I was at a talk yesterday about African cinema and a fantastic journalist mentioned this film.
You have to see it!

Some of you might remember I have lived in Kenya between 2010 and 1012. It is very dear to my heart. I learned a lot in East Africa, it literally opened my eyes on the realities of our world. Being able to be a witness and a storyteller is a privilege. It is a role of bridging. It should never be taken for granted or irresponsibly. That's why I became a journalist. Utterly grateful of that experience.

This film reflects a lot of the Kenya I've seen.

PUMZI - TRAILER

Trailer For PUMZI a Short film Produced By Inspired Minority and Writer/Director: Wanuri Kahui  

Producers: Simon Hansen, Hannah Slezacek and Amira Quinlan. VFX by Atomic VFX. 

Vfx Supervisor Simon Hansen. Executive Producer Steven Markowitz. 

Produced with the support of Focus Features Africa First, Goethe Institute and Changamato Fund Pumzi is in comeptition at Sundance 2010.


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Kenyan Sci-Fi Short Pumzi Hits Sundance With Dystopia

Wire, 2010


Pumzi, Kenya’s first science fiction film, imagines a dystopian future 35 years after water wars have torn the world apart. East African survivors of the ecological devastation remain locked away in contained communities, but a young woman in possession of a germinating seed struggles against the governing council to bring the plant to Earth’s ruined surface.

The short film, which will 
compete in screen at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, “started off as a small script about what kind of world we would have to be if we had to buy fresh air,” writer/director Wanuri Kahiu told Wired.com in a Skype interview.

Like recent standouts District 9 and Sleep Dealer, the short film taps into Third World realities and spins them forward for dramatic effect. But to produce Pumzi, Kahiu looked to the past, as well as the future.

She researched classic 1950s films to create her movie’s futuristic sets, comparing the processes of matte paintingand rear-screen projection with indigenous African artwork.

“We already have a tradition of tapestries and functional art and things like that, that loan a backdrop for films,” Kahiu said.

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Africa & science fiction: Wanuri Kahiu's "Pumzi", 2009 | Interview

Interview of Kenyan film writer/director Wanuri Kahiu, about "Africa and science fiction", in reference to the sci-fi movie she wrote and directed: Pumzi, 2009 [trailer: http://youtu.be/3elKofS43xM] This interview is part of the exhibition "Si ce monde vows déplaît" in FRAC Lorraine, Metz (France). More details about this event here: http://www.fraclorraine.org/explorez/...] Special Thanks to Wanuri Kahiu and Moulin d'Andé. Interview by Oulimata Gueye.

Classic Album Sundays Launches in Bristol

Hey England, I'll be in Bristol on July 1st, for the launch of Classic Album Sundays at Bristol Spirit with a local classic: Massive Attack's iconic Mezzanine, played on an audiophile sound system...

And we'll talk about how the record came about, of course.


Details:

Bristol Spirit in BS5 has been chosen as the Bristol venue for Classic Album Sundays – the world’s most popular album listening experience. The Redfield bar joins the CAS family increasing the number to 15 satellites in cities throughout the world including London, NYC, Chicago, Miami, Berlin, Sydney, Oslo, Fukuoka and more. 

The Classic Album Sundays Bristol programme is kicking off on Sunday July 1st with Mezzanine by Massive Attack. Tickets cost £6.00 and can be purchased here.  

The audio partner for the programme is Audio T, who are Bristol’s leading Hi-Fi retailer situated in historic Park Street. They will be providing Bristol Spirit with a Rega RP10 turntable fitted with a Rega Apheta 2 pickup cartridge, the Rega Osiris amplifier and Dynaudio Contour 30 speakers with a REL 212 subwoofer, to ensure a first class audio listening experience. 

The event starts with a talk by a special guest, and then the album is listened to in its entirety before the evening finishes with a brief Q&A.

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Bristol Spirit is co-owned by friends Sam Espensen and Phil Gillies, who also own Espensen Spirit, a range of naturally infused gins, vodkas and whiskies – Bristol Spirit is the equivalent of a beer tap room for their spirits. They serve a range of cocktails, local beers, ciders, wine, mocktails and hot drinks, which will all be available for the Classic Album Sunday events. 

The bar has become known for its excellent playlists and its musical events, including Sunday soul lunches, a Bowie Brunch and a Beastie Boys bottomless punch brunch. 

If Classic Album Sunday guests wish to, they can also enjoy a Sunday roast at Bristol Spirit before the programme begins. If you would like to book for this you can do so separately via info@espensenspirit.com.  

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The Classic Album Sundays event programme at Bristol Spirit will be co-curated by Sam Espensen and the music journalist Laura Williams.

Sam Espensen, founder, Bristol Spirit, says “To say we are happy to be chosen as the venue for Classic Album Sundays is a bit of an understatement – this is a dream gig for any music nerd. Bristol has and always will be driven and moulded by music, and its influence resonates throughout the world – it’s one of the reasons I named our bar Bristol Spirit – referring to the buccaneering attitude of the locals – which is heavily influenced and responsible for the city’s musical heritage. What better place to start our Classic Album Sundays programme than with Mezzanine?”

Tony Revelle, director of Audio T says “We are delighted to be asked to be the audio partner for Classic Album Sundays Bristol. All of us at Audio T are very enthusiastic about live music and therefore we are also passionate about re-producing music faithfully in the home. For that reason we have always sold and serviced turntables, and we believe that a good vinyl system is capable of providing a wonderfully involving sound quality.”

Colleen Murphy, Classic Album Sundays founder, added “At our listening sessions, music fans are able to immerse themselves into an album that has helped shape our culture and in some cases, our lives. We relay the artist and album’s unique story and provide a musical context that gives the listening experience deeper meaning. We share the experience of hearing the album in its entirety, on vinyl, and on a world-class audiophile hi-fi so that fans can experience the music as close as possible to the artist’s original intention. 

Classic Album Sundays treats the album with the respect it deserves rather than as a free commodity or aural wallpaper. We remind people what they love about music. Bristol is a city doused in musical excellence, and Bristol Spirit and Audio T are great champions of that heritage.”

Read more about the event here.

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'I Want You'

Song of the day:

Massive Attack feat. Madonna - 'I Want You'

(Marvin Gaye cover)

Politique migratoire en France : reportage à Paris

Mon reportage sur le durcissement de la politique d'accueil française pour la Deutsche Welle, la radio internationale allemande :

VU D'ALLEMAGNE

Durcissement des lois policières en Allemagne / Politique migratoire en France

Que se passe-t-il avec la Police en Allemagne ?! Alors que de nouvelles lois sont votées pour lui donner de nouveaux pouvoirs en ce moment dans plusieurs régions, la contestation monte. Vu d'Allemagne vous emmène aussi à Paris en France. Des associations dénoncent la politique migratoire du gouvernement quelques jours après que le sauvetage réalisé par Mamadou Gassama ait fait le tour du monde.

Pour écouter, cliquer ici:

http://www.dw.com/fr/durcissement-des-lois-policières-en-allemagne-politique-migratoire-en-france/av-44087172

Quelle politique migratoire pour la France ?

Emmanuel Macron et Mamoudou Gassama à l'Elysée, le 28 mai 2018.

Vous avez certainement entendu parler récemment (ou écouté le débat en lien avec ce sujet sur notre antenne) de la naturalisation française d'un malien de 22 ans jusque-là sans papier. Il avait a sauvé la vie d’un enfant en grimpant plusieurs étages de la façade d’un immeuble et lui évitant de tomber des mètres plus bas. 

Cette actualité passée, trois campements illégaux avec d’autres migrants ont depuis été évacués à Paris et peu de solutions d’hébergement durable semblent être proposées. Plusieurs militants de l’accueil des réfugiés sont également poursuivis pour avoir aidé des étrangers à entrer en France. 

Dans la seconde partie de notre magazine, Melissa Chemam revient pour nous sur ces actualités. Elle tente d’y voir plus clair sur les intentions du gouvernement à Paris. 

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Magazine à télécharger au format MP3 et à partager, en cliquant sur la droite de votre écran. Tous les podcasts de Vu d'Allemagne sont disponibles ici.

Après la naturalisation d'un héros malien qui a sauvé la vie d’un enfant dans le 18^e arrondissement de Paris, le gouvernement français semble malgré tout durcir sa politique d’accueil depuis la loi migration. Trois campements illégaux ont été évacués à Paris ces six derniers jours  à Paris et peu de solutions d’hébergement durable sont proposées…

Plusieurs militants de l’accueil des réfugiés sont également poursuivis pour avoir aidé des étrangers à entrer en France, dans le Sud-Est de la France. 

Une situation qui révèle le manque de volonté du Président Macron et de son gouvernement…

Reportage à Paris de Mélissa Chemam.

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C’est sous les applaudissements que Mamadou Gassama a quitté l’Elysée la semaine dernière. Ce Malien de 22 ans entré illégalement en France a sauvé un enfant dans un acte héroïque fin mai et a depuis le droit à la nationalité française et à une formation chez les pompiers…

Le Préfet de Seine-Saint-Denis a promis une procédure spéciale.

  

Mais parallèlement, le pays durcit sa politique d’accueil pour les étrangers, y compris les demandeurs d’asile. Le Ministre de l’Intérieur français, Gérard Collomb, a même affirmé que les réfugiés « comparaient les législations des pays » pour choisir la plus avantageuse… Une idée qui fait scandale au sein des associations d’accueil, débordées par l’absence d’aides publiques. 

Depuis mercredi dernier, plus de deux mille migrants ont encore été évacués lors d’opérations de police à Paris, sur le campement informel dit du « Millénaire » le long du canal Saint-Martin et près de la Porte de la Chapelle. 

Cette mesure est loin de satisfaire la Mairie de Paris cependant…  

Elle reconnaît que plus de 80% d’entre eux auraient droit à l’asile car ils viennent de pays en conflit dans la Corne de l’Afrique, comme le confirme Ian Brossat, l’adjoint d’Anne Hidalgo en charge du logement.

Pendant ce temps, dans le Sud de la France, les arrivées par la frontière italienne se poursuivent. Et les familles qui leur viennent en aide se voient paradoxalement poursuivi. Elles dénoncent la répression d’un « délit de solidarité », à la suite de Cédric Herrou, un agriculteur devenu célèbre pour ses actions méritantes, au point d’être le sujet d’un film documentaire présenté au Festival de Cannes mi-mai…

Cité par de nombreux journaux, un exilé camerounais de 23 ans a ainsi résumé la situation migratoire en France: « Un Noir qui sauve un Blanc mérite des éloges. Un Blanc qui sauve un Noir mérite la prison »...

Mélissa Chemam à Paris, pour la Deutsche Welle.

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Pour écouter, cliquer ici:

http://www.dw.com/fr/durcissement-des-lois-policières-en-allemagne-politique-migratoire-en-france/av-44087172

AUTRES LIENS DW

Site d'Attac Allemagne

Débat sur la DW : "Mamoudou Gassama ou le "Spiderman" de France, un bras valide qui échappe au Mali ?"   

Tous les podcasts de Vu d'Allemagne  

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'Hymn of the Big Wheel'

This song.

Timeless and more relevant than ever, 'Hymn of the Big Wheel' is the ninth and closing song of Massive Attack's iconic first album, Blue Lines.

The band will be starting a new tour soon, it light be on the setlist, let's bet...

Here is a recent live version from 2017, with, of course, on the mike, the unique voice from Jamaica, Horace Andy:

 'Hymn of the Big Wheel' - Massive Attack @ Clockenflap 2017, Hong Kong 

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Lyrics:

"Hymn Of The Big Wheel"

[Horace Andy]

The big wheel keeps on turning
On a simple line day by day
The earth spins on its axis
One man struggle while another relaxes

There's a hole in my soul like a cavity
Seems like the world is out to gather just by gravity
The wheel keeps turning the sky's rearranging
Look my son the weather is changing

I'd like to feel that you could be free
Look up at the blue skies beneath a new tree
Sometime again
You'll turn green and the sea turns red
My son I said the power of axis over my head
The big wheel keeps on turning
On a simple line day by day
The earth spins on its axis
One man struggle while another relaxes

We sang about the sun and danced among the trees
And we listened to the whisper of the city on the breeze
Will you cry in the most in a lead-free zone
Down within the shadows where the factories drone
On the surface of the wheel they build another town
And so the green come tumbling down
Yes close your eyes and hold me tight
And i'll show you sunset sometime again

The big wheel keeps on turning
On a simple line day by day
The earth spins on its axis
One man struggle while another relaxes
As a child's silent prayer my hope hides in disguise
While satellites and cameras watch from the skies
An acid drop of rain recycled from the sea
It washed away my shadow burnt a hole in me
And all the king's men cannot put it back again
But the ghetto sun will nurture life
And mend my soul sometime again

The big wheel keeps on turning
On a simple line day by day
The earth spins on its axis
One man struggle while another relaxes

The big wheel keeps on turning
On a simple line day by day
The earth spins on its axis
One man struggle while another relaxes
 

Writer(s): Horace Andy (Hinds), Andrew Vowles, Grantley Marshall, Robert Del Naja, Neneh Cherry 

"The Uniqueness Of Massive Attack"

Hello everyone!

I received the proofs for the book today... Getting closer to a release!!

Here is more with my column for Classic Album Sundays: "The Uniqueness Of Massive Attack" – Melissa Chemam http://classicalbumsundays.com/the-uniqueness-of-massive-attack-melissa-chemam/ … via @ClassicAlbumSun

The Uniqueness Of Massive Attack – Melissa Chemam

Over the past four years, as a freelance journalist, I have been travelling between Bangui (Central African Republic), Paris, Istanbul, Calais, Erbil (Iraqi Kurdistan), the South of France and Ventimiglia in Italy, London and… Bristol. I have mostly been covering post-conflict issues and the refugee crisis for different European radio stations and magazines. So I went to Bristol to write about a brighter, engaging and inspirational story. To explore the culture of England’s West Country, retrace the history of my favourite music, a fascinating journey through an artistic and social explosion.

I decided to write about the band Massive Attack when I read they were travelling to Lebanon, in July 2014. They were about to perform at the Byblos International Festival and to visit Palestinian youth they help, in a refugee camp in Burj El Barajneh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut. I contacted a friend who is a writer and music journalist to convince him I could write a book about them…

I had always loved their music and I know all of their albums by heart. Their engagement suddenly seemed very authentic to me; it completely stands out in the current music business. I started to think of a way to reach out to them, especially to 3D, also known as Robert Del Naja, the heart and soul behind Massive Attack’s writing process and social involvement. After months of preparation and once he agreed to meet me, I packed my bag for Bristol in February 2015.

I immediately liked the journey from London (where I had lived for two years) to the West country, the murals in Stokes Croft, the contrast between Saint Pauls and Clifton, the way art and music are present all around the city. I first stayed in Saint Pauls, walking everywhere, writing at the Watershed’s welcoming café and helloing Banksy’s famous ‘Mild Mild West’ and naked ‘Well Hung Lover’. After meeting with 3D, I contacted a snowballing list of Bristolians: some of 3D’s co-workers including sound-engineer and co-writer Neil Davidge, talented instrumentalists, rappers and vocalists like Mike Crawford, Sean Cook, Andy ‘Spaceland’ Jenks, Krissy Kriss, Mark Stewart and, six months later, Adrian Utley, Portishead’s guitarist. I also spent a lot of time in venues and art galleries, in Bristol – spending a day with Inkie or listening to Roni Size at the Hamilton House. In London too, in Paris – where I interviewed Tricky and met Nick Walker, then in Dublin and further, to see Massive Attack on stage. All these meetings and events helped me recreating the key moments that made possible The Wild Bunch then Massive Attack and the scene that followed.

My book therefore retells the story of a rare group of unconventional and politically aware musicians and artists. The story starts with Massive Attack’s first album, the remarkable and inimitable Blue Lines, then goes back to their first influences. The Beatles, reggae, punk, soul music, hip-hop, Jean-Michel Basquiat and the graffiti stars of the film Wild Style. These include their very own hometown’s history, from the slave trade to recent riots… Then the book evolves until Massive Attack’s homecoming show in September 2016 and their coming projects.

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Listen: Massive Attack ‘Mezzanine’ Legacy Playlist

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It digs into the making of their groundbreaking albums, especially Mezzanine, which turns 20 year-old this year, described by many critics as the best thing that ever came from Bristol… It follows Massive Attack’s evolution as extraordinary performers, whose shows rival with the best acts in the world, and 3D’s artistic transformations, collaborating with Banksy, United Visual Artists and Adam Curtis. This very rich and fascinating path took them around the world, from Japan to America, Mexico and Turkey, Lebanon and the Congo…

Writing about them and about Bristol’s music and art scene, led me to write this parallel history of British culture, with underground origin, always pushing boundary and keeping an aware and open gaze on our fast-changing world.

Melissa Chemam

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Massive Attack: Out Of The Comfort Zone by Melissa Chemam will be available from August 29th 2018 here.

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Listen: Sounds Of A City: Massive Attack ‘Blue Lines’

Listen: Massive Attack ‘Blue Lines’ Musical Lead-Up Playlist

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link to article:

http://classicalbumsundays.com/the-uniqueness-of-massive-attack-melissa-chemam/

'Big Time Sensuality'

Messages coming from every sides... Bombarded.

Björk - 'Big Time Sensuality'

'Big Time Sensuality' Video directed by Stéphane Sednaoui. Song written by Björk/Nellee Hooper. Published by Universal Music Publishing Ltd Warner Chappell Music Ltd. ® 1993 One Little Indian Records Ltd.

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Different version. For both I feel this music doesn't fit the lyrics...

Bjork - 'Big time sensuality'

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Lyrics:

"Big Time Sensuality"

I can sense it
something important
is about to happen
it's coming up

it takes courage to enjoy it
the hardcore and the gentle
big time sensuality

we just met
and i know i'm a bit too intimate
but something huge is coming up
and we're both included

it takes courage to enjoy it
the hardcore and the gentle
big time sensuality

I don't know my future after this weekend
and i don't want to

it takes courage to enjoy it
the hardcore and the gentle
big time sensuality

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So here's a live version too:

Bjork - 'Big Time Sensuality' Live

 [Live@Unplugged MTV 1994]

And the following song on that show:

Björk - 'Come to Me'

"You know that I adore you"...

'Reflecting Memory', by Kader Attia

Absolutely fascinating reflection on art when it is facing the reality of our world.

I'm now working on a project with this brilliant artist.
More soon!

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KADER ATTIA - Interview on his artwork 'Reflecting Memory'

KADER ATTIA 'Reflecting Memory' GALLERIA CONTINUA / San Gimignano 18/02/2017 - 23/04/2017

'Saturday Come Slow'

Today, one of the most daring music videos ever made...

I was talking this morning with a brilliant artist who wants to organise a discussion in London on my book.

I mentioned again this film.

Directed by Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin in 2010, it shows a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, interviewed at a laboratory in Cambridge, where he and a professor discuss the use of music loud sounds as a means of torture by the Americans...

Massive Attack - 'Saturday Come Slow' 

 (Official Video)

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More in the book.

BBC Radio Bristol

I was lucky enough to be Laura Rawlings’ guest on BBC Radio Bristol this morning to talk about my book on the city and Massive Attack. 

Laura was delightfully welcoming and very appreciative of my "Frenchness" :-) , unlike some others...

We talked about the links between Bristol and the rest of the world the band managed to create and why I think they reinvented the way to produce music like not others...

I'm the first guest, just after the second song, relevantly 'Unfinished Sympathy'!

You can listen (again) here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p066rpnl

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It's always a pleasure to talk to a lovely Laura, as it is the name my mother dreamt to give me, even years before I was conceived... My father changed it at the very last minute, after my birth, into "Melissa" (honeybee in ancient greek). Inspired by his boss who had studied in America. And there he put me on a path, I guess...

Anyway...

Thank you Laura Rawlings!! 


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More on my Facebook page: 

https://www.facebook.com/frombristoltomassiveattack/