Grant Marshall et Miles Johnson, font exploser leur collectif, The Wild Bunch. Ils appellent rapidement 3D à les rejoindre. 3D et Grant forment Massive Attack en 1988 avec le jeune Andrew Vowles et connaissent un succès éblouissant avec leur album Blue Lines. Le groupe devient l’incarnation du métissage à la britannique. Et, à partir de 1998, Banksy s’empare des murs de Bristol, inspiré par 3D, alors que Massive Attack change de ton avec son album Mezzanine. Et la ville elle-même semble s’accorder à leur tonalité de plus en plus engagée, militante et révolutionnaire. 

Bristol, comme Détroit ou Liverpool, se met à rayonner dans le monde comme le berceau d’un grand mouvement créatif. C’est la généalogie urbaine de cette renaissance que nous propose de découvrir l’auteur.

Elle est allée à la rencontre des artistes de Bristol, interviewant pendant plus d'un an ses meilleurs musiciens, ses graffeurs de renoms et leurs proches. Du studio de Massive Attack au Dismaland de Banksy en passant par des galeries et salles de concert, de Bristol et d'ailleurs, elle leur a demandé de raconter eux-mêmes leur histoire et de revenir sur leurs inspirations, motivations, et engagements.

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Journaliste depuis 2004, Mélissa Chemam a vécu à Paris, Prague, Miami, Londres, Nairobi, et voyagé dans plus de 40 pays. Elle a collaboré notamment avec la BBC, RFI et France Culture.

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Lien vers le site de l'éditeur :

http://www.anne-carriere.fr/ouvrage_en-dehors-de-la-zone-de-confort-melissa-chemam-302.html

Pour commander le livre :
http://livre.fnac.com/a9864635/Melissa-Chemam-En-dehors-de-la-zone-de-confort?omnsearchpos=2