Oral Traditions and Learning

Koushna Navabai's "Gone Native"



There's too much out there now. Feeling the very ultra-modern symptoms of information-overload stress.

Symptoms of this ultra-modern stress are: attempting to make space in the chaos by creating twisted art forms to get a sense of ownership, even if it the feeling is transient. Also: eating ultra healthy food, or tilting the other way and over eating, or creating a meaningless blog to help digest some of the mammoth production of information and all its accompanying forms of media that goes on everyday, in every town, in every country. Now, we are all artists, performers, reporters and critics and the audience, the ones who stand to benefit only in spirit, are invaluable as numbers diminish.
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Last month a middle eastern magazine unearthed some revolting trends in western literature that precipitated bigoted thinking about middle easterners, the popular 'other'.

I still like being the 'other', because from here I can see the flaws in those who are "one of the gang".

With Persian new year coming up (Nowrooz, Persian new year is, sensibly, on the Spring Equinox) we are very busy.

I feel mostly everyone is sensing the coming of the new year though. In this we really are 'one'. Also that kind of bigoted feeling i getting less and less.

I must delve into Persian oral tradition in the next few weeks and see what else has been passed on about/from our country. It's going to result in over 200 kids and 65 adults learning this song, so I hope someone has left us a good one.

What a mixed legacy!

Something loose something tight

I found this loose file, of a performance we did live on BBC London, me with my hoover and live electronica soundscape, and Clem Alford with his sitar, which we later played at the ICA.

As we got into the BBC London studios, Robert Elms's young son was there I remember very excited and keen to help me carry in my musical hoover.

It was fun. The hoover is my version of the Indian drone. I hope none of my teachers in the India academy will mind if they hear about this mutation of the fine heritage, over 4000 years unchanged, they have passed on to be quickly adapted!

Something tight? We are going to hear Sunn O)))) on Sunday.

American drone metal. Now I'd like to hear that with sitar.

....Listen to the interview.....

Nuclear Distaster? Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.

Nuclear sub 'in Atlantic collision'

4 hours 12 mins ago

A Royal Navy nuclear submarine has collided with a French vessel in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, according to reports.

Nuclear sub 'in Atlantic collision'

The crash between HMS Vanguard and French submarine Le Triomphant, which was also carrying nuclear warheads, is believed to have occurred on February 3 or 4.

Despite being equipped with sonar to detect other vessels, neither submarine apparently realised the other was in the same part of the ocean.

A senior Navy source told a newspaper the potential consequences of such a collision were "unthinkable".

He said: "It's very unlikely there would have been a nuclear explosion. But a radioactive leak was a possibility. Worse, we could have the crew and warheads. That would have been a national disaster."

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) refused to confirm the incident had taken place, saying it was against its policy to comment on submarine operations.

However, a spokesman insisted nuclear security had not been breached.

He said: "We can confirm that the UK's deterrent capability has remained unaffected at all times and there has been no compromise to nuclear safety."

Inquiries are under way on both sides of the Channel.

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Not convinced?

Read a moment about Chernobyl now.

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Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.
Frederick Douglass

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What you can do: Write to your MP (mine wrote me back)

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/

Promote discussion, read Atom Watch

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Two Huge Waves of Positivity and a Valentine's Gig

Well the pessimists are at least quietened for a moment, as one of the most racist nations on the planet elects a black president and the unusual events of last Monday brings people of all sorts together to make merry in the snow. If like me you were enchanted to see the same old piss-drizzled alleys transformed by dramatic icicles from lampposts and decorated with cornices of pure white, let's celebrate! It was so calm on the Monday morning as I wended my way cautiously along to the studio in three jumpers, two pairs of socks, a Russian hat and leopard print coat...I expected Edmund to appear with a box of Turkish delight or Mr Tumnus to be under the next streetlight. Even the hideous daily grrrrr of traffic was muffled by the snow, by media spin on an impenetrable central London, by traffic lights whose immovable tri-coloured orders were filled in completely with snow. Bliss.

Many thanks to poet Jeremy Reed for gifting me that coat when I was a student. I found it to be the perfect antidote to everyone else's hung-over vibes the morning after New Year's eve. Something about animal print hits people senses still. Especially in this nature-lorn landscape.

So it's been an exciting winter, the most exciting for ages. Still to come we have Valentines and April Fools, which if you plan could still be quite sweet and not at all commerce driven, a good excuse for a break or some fun. But perhaps you are not the kind of person to enjoy replacing the entire sugar store in the pot for salt. I can't help it, the faces and the ensuing tales are not to be forgotten!


We perform on Feb 15th at Club Integral at a Resonancefm benefit, possibly an unofficial one. Tetine are an exciting Brazilian duo! Come for their sultry electro and stage skills if nothing else.

Last night I was overwhelmed by a 19 year old singer and song writer called Master Shortie. No sooner had we heard of him than he was in the radio studio telling us about his masterplan to release perfumes and clothes lines in the wake of his MTV success (we made the monster, right) and then we got to see him call his mate son stage to do the dance to the song "Dance Like a White Boy", Note this is not a diss, it's a cultural reference. The dancing was powerful, the tune so un-PC as to appeal to me, quite distinct: I've never heard a heavy metal and funk guitar playing live along rapping like that, it was well done.