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From: The Socialist issue 919, 5 October 2016: Tories out!

Search site for keywords: Music - Review - Protest - Palestinian - Egypt - Arab - Anti-fascist - Culture

Music: Radio International (Kefaya)

Review: international jazz protest storytelling

photo (Click to enlarge)

Eleanor Donne

They say that you can tell a lot about a band by its name.

Kefaya is an Arabic word meaning 'enough'. It was the cry of the grassroots revolutionary movement in Egypt, a powerful symbol of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

'Radio International' is Kefaya's first album, billed as "stories of migration, tales of musical encounters and sounds of resistance". It mixes music with snippets of spoken word as if you're tuning in to an alternative World Service.

The album features renowned artists from the traditions of Flamenco, Indian classical and Arabic music, brought together by two UK-based musicians, Giuliano Modarelli and Al MacSween. A guitarist and a pianist respectively, they founded Kefaya as an 'international music collective' in 2011.

Intifada

Their primary musical influence is jazz, and this is evident throughout the album. It's largely instrumental, using electronic rhythms and effects to evoke mood.

The musical storytelling is at its best in a piece called 'Intifada'. Reflecting the ebb and flow of the Palestinian struggle against an aggressive Israeli state, an upbeat tune on the oud, a Middle Eastern string instrument, celebrates life and culture. Distant crowds chant, sinister sounds suggest helicopters or rockets maybe, giving way to silence.

My favourite track, though, is 'Bella Ciao', an instrumental version of the Italian anti-fascist anthem from the early 1940s. Check out Kefaya playing this classic at www.tinyurl.com/KefayaBellaCiao. This is definitely one for the campfire!

'Radio International' by Kefaya will be released on 14 October 2016 - for updates see www.kefaya.co.uk

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Finance appeal

The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.

The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.

The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.

The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.