F/I/M²/P · Issue 09 · December/January 2014

1

2

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

Who delivers F/I/M²/P to your mailbox anywhere in the world?

One year, six issues, subscribe now on www.antoineonline.com

3

4

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

DRESSING ROOM

ISSUE N 09

A

s we wrap up an issue at the end of this year and look back at yet another twelve months and an additional batch of issues behind us, we cannot help but feel proud of all the talent that we have been able to showcase this far. Not proud of ourselves per se (although believe us, we are not big on unnecessary modesty), but proud of the sheer amount of ingenuous Lebanese “pencil holders,” “button clickers” and “MS Word typers” that reside in these parts of the world. We set out on this project believing that we’d inevitably need to look elsewhere when it came down to the collaborators we would choose to work with: “How many talented illustrators will we REALLY find here? Do you REALLY think a lot of people share our taste in music?

Do you HONESTLY think we can pull off beautiful Fashion editorials if we limit ourselves to working with Lebanese Photographers and Fashion Designer?”

Surprisingly, but fortunately nonetheless, our words were quickly fed to us and we realized that our fears were unnecessary and even quite farfetched. Don’t get us wrong, expansion is vital and within our plan, but we are more than happy to keep relishing in our city’s exquisite abundance of talented individuals for the time being.

We won’t lie, we’ve already used some of our “import” cards on peculiarly gifted illustrators or kick-ass photographers here and there such as Othman Selmi and Oumayma Tanfous, but that’s because we’re impatient children who want what they want. This part of the world is indeed blooming when it comes to Art and Creative culture and there’s nothing that matches the joy of proudly admitting that we hail from these parts in spite of having the thought of the region being so close to doom at times hovering over our heads.

And so, before we all put our masks on and celebrate the beginning of a new year, let us take advantage of our mask-less faces and sober selves (you didn’t see that one coming, did ya?) to congratulate our beautiful city and its talented little stars: the team behind Ghadi for creating a gem we’re sure is on its way to local and international accredited awards, Zuhair Mrad and Elie Saab for leading Beirut to making it on Monocle’s year end list as one of the biggest Fashion cities of the year and our own Ms. Tanya Traboulsi for winning the latest installment of the Boghossian Foundation Award, to name a few. We won’t drag this on for much longer; the bottom line is that we, fimpers, are mostly happy as the end of this year closes in and proud. Two key words.

We went with the theatre theme for this one; the stage, the lights, the performance, the costumes and the acoustics. It was a truly enjoyable issue to work on, especially as it’s one of our new team-members’ first.

We do hope you have as much fun flipping through it as we did putting it together.

Happy Holidays y’all!

EDITORS’ LETTER PHOTOGRAPH BY TANYA TRABOULSI

A COMPLETELY RANDOM AND UTTERLY USELESS THOUGHT COURTESY OF THE CHILDISH MINDS OF RUDY SHAHEEN & MOHAMAD ABDOUNI.

5

COVER STORY GRACE 47 FORCE OF NATURE COVER STORY ILLUSTRATIONS BY RANA ZAHER

OUR PEOPLE EDITORS IN CHIEF / CREATIVE DIRECTORs MOHAMAD ABDOUNI & Rudy shaheen MANAGING PARTNER FATIMA M. EL MARINI BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER krystel kouyoumdjis ASSOCIATE EDITOR KARL HITTI FASHION EDITOR CHARLES HADDAD RESPONSIBLE DIRECTOR LAMIS KHAWAJA EXHIBITING PHOTOGRAPHER GEORGE ZOUEIN EXHIBITING ILLUSTRATOR LOULWA BEYDOUN

FOR UPDATES, NEWS & ADDITIONAL CONTENT

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS CLARA ABI NADER TANYA TRABOULSI MICHèLE AOUN CHARLES CREMONA BII ORPRASERT HOLLIE FERNANDO CARL HALAL JINANE CHAAYA RAMI HAJJ CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS FOUAD MEZHER AUDREY GHOUSSOUB ERIC RITTER RANA ZAHER ALFRED TARAZI OMAR AL FIL NOUR FLAYHAN JO BAAKLINI RAPHAELLE MACARON BRUNO VILARDI EXHIBITING FASHION DESIGNER KRIKOR JABOTIAN CONTRIBUTING WRITERS SERGE KALDANY SAKO DERSAHAGIAN NOUR OUAYDA SERENA EL HADDAD STEPHANIE KOYESS JAD MROUé LEA YAMMINE PAMELA KARAM MAYA KHOURCHID BADARO, SAMI EL SOLH BLVD. / BEIRUT, LEBANON INFO @ FIMP-MAG.COM +961 (0)3 71 90 86 // +961 76 64 41 26

6

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

EVERYONE, ON STAGE! FASHION

26 SERGE YARED // INTERVIEW ON LIFE AS AN INCOMPETENT

12 THE FASHION ARTICLE THIS IS NOT A DRESS REHEARSAL 36 MIA HABIS // INTERVIEW MAQAMAT DANCE COMPANY 58 CURTAIN CALL KRIKOR JABOTIAN & TANYA TRABOULSI

ILLUSTRATION

70 MIKE DAWES // INTERVIEW BEIRUT JAM SESSION’S FIRST SHOWCASE

16 LOULWA BEYDOUN EXHIBITING ILLUSTRATOR

MUSIC

54 HAPPY HOLIDAYS! CHECK OUT OUR 20 FAVORITE THINGS THIS CHRISTMAS. GOTTA HAVE ‘EM ALL!

10 BIPOLAR SUNSHINE // INTERVIEW A NEW BREED OF SOULFUL ALT. POP

MOVIES

FEATURES

48 AMIN DORA // INTERVIEW HIS FIRST FEATURE FILM

8 MADONNA & GAULTIER THE BLOND AMBITION TOUR

92 MOVIE REVIEWS

51 MTV UNPLUGGED FROM NIRVANA TO KATY PERRY

30 GENERATION GAP

84 ALBUM REVIEWS 22 NADA ABOU FARHAT // INTERVIEW LITTLE MISS TALENTED

102 LIVE REVIEW GOLDFRAPP LIVE IN PARIS 100 SOUNDTRACK REVIEW NIGHTMARE REVISITED

28 JULIANA YAZBECK // INTERVIEW OUR THESPIAN CORRESPONDANT FROM LONDON

REGULARS 24 THE BLOGGER

PHOTOGRAPHY 104 THE MIXTAPE 72 GEORGE ZOUEIN EXHIBITING PHOTOGRAPHERS

56 ETYEN // INTERVIEW LISTEN TO AN EXCLUSIVE TRACK

7

8

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

MADONNA // THE BLOND AMBITION TOUR ILLUSTRATION BY FOUAD MEZHER ARTICLE BY RUDY SHAHEEN TURN TO PAGE 106 FOR AN UBER COOL PAPER DOLL CUTOUT BY BRUNO VILARDI

N

o artist in the history of Pop music was of help to the rise in influence of MTV as Madonna was by dominating the musical landscape of the eighties.

‘Like A Prayer’ skyrocketed to number one after its release in March 1989 and was followed with her appearance as Breathless Mahoney in Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy a year later. The Blond Ambition tour itself was her fourth tour overall at the time and her biggest to date; both in terms of number of shows played and in “artistic” statement, for lack of a better word. The tour kicked off in April 1990 with nine shows in Japan and landed in the United States the following month. Tightly choreographed and highly rehearsed, the Blond Ambition tour was divided into four meticulously separate acts meant to give a summary of the queen’s career up to that point, .

You know how the audience yells “author, author” at the opening of every great play? Well, Madonna’s triumphant Blond Ambition definitely started a new tradition by replacing that with “fitness trainer, fitness trainer”. She, without a doubt, looked like she ought to be chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness; making Jane Fonda look flabby.

Suck on that, Arnold!

With an intricate concept, Broadwaylike choreography, a body of steel and stage design to satisfy the most demanding stargazers in a crowd populated by styleconscious Madonna wanna-be’s, her higness

wore her imagery like armor. Her stylized costumes were deliberately artificial; an unsmiling face accompanied by severe make up and hair tightly pulled back in a blond ponytail. Did we forget to mention that her breasts were turned into pointy cones by Jean Paul Gaultier’s costumes?

Our queen of pop was such a perfectionist at the time, with an almost Jean Claude Van Damme-like body, and so athletic in her dancing that she would rather lip-sync than risk a wrong note. Ladies and gentlemen, behold the rise of the lip-syncing era.

The show, without a doubt, flouted taboos of a sexual nature and well, of course, wrote the book on blasphemy. The show had Madonna climbing atop a male dancer and grinding against him then, a few songs later, pushing around both female backup singers and dancers and kicking them… that’s right, kicking them as they lie on the platform. And then of course, the infamous red velvet bed set: There she is, lying on a, you guessed it, bed covered with red velvet sheets and attended by two male dancers with long conical yet comical breasts, ironically humming to ‘Like A Virgin’. Then to the sounds of a pseudo Middle Eastern arrangement, she strokes herself and writhes against the pillows, building the tension higher and higher till she explodes with a guttural cry: “God!” The black curtain behind her flies open, and a chorus surrounded by rows upon rows of electric candles joins her in ‘Like A Prayer’ and encircles her throughout the number. A couple of ballads later, the show goes on to tackle abusive parents and the church’s paternal authority with songs

like ‘Oh Father’ and ‘Papa Don’t Preach’; next thing you know, she’s knocking down her male dancers! We told you earlier; body of steel. The show goes on to mock the 1930’s music of Dick Tracy; dressed in a chorus-girl-styled fringed camisole and singing about spanking in ‘Hanky Panky’, she yells out “Let’s do something really naughty - let’s lip-sync”. She then proceeds to wrap up that part by dancing to ‘Now I’m Following You’ accompanied by a Dick Tracy stand-in wearing a yellow raincoat and men paired off with men.

Going back to the dance hits, her highness raps a couplet about condoms, grooves to ‘Into the Groove’ and ends with ‘Keep It Together’; pep talking the crowds with “Never, ever doubt yourself”.

We’re not sure if she was trying to break any new ground in rock theatrics by testing taboos in the Blond Ambition tour, but the show had a sense of self-importance that worked against it: it promised profundity but somehow delivered triteness. It did, however, clearly make a major statement about the malleability of gender conventions and about women taking control. In many ways, Madonna in that show was everything Liza Minnelli seems to want to be within the great show-biz entertainment world.

Madonna’s approach offers eyepopping dazzle with flashy sets, colourful costumes and a troop of dancers. Blessed with a marvellous sense of performance, her highness commands the stage equally whether surrounded by dancers or sitting alone on a chair. No props needed. It is absolutely fascinating to watch her perfectionism and her iron will at work. - (M)

9

INTERVIEW: BIPOLAR SUNSHINE // IN BLOOM

INTERVIEW BY MOHAMAD ABDOUNI PHOTOGRAPH BY HOLLIE FERNANDO ADIO, MR. BIPOLAR SUNSHINE HIMSELF, IS A (NOT-SO-NEW-ON-THE-SCENE) up and coming “TOUR DE FORCE” . From FLORAL BACKGROUNDS to burning backdrops, Bipolar sunshine RELEASED TWO CLOSE-TO-PERFECT EP’S THIS YEAR (AESTHETICS AND DROWNING BUTTERFLIES) AND IS LOOKING TO RELEASE HIS FULL LENGTH RECORD BY THE SUMMER OF NEXT YEAR. HE had us at “laugh more AND WORRY LESS”, but when we caught up with him, we fell hard for the sweet guy behind the music.

Bipolar Sunshine is a name that lends itself to many interpretations. What went on behind the name and what was the point of Bipolar Sunshine?

The reason behind the name is that I wanted to be able to write for any type of extreme angle. Now the name “Bipolar Sunshine” came about very easily. I wanted to be able to explore as many avenues as I wanted to. is “Alternative Pop”, as you’ve mentioned previously in some of your interviews, really what defines your sound the most?

Being categorized under “Alt. Pop” is perfect for me because it IS Alt. Pop at the end of the day and I do enjoy a lot of pop music.

I am however trying to come at it from an alternative angle. It’s the reason why my music sounds the way it does and touches the way it does. I wanted to throw a bit more Soul in it and give it a bit more meaning.

If you were to indulge us and name-drop an artist or a band that has ventured into a

similar sound to the one we’ve come to enjoy from you, who would you mention?

Recently I’ve really been into Drake’s production. He’s amazing on his last studio album. So I definitely say something like Drake or Kanye’s stuff really.

How does it feel like to have Mr. A$AP Rocky himself as a fan of your work?

It’s amazing for someone like A$AP Rocky to be a fan of my work. He actually gave me a massive shout out because I did a cover of ‘Long Live A$AP’ and I saw him talking about it. That was an absolutely amazing feeling.

Any plans for releasing a full LP under Bipolar Sunshine in the coming year?

The album is looking like it should be out sometime in June. Actually, June or July of next year. I honestly think that the two EP’s have really set me up nicely, I’m going to be putting singles out in

“I DO ENJOY A LOT OF POP MUSIC”

10

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

between that time. And everyone is gona be jumping up for joy when the finally get the album… Wicked S**t.

The image that accompanies your music carries a lot of theatricality and a feminine touch, what with extensive use of beautiful floral imagery. why is that?

The reason why I use a lot of floral imagery is because I think it signifies life and death in the most beautiful way possible. Flowers and floral imagery always used to signify that and portray the death or life of something at the same time.

How did taking part in Kid British (as lead vocalist) help prepare you as of 2007 for the solo career you’ve finally taken on?

It was an amazing feeling to be in Kid British. You know what I mean? I enjoyed that for a couple of years. I had a great time and I wouldn’t change it for the world. It has made me who I am today and has put me in this position now to fully release myself and write straight from the heart exactly how I feel instead of having to go around a couple of other people first. I’m fully enjoying the moment.

Throughout the past year, what record have you played over and over and would consider to be the record of the year 2013?

The records I’ve been playing this year? I’d probably say Drake’s ‘Worst Behavior’ and Kanye’s ‘Bound 2’. I’m still fully enjoying those two.

Did you accomplish all you wanted to professionally before the year’s end?

There are a lot of things I haven’t accomplished this year because I had set for myself many things to do. I just wanted to push myself to the highest and try and reach the top… As far I can go. So hopefully for next year I’m going to put them all back in the boat and push on and try to do as much as I can. - (M)

“IT’S AMAZING FOR SOMEONE LIKE A$AP ROCKY TO BE A FAN OF MY WORK”

11

12

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

FASHION ARTICLE // COSTUME CHECK

ARTICLE BY CHARLES HADDAD ILLUSTRATION BY ERIC RITTER

T

he majority of the population that goes to see a performance of some sort rarely thinks of the costumes within; their main purpose of going is to be entertained.

However, one of the biggest jobs in the entertainment industry is the job of a Costume Designer. They bring the character to life from script to stage; the director is then able to conjure the storyline and make the audience dream.

The viewer doesn’t realize how big of a role costume plays in the emancipation of a character; because it is expected that if you are going to see a period play, it will have costumes from that period per say. The audience forgets that there is a person behind closed doors that is telling a story through fabric, a costume historian, a social commentator and a fashion anthropologist.

We begin with one of the most significant designers that ever contributed to the entertainment industry; Adrian, who is famous for his work in The Wizard of Oz, dressing up miss Judy Garland in her iconic ruby slippers. Designers for the theatre also dabbled in cinema quite a bit such as the likes of Charles Lemaire who began as a Vaudevillian, got famous for designing costumes for the Ziegfeld Follies and then moved onto the silver screen to be in charge of 20th Century-Fox’s wardrobe department.

However, the high priestess of costume design is one miss Edith Head. With her signature bangs, she single handedly cooked up some of the most iconic images in film and theatre history. Audrey Hepburn’s black dress in Sabrina, Tippi Hedren’s pale green number in The Birds, Liz Taylor’s gown in A Place in the Sun, and Grace Kelly’s blue dress in To Catch a Thief all had one common denominator. In 1924, she waltzed her way into Paramount Pictures for a job interview with absolutely no costume design experience using another artist’s sketches. By 1930 she became Hollywood’s

Imagine Captain Jack Sparrow rocking a Tom Ford suit. How about Madame Bellatrix Lestrange in an Oscar De La Renta ballgown?

Something is a little off, no? Try this exercise next time you go see a movie or a play; try to think of the complete opposite attire of what the actor is wearing, would that change your perception of the character? Would it be harder for you to dive into the storyline?

elite costume designer, which lead to her 43 years at Paramount; until she decided it was time for a change. On to Universal Studios it was! Most likely influenced by the move of her close colleague, Alfred Hitchcock. She was accredited with 35 academy award nominations, won 8 times. To this day she is the only woman that holds that record of academy awards.

Today we have a few designers following in Miss Head’s footsteps… our modern day Edith is the acclaimed Colleen Atwood. With three academy awards and ten nominations to her name, she is considered one of the most significant costumers of our time. She has costumed an abundant amount of contemporary films but she tends to lean towards the ethereal, choosing to continuously work with the likes of Tim Burton. It does seem that her favorite director to collaborate with is the man behind Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd and Alice in Wonderland. But then again who wouldn’t want to work with such a free spirit?

Other stories she has brought to life are Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha and Public Enemies.

The Costume and fashion worlds tend to correlate at times; its a two way street with a lot of give and take. The costumes from a certain box office hit could ignite a new fashion trend or mood and vice versa. A few fashion designers have tried their hand at costume design, such as Hubert de Givenchy’s infamous little black dress for Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Jean Paul Gaultier’s otherworldly designs in The Fifth Element and Christian Lacroix, for the American Ballet Theatre and the Paris Opera Ballet.

So lets recap a bit shall we? The next time you decide you want to have a quiet night at home watching Pride and Prejudice and crying yourself into a bucket of cookie dough ice cream, think to yourself: would I still be enjoying this good old-fashioned cry fest if they were rocking leather shorts and baggy jeans? “Yo dawg, I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.” We think NOT! - (F)

13

14

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014 ©2013 Irish Distillers Limited

15

ILLUSTRATOR 16

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

1. Tell us briefly about you and what makes you do 4. Professionally, what is a project you’ve always what you do.

WANTED to delve into but haven’t gotten the chance to yet?

I can’t tell you who I am in words. I am who I am, as you may know me, or as I know myself. My work I’ve had this idea for a video for over a year now usually mirrors the life I am living, including what I and still haven’t found the right way to do it. It’s have lived and what I am longing to live. quite complicated and needs a lot of work in postproduction for special effects. I’ve tried a more raw 2. When was the last time you were on stage or in version of the video, no effects, but the result wasn’t the spotlight? and why? what I had in mind.

I’m on stage often. My last project was filming a short video for a DJ and his label.

5. Who’s the first persona that pops to mind when you think of the stage and what does that person represent to you?

3. What is the one illustration you wish you had drawn YOURSELF? So many names and images come to mind. To me the stage can be an actual stage, as it can be a movie, a ‘Untitled (Couple)’ by Balint Zsako. performance, or an artwork. - (I)

17

18

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

19

20

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

21

INTERVIEW: NADA ABOU FARHAT // ON-STAGE & ON-SCREEN

INTERVIEW BY RUDY SHAHEEN PHOTOGRAPH BY CHARLES CREMONA We’re not gonna go around pointing fingers (actually…ahem. Ok no, no we won’t)…. But, when it comes to making it in the PERFORMING arts in this corner of the land, boobs are the way to go.

Thankfully though, there’s an exception to every rule and in this case the exception comes in the talented shape of Nada Abou Farhat. From the stage to the screen, this audience favorite has shown the industry that talent doesn’t need cleavage.

22

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

What is Beirut to you?

What’s the one role you would never take on?

I’ve never thought about that.

Beirut is bipolarity. I can’t wake up every day in Beirut, because I can’t stand the noise while I drink my morning coffee, but at the same time I can’t stand being far from this chaos for a long time (the most I can go is 2 days). I suddenly feel disconnected from my cultural and entertainer hub; far from the fun and most of all far from the theatre which I adore.

Do you wish you were born in a country where the art of theater is more appreciated and can take you further?

Well yes I do wish so, but for my kids if I get any, not only for art, but for every choice they make regarding their careers.

Lebanon now is for people like us who suffered the war and are still enjoying their existence after the difficult era they witnessed. Lebanon now is for tough people who are unable to leave because they want to enjoy the rest of their lives in this magical contradictory place. I was aware of all the difficulties I would face in my career and I made the choice because I believe in myself and my abilities regardless of the country I’m living in.

Are you trying to stand out from other actors on the scene by constantly taking on - for the lack of any other words - controversial roles such as Vola’s character in Bosta?

I choose the role that I find suitable for my acting abilities. I’m not responsible for other actors who are in front of me or watching from outside.

What’s your most favorite played role?

We are witnessing a massive flood of TV series and movies in Lebanon that are beyond absurd: from storyline to acting, directing and so on… what’s your stand on that and what would you like to say to those who are trying to break into the acting scene but have absolutely no background in it and haven’t even studied it?

When it comes to TV series I think we need a variation of styles in both acting and scriptwriting. We need more believable stories with more lifelike actors. In fact, I think Lebanese people need both: the style we see now and the other one I’m talking about.

In the cinema industry, thankfully, we don’t have this problem anymore. Each season, we see the release of around six or seven movies, each with its own style.

Since this issue’s theme is ‘Exit, stage left’, why don’t you tell us about your personal favorite moment on stage?

When the loud voice of the audience hushes into total silence. My heart starts beating fast and my mind and body are fully ready to confront the 4th wall and absorb the audience’s energy. That’s it; my favorite moment.

Do you have any ritual before going on stage?

If so, what is it?

I do have this one ritual that hasn’t change since my first play: I never go on stage without one last potty stop. Oh, and Strepsils 10 minutes prior to going on.

Nouhad Noun in Majnoun Yehke is my favorite role so far for many reasons; one of them is the amount of concentration, emotions and energy I had to conjure for the role, the second reason is standing in front of Ziad El Rahbani whom I love and appreciate so much and the third is the love and respect that emanated from the lovely director Lina Khoury.

How long does it usually take you to accept a role or decline it?

What was your worst role to play?

What would you want people to say about Nada About Farhat?

The worst one was the one I played with unprofessional people (directors, technicians and producers), I will leave the guessing up to you.

I usually read the script and concentrate on the role. If my heart beats for it, it takes no time for me to decide. However, if my mind takes over it will take some time but the answer is almost always a no.

I will never forget her role in… - (M)

LIGHTNING ROUND // MIDNIGHT SNACK OR SUNDAY BRUNCH SUNDAY BRUNCH // CATS OR DOGS DOGS // STAGE OR MOVIE THEATRE STAGE // AN ACTOR YOU WOULD NEVER GO OUT WITH VAN DAMME ... AND WAJIH SAKER // FIVE WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOU ADAPTABLE, POSITIVE, JEALOUS, GOOD LIAR, SPENDER // THREE WISHES TO DIE OF A HEART ATTACK, TO ALWAYS LIVE HAPPILY WITH THE ONE I LOVE AND FOR PEOPLE TO LIKE MY UPCOMING PROJECTS // GOOD PAY OR GOOD SCRIPT GOOD SCRIPT // THE WORST ADVICE YOU EVER HEARD LOOK AT THE MIRROR WHILE REHEARSING FOR YOUR ROLE // THREE WORDS TO ALL THE HATERS IT IS RECIPROCAL //

23

WRITTEN BY KARL HITTI

MUSICAL OBSESSIONS THE BROADWAY CRITIC BLOG THEATRE GEEKS

24

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

THE BLOGGER

MUSICAL OBSESSIONS (musical-obsessions.tumblr.com)

A

n accurate way to describe musicals in one word would be sassy; Tens of people singing and dancing their way through life. Another word would be blasphemous! Everybody could use a bit of sass in their lives and musical-obsessions.tumblr.com is the way to instill it. This web page compiles all forms of information related to the world of musicals. The anonymous admin has seen more than twenty different melodic interpretations in his somewhat short lifespan. Some specific shows like Phantom of The Opera even get repeat visits – four different ones to be exact. This eager dedication is portrayed in the varied types of the numerous posts that are regularly made. Visitors will find perfectly up to date information about recent casting news in the world of Broadway theatre while also being able to peruse the ever-popular GIFs of movies and live performances. Through these hard and harsh times, a getaway break is just what the doctor ordered… Careful though; side effects could include pooping glitter.

The broadway critic blog (Thebroadwaycriticblog.com)

N

othing breeds polar opposite reactions like the absence of women’s rights in the Middle East does… well, except for musicals.

The vast majority of people around the world find it ludicrous, while the other camp defends it so vehemently that it might start to make sense to some unsuspecting strangers. Whether you love it, hate it, or can’t quite be bothered with it, it exists and there isn’t much you can do about it. Nothing that wouldn’t end you behind bars or six feet under that is… However, if you do employ dark methods of extermination, the anonymous writer behind this glittery blog will probably find himself at the top of your list. The only information we were able to gather about this blogger is that he is a teacher who takes his Broadway shit pretty seriously. So seriously in fact, that his reviews are being quoted by musical productions; the latest being Spiderman:Turn Off the Dark, one of the most controversial musicals in recent times. The masked writer also lends his thoughts on the San Francisco and London theatre scenes. The blogging material, nonetheless, isn’t only limited to reviews; interesting year end polls, quiz gift giveaways and up to date inside news are also on the agenda. If you’ve got jazz hands with a penchant for web exploration, this is your Broadway destination.

THEATRE GEEKS (Theatregeeks.com)

S

tage enthusiasts unite! This site is almost everything you have ever yearned for: we say “almost” because reviving Sarah Bernhardt does goes a bit over our yearly budget. The concept itself is pretty simple, weekly podcasts revolving around the ups, downs and technicalities of community theatre. Three major contributors, whose qualifications vary between entertainment journalism and theatre direction, manage most of the website’s activity. The endurable trio consists of the lively Marcia Fulmer who is currently managing her daughter’s acting career on the side, John Jay Shoup, a volunteer in theatre production whose had been part of the scene since the mid 80’s and Dave Dufour; an award winning director and tech ingénue. The team periodically brings in skilled theatre practitioners from around the United States and has entertaining and insightful discussions. These deliberations even include recorded games like improv activities, which sometimes involve audience members, quizzes, in house stand up skits and puppeteer shows. This address is really one of the most elaborate theatre information hubs. Students, amateurs and simple curious bystanders will get the inside scoop of what it’s like to work in the business, or study for it, straight from the horse’s mouth.

25

INTERVIEW: SERGE YARED // MR. INCOMPETENT

the incompetents

AN INTERVIEW WITH SERGE YARED

INTERVIEW BY KARL HITTI ILLUSTRATION BY ALFRED TARAZI

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of an Incompetents concert is bare feet.

It is after all the lead singer’s signature look. Over-the-top energy on stage, accidental improvisation, grim gritty lyrics, impressive music compositions, oh and more-often-than-not off-key vocals are all part of the indie/caveman (yes that’s a genre) band appropriately dubbed Incompetents. Throw a black monster-like mascot in and you’ve got yourself a hell-of-asurprising crowd pleaser!

The incompetent description has become part of your constitution as band. In a way it is a big part of your selling point as eclectic performers.

Do we see the irony in that? *Giggles* Well not really! The whole project started as a misunderstanding. I was 29 and I had never performed or played an instrument before. The band itself is an inversed pyramid; we started to record an album before we even had a band. I went to Fadi’s wanting to work on my own folk album, but after I noticed how good of a musician he was I inquired about us working together. We built everything together and ended up with 8 different songs. When it came down to our name it’s Alfred Tarazi that came up with it, after calling us “so incompetent”. I adapted the name just to get the pressure off my back, hoping that people wouldn’t be able to judge my singing in a very critical manner right off the top.

Was that the plan all along?

Use the name as a mirage while cleverly slipping musical ingenuity through?

Mmmm yes that’s it. It’s a trap in the sense of we wanted people to go behind the classic singer concept, where the band’s genuine core is located.

Can you summarize the history of the incompetents in three emblematic dates or moments?

Oh, well number one would be when I played with Fadi for the first time. It was around the end of 2008. That was the first key moment. But come to think of it I’m gonna have to extend my answer to more than three dates, because our defining moments took place whenever new members joined the troupe. Amine Daher,

26

Malek Rizkallah, Marc Codsi, Maya Aghniadis, Abed Kobeissy, Paed Conca and Stéphane Rives. These professional musicians, who wouldn’t usually hang out in real life circumstances, shake down our “incompetent” reputation. From this angle there is a Punk perspective in how we do things, by always including everyone around us in the project itself. At some point we even asked a delivery guy to add some backing vocals to one of our tracks. We have something to say we’re just finding the way to do it.

If “Roro” (The incompetent’s mascot) were to ever become a living breathing creature…

Roro is actually a living, breathing creature!

Wait What?

It’s a lunatic old woman that lives in my building. She is, well how do I put it… very special?

Haha why did you chose her as you mascot?!

Well Alfred came up with the creature and I found it reassuring to have something so ridiculous roaming around your artwork.

Roro is how we play down what is expected of us. It goes perfectly with my accent, my singing, my guitar playing and the way it all started really. It just felt right.

According to you is there a major difference between a singer and a performer?

There is none! Singing is performing, interpreting and reinterpreting.

What about choosing your favorite performer in today’s musical landscape?

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

*stutters nervously* mmm today? Well Sparks, Bruce Springsteen, Sigur Ros and Tom Waits put on one hell of a show…

Ya’ll are known to put on a very good show yourselves, is there a special routine that goes with that?

Well we’re never really together before we go on stage, since everyone is preparing something. Although we actually have shots sometimes, no actual routine really exists. Chaos is a big part of it. And when it comes to me I’m only comfortable when I perform; between songs I stare at my feet and mumble words. I’m not Hamed Sinno, Charbel Haber nor Charlie Rayne. I don’t have their natural charisma. But when I perform it goes beyond me and that is the magic of Rock; I’m not myself, I am a superhero.

Well then, WHAT ARE your personal ingredients to put on a good performance?

First of all, space! I need to move and dance around. I hate feeling restricted. Second, singing barefoot because I feel that I have a better grip with my surroundings and better contact with myself. And well you should always be ready to have a moment of improvisation, in our band it’s chaos but within a framework.

Now if you could go back and meet up with yourself at the moment when you were about to get on stage for the very first time, what advice or nonadvice would you give?

I wouldn’t say anything. It’s like bungee jumping to be honest. What advice would I give to someone that is about to do that?

Just jump!

Being that you have witnessed the during and the after of the always-referenced Lebanese civil war, how is the aftermath affecting our art scene? Especially in the independent musical sector, genre and theme wise?

Coming out of any war, people focus on what is essential, that means main living priorities, while letting go of secondary subjects like the arts. With time, around ten to fifteen years ago art schools became more prolific and parents had time to focus more on this tool of self-expression, which is why, as a whole, the new generation plays instruments more professionally than its peers. Roughly you have about three waves; start with Lumi and Scrambled Eggs after that you have the Mashrou’ Leilas followed now by the Loopstaches.

Theme-wise, wave one, which is made out of older more conscious people, deals with the war crudely, while the others deal with more relevant themes like the 2006 war but with a more nostalgic view.

Well in your case why the repetitive themes of despair, distress and disillusionment in your songs?

It’s more amusement and irony. To me irony is essential, since I don’t see myself as a proper artist. Music-wise I’m a caveman; the chords I play are by pure photographic memory. Sacha Guitry once said, “only great artist can consider relinquishing irony”. This quote just gives artists that are not ingenious some sort of escape route for their work to age well and stay relevant. It is a counter-poison.

sense out of them. I lay them down on the melody that usually comes first.

DO YOU HAVE ANY Future plans after the Paris show?

Hopefully a new album will be recorded in 2014. What I love is that directors are inspired by the music enough that they contact us wanting to make a video for a certain song. 8 tracks out of 12 had a video treatment in our last effort; so hopefully there will be more of that.

You are the band’s sole lyricist, your writing process: take us through its evolution.

OK, ONE Final question, do you consider that you have amounted to something in your life or are you still and always incompetent?

To me songwriting is the most difficult process ever; if I had lyrics I would record an album today! Basically a song might take 8 years to write. They all start as a conclusion that I get from a conversation or a movie.

After that at some point I assemble all of these different phrases and try to make

*Laughs* well the answer is an existential one. If I were to pass away tomorrow I would have these albums behind me, because I am very proud of them. Probably some other essays that I have written, these few things that you could put in a box would in the end represent me; my imprint. - (M)

LIGHTNING ROUND // FAVORITE DIRECTOR ORSON WELLS // FAVORITE WRITER JOHN KENNEDY TOOLE // FAVORITE MUSICAL UGH I HATE MUSICALS! // BETTE MIDLER OR BETTE DAVIS BETTE DAVIS // THOR OR LOKI LOKI! // CHEESECAKE OR CHEESEBURGER CHEESECAKE // LOU REED WITH METALLICA OR LOU REED WITH THE KILLERS WITH METALLICA, IT’S MORE RIDICULOUS // FOOT FETISH OR FOOTBALL WHAT? NO! FOOT FETISH // TOM WAITS OR BENCH PRESS WEIGHTS TOM WAITS //

27

INTERVIEW: JULIANA YAZBECK // “ACTRESS SLASH SINGER IN MY BEDROOM”

Juliana YAZBECK INTERVIEW BY SERENA EL HADDAD PHOTOGRAPH BY BII ORPRASERT

To hear Juliana sing, one would imagine she’s a hundred feet tall with lungs of steel. Not quite! That sultry, heart-wrenching, goose-bump inducing voice belongs to a tiny woman who nonetheless is larger than life. Singer, songwriter, yes. But also and equally important: actress, artist, stylist and performer. And here’s the cherry on top, this little lady’s heart is not only set on the region, she’s got the world in her sights!

Could you give us an insider’s look at the whole story behind your first single?

It’s a typical debut single story, really. It started over a year ago. I was very poor and frustrated at the time (see I said it was typical), and I wrote it as a standard 12bar blues. The lyrics just came out, like a sneeze. I came back to it a year later still thinking it had potential. I normally trash 90% of what I write. So I sat down, clicked “record” on – cringe – Garage Band and just sang an entirely different version.

The final version you’re listening to was created in the studio with Ric Elsworth, the percussionist who produced it, who I think is brilliant.

In your opinion, how does today’s popular culture limit the way performance artists express themselves and their concepts (art, ideas, songs, etc.)?

I don’t think it does, actually. I think we are so able to get by and succeed with or without record companies that we don’t have to worry about being limited at all.

The internet is your friend too. You can do whatever you want and put it out there, and it’ll more likely than not strike a chord with some people. Crowd funding is great too.

Well I’ve never used it, but it seems great.

You are someone who has dabbled in fine arts, styling, acting, performing, etc. If you

28

had to pick only one form of expression what would it be?

Can I be a pain and say “worked” instead of “dabbled”? I still work professionally in all those areas and I love them all. But if I were to choose, I would act. There is so much power in being in character on stage.

It is unbeatable. I live for it. I hope I never have to choose though.

HOW DOES BEING A LEBANESE WOMAN HELP YOU OR INFLUENCE THE WAY YOU DEAL WITH YOUR ART? As a singer-songwriter I find that I just have more interesting stuff to say because I’m Lebanese. Does that sound obnoxious?

What I mean is we have seen more than most musicians out there. That became particularly clear to me once I moved out of the country. We don’t have to go looking for experiences to write about. I think other Lebanese songwriters would agree.

How much did you struggle to be able to get to London and to land a part in the upcoming movie Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Did people believe in you? How hard was it to believe in yourself?

I love you for asking me that. One thing I want all young actors to know is that no one will really believe in you. Not because they don’t love you, simply because they can’t see it happening. But you can. And you need to keep reminding yourself that.

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

I’ve worked in street markets, restaurants, shops, toilet cleaning, etc. I’ve been homeless. I’ve been robbed and broke. I’m telling you this because I really want actors to know it’s normal to struggle that much.

But just as I almost gave up, I landed the lead part in a National Theatre of Scotland production and got signed by an agent in the same week. So. The moral of the story is: don’t bloody give up. Period.

Even when people are like, “you’re an idiot.” Because once I started getting big acting jobs, everyone went from “you’re an idiot” to “you’re a hero.”

But getting Jack Ryan, funnily, felt easy compared to other acting jobs, perhaps because in Jack Ryan they were looking for American actors in London. It’s the parts I’ve played with National Theatre of Scotland, National Theatre of Wales, Edinburgh International Festival… those, I’ve had to really fight for, because they’ve been major or lead roles, and in those jobs I’m up against all of Britain, trying to crack into their national theatre scene. But I’ve busted down the door now. Finally.

How does it feel to be a Lebanese artist outside of your home country. How do people look at you when they find out that you’re Lebanese?

They don’t look at you in any particular way. There are actors in London from Uganda, Korea, France, Turkey, Chile…

No one gives a s**t where you’re from.

It’s the Lebanese who are confused as hell

“EVERYONE WENT FROM YOU’RE AN IDIOT TO YOU’RE A HERO”

when they find out I’m Lebanese and I’m an actor and I don’t have any family in London. “What are you doing here on your own?”

“I’m an actor.” *Awkward stare*. In terms of how it feels to be a Lebanese artist outside of Lebanon… I’m not sure… A lot freer than being a Lebanese artist in Lebanon, I’ll tell you that.

Tell us more about your experience with singer/cinematographer Myles Sanko.

He’s so great, and I’m not just saying that. That whole video was shot in about three hours. That’s because Myles knows exactly what he’s doing – I made a storyboard and we skyped to discuss it, so I had a pretty specific idea to begin with, but when it came down to the actual shoot, I was 100% a performer and left the directing up to him. The location was stunning, and yes I was freezing, but it was worth it. I think you can tell it was shot by a man – all that booty – but I’m entirely happy with the video. Yeah, I like that video. A lot. High five, Myles.

Do your future plans involve collaborating with Lebanese bands? What is your opinion

on both the indie and popular Lebanese music scenes?

I am very impressed with Who Killed Bruce Lee. I’d like for whoever’s producing their stuff to produce mine. But overall I’m afraid I’m no Lebanese indie music connoisseur. I should familiarize myself. But I can say one thing: I’m also very impressed that some artists are able to stick it out and stay there and not shoot themselves in the face. I couldn’t. By all means though, anyone interested can holla.

You are now working with the guitarist of the late Amy Winehouse; how tempted are you to set up a Ouija board session to communicate with her?

Creepy! When I first started working with Robin, I used to feel strange every time we covered an Amy song. He was very close to her. Our first gig together was at Bar Solo in Camden, which was also where their first gig together was. But her songs are so legendary and timeless, it’s impossible not to cover them and hope you’re doing her justice. We love you, Amy. - (M2)

29

30

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

ARTICLES BY KARL HITTI ILLUSTRATIONS BY AUDREY GHOUSSOUB

31

GENERATION GAP // MAPEI NAME: MAPEI COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA GENRE: NU HIP HOP DOWNLOAD: DON’T WAIT SOUNDS LIKE: AN URBAN ROBYN

A

round the end of 2008 a young rapper of unknown exotic origins started making waves around the United States. Jacqueline Mapei Cummings had the American hip-hop scene by the balls. Every single blog that had a seeming of influence wrote an exposé about the lady. She drew somewhat obvious references to other strong female counterparts, like M.I.A, Amanda Blank and Santigold.

Come 2009, waves were now cyclones and Downtown Records had a new artist on their roster. An EP entitled Cocoa Butter Diaries made it to record store shelves, and naturally critical appraisal was not far behind. References of Woody Allen and Poetic Justice only tingled the curious bystanders’ salivating mouths. In an unexpected turn of events, Mapei the rapper put on her last show around the middle of 2009. She then exited the stage, consequently disappearing from public circulation for the coming 3 years.

Fast forward to October 2013; Soundcloud reigns supreme over our online musicology and Hype Machine measure an artist’s online popularity. Mapei the popstar, decides to upload her latest musical concoction on the referenced platform. Within that month, ‘Don’t Wait’ rockets up to number one on Hype Machine and Ms. Cummings is exactly back where she left off. One game changing

32

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

exception remains to be noted since her vocal expression is not only limited to blasting out words in a rhythmic manner, she now sings.

Jacqueline describes the genre binding song track as “21st-century Gospel or Doo-Wop”, and we could not agree more.

After being raised for most of her young life in Sweden the pioneer immersed herself in the country’s mutated brand of pop music. Add to that a couple of years spent in Rhode Island, Tunisia, Brasil and Brooklyn and you’ll get an amalgam of widely different cultural clashes. When your whole identity is based upon defining already preexisting exterior borders you will eventually learn to embed your knack for concoction into your art. ‘Don’t Wait’ marries Doo Wop finger snaps, soulful and gangsta vocals with Brazilian Baile Funk previously marinated in electronic Swedish signatures. Gladly, this is where the songstress seems to have found herself. At the moment all we can do is patiently wait for her to finish recording her debut LP with renowned producer Magnus Lidehall (Britney Spears, Sky Ferreira).

When she first started out her musical career, Mapei was publicly credited for bringing Hip-Hop back to Stockholm. In the coming year she will be the lady who brings Doo Wop back to the world stage. - (M)

GENERATION GAP // MS MR NAME: MS MR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA GENRE: DREAM POP DOWNLOAD: HURRICANE SOUNDS LIKE: FLORENCE ON XANAX

W

hen they first met, Lizzy Plapinger and Max Hershenow were two polite university students that cordially acknowledged each other in public.

Max was an Idaho boy pursuing his musical dreams by producing any band he could get his hands on.

While Lizzy, a bit more the direct type, took a chunk right out of the industry after she co-founded the record label Neon Gold Records. Her roster today includes HAIM, Ellie Goulding, The Naked & Famous and Gotye, to name a few. After Max’s projects fizzled he decided to contact Lizzie in hopes of producing one of her clients, but she had a different idea in mind. By pulling a switcheroo she convinced him to start a band with her and thus, MS MR was born.

In 2011, the two concocted a devious plan that would lead them to organically reap a steadily growing fan base. They set up their own Tumblr page and started posting material, while giving carefully studied breaks between each release. The online hubs went mental because of one ingenious catch; no one knew who was behind MS MR. By keeping their human identities anonymous, they gave the listeners the chance to connect with the music solely on the base of artistry. This meant that the interest could only be genuine; hence faithful. After the first impact rippled effectively

they shed light on their previously mysterious faces through select appearances around the states.

Their introductory EP Candy Bar Creep Show, was then followed by their debut Secondhand Rapture, released in 2013. Just like their name indicates, the duo is able to bring together seemingly opposite elements in a way that starts to make sense. Their signature is kitsch with a side of creepy. The MS MR grim comes in with perfectly produced defected electronic hints, trip-hoppy rhythms and epic strings. Max’s signature ghastliness clashes head on with the way he arranges Lizzie’s raw vocals. Her aloofness beams right through the delectably industrialized instrumentals, giving you the perfect image of a disillusioned light witch who recently had her heart shattered into a million pieces. This theatricality comes as a natural progression given that the two artists take their New York roots very seriously.

After singlehandedly conquering the blogospheres, MS MR has slowly become a constant staple at festivals worldwide. Recording of the follow up album is well on its way. Whether they achieve rough in-your-face mainstream success as their dark alt pop peers, Lana Del Rey and Florence & The Machine have remains to be seen. We say be sure to not count their hypnotizing phonetic spells out just yet. - (M)

33

GENERATION GAP // BLACK ATLASS NAME: BLACK ATLASS COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: CANADA GENRE: POST DUBSTEP / NU R&B DOWNLOAD: Castles (Ryan Hemsworth Remix) SOUNDS LIKE: AN INTERESTING JAMES BLAKE

A

couple of months ago, one of our F/I/M2/P team members took some time off to roam around Canada’s icy landscapes. She had already booked her ticket to watch Woodkid live on the the 18th of October at Metropolis and we, as expected, had our panties in a bunch awaiting her feedback. We were, however, unprepared for the double whammy she delivered: the opening act Black Atlass was just as amazing as the main show itself.

Little loner boy Alex Fleming comprises the entirety of the act. Originally from London, Ontario, the youngster is Canada’s only hope for saving grace post Bieber-fever apocalypse. Unlike his antithesis, he decided to adopt a completely different route in order to carefully build his career and fan base. No YouTube cover videos were part of the marketing campaign; getting signed to a major label very early on in his career would have meant no room to grow artistically. Instead he focused on writing and producing his debut EP solo, right before the end of high school. When the tracks made their way online, organically generated interest sent more genuine labels his way. At the moment he is currently part of Fool’s Gold’s roster of clients – DJs A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs manage the Brooklyn label.

34

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

As Black Atlass, Alex already has one self-titled EP under his belt. Tracks create the perfect mold for a heavily thumping, grouchy yet still delicate musical experience. Theme wise, you’ll find yourselves in classic RnB landscape; love its downfalls and deep-rooted twisty relationships. The accompanying melodies are multilayered to say the least. You have your almost purely brute base; crushing raging baselines are met with schizophrenic hi-hat beats. Then, interferences of slicing guitar riffs or delicate piano keys, ground the spacey compositions. Finally, the last coat is courtesy of Flamings’ airy vocals. His sound is so cutting edge that Dior, Ssense and Louis Vuitton have already collaborated with him and many more are lining up.

With such a progressive hand mixing obscure tones with heavy romanticism, it is no wonder that Woodkid would choose this up and comer as the opening act for most of his Canadian tour dates.

Fleming has recently hinted that the tracks on his debut album will have a slightly more pop appeal than on the previously released EP. This may mean a smoother transition for him over to international charts, given that artists such as Kanye West and Frank Ocean have already nudged the door open with their hybrid forms of RnB and Hip-Hop. He clearly fits right in this mutated landscape. - (M)

GENERATION GAP // BABY ALPACA NAME: BABY ALPACA COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA GENRE: NEO FOLK DOWNLOAD: Sea Of Dreams (Turbotito Remix) SOUNDS LIKE: ANGUS AND JULIA STONE WITH A VENGENCE

L

ike the majority of Lebanese citizens, we bid farewell to another very close acquaintance of ours a couple of months ago. She headed to Los Angeles to study music management. October 21st on her schedule meant a Best Coast performance at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood Boulevard.“Their hipster opening act put on a fantastic show!” was the text we woke up to the next morning. It turned out that just like Black Atlass did for Woodkid a bit up north, the opening act Baby Alpaca put on a show just as good as the headliner. Lead singer Chris Kittrell and guitarist Zach McMillan have created this fantastic duo by successfully harvesting their own musical landscape. With the help of a moving plateau of different musicians, they turned Baby Alpaca into a collaborative camp. On stage you will casually see a cellist carry a conversation with an autoharp player.

Chris, the troupe’s main lyricist and composer, grew up on a farm in Cincinnati. Being a fashion designer, helped Kittrell understand how a certain style can transcend the idea of material and gradually evolve, blooming its own dimension. His scenic upbringing filters through in the band’s ethereal arrangements; the listener is never boxed up. Compositions leave enough room for you to have a stroll in your own thoughts while subtle notes caress your conscience. In

March of this year, former Le Tigre band member JD Samson signed the boys on her record label Atlas Chair. The result is the release of their self-titled debut EP that the older generation would probably describe as perfectly pinned between Chris Isaak and Morrissey. Single number one entitled ‘Sea Of Dreams’ comes across as a direct translation of a Dada rock dream Kittrell cooked up during his sleep. While other tracks ‘Wild Child’ and ‘Run With You’ fit perfectly into Alpaca’s dialed down rock aesthetic. Chris’ heavily reverbed vocals carry a spacey yet somewhat familiar mood.

Carefully poised guitar riffs and piano keys shape a well-crafted sonic world rhythmically divided around pulsating drum box beats.

Baby Alpaca’s shrewdness comes as a Depeche Mode cover of the XX with David Lynch phantasmagoria. And just like every artist that is part of this Generation Gap troupe, they fall into a new breed of singers who are changing the way we view our sounds. Following a web and media fueled exposé to constitutionally different sounds; the recent generation’s styles have become a melting pot of different genres. This means a heavier dose of globalized, theatrically-onpoint and somewhat easily marketed tunes. The music industry may be practically dead from a sales point of view, but this new trend should serve as a lifeline for its critical rebirth. - (M)

35

INTERVIEW: MIA HABIS // DANCE, DANCE, DANCE

Maqamat

AN INTERVIEW WITH MIA HABIS

INTERVIEW BY kRYSTEL KOUYOUMDJIS PHOTOGRAPHS BY RAMI HAJJ

According to google, a maqam (plural maqamat) is a set of notes with traditions that define relationships between them, habitual patterns, and their melodic development. Maqamat are best defined and understood in the context of the rich Arabic music repertoire. We disagree.

Maqamat are best defined by the beautiful choreographies and powerfully moving dance performances of the Lebanon-based dance COMPANY aptly named just that.

LEFT TO RIGHT: OMAR RAJEH & MIA HABIS

Give us a bit of a backstage pass to life at Maqamat.

What’s the daily routine like?

You are co-owners founders. How does Dynamic duo work?

Maqamat is daily hard work. We always have different projects needing to be planned and executed at the same time. So we have our daily physical training and then there’s all the managing, administrative and production part. We are dancers/choreographers but we work on many different levels, like BIPOD the festival for example, so it certainly needs physical and moral resistance. And a lot of passion and conviction!

It’s working very well! What is good in our partnership is that we are complementary. It is like two brains and sensitivities put together in all their common points and differences. What comes out of it is an even more dynamic and rich outcome. The main strength of our sustainability is in a free permanent communication. The respect and trust that we built up throughout the years

36

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

and this

allowed us to become a flexible yet solid entity. We both have specific titles in the company, Omar as the artistic Director of Maqamat /BIPOD and me as the management and communication director. But the limits aren’t that rigid.

I think in this job, the more you know about the different aspects of what you do, the more efficient you become. And of course the clearer the vision of what you do is, the better you can join efforts with individuals that have the same perspective and goals.

37

What do you disagree on the most while YOU GUYS ARE setting up a production?

Well the good thing is I don’t think we disagree really but we can go into debates and discussions in finding interesting ideas and keeping the course of the concept we are working on. It is always an interesting confrontation of brains put together. It mirrors different personalities and views on the different artistic approaches; like an investigation and a constant re-thinking of where we stand and in our way of dealing with art.

The advantage of discussing things and maybe disagreeing is that it questions and re-evaluates your position towards your values and choices and towards seeing things from different perspectives; a continuous change and flow of ideas. Our aim is to constantly challenge ourselves in creating new things and not repeating what we do. Overcoming insecurities and our comfort zones. It’s a very interesting process really.

How easy/difficult has it been making cultural activities happen in Lebanon?

Not easy. Not easy anywhere. But it’s true that we have a special treatment for it in Lebanon. What is good, despite the lack of cultural policies from our government and the terrible political instability, is that people are still eager to make and attend cultural events. This eagerness is what’s made it go on until now.

Difficulties and problem solving are part of our daily life and we happily deal with these issues artistically. What could be extremely rewarding is being able to create a different layer of communication that goes beyond daily routine and that allow us to experience our presence and question it continuously. Problems are there to be solved; otherwise we are out of the game.

You’re working on a brand new production for January under the title of Watadour.

What kind of performance will it be?

A very challenging one! On many levels!

Watadour is a dance performance with six artists and a moving circular stage.

I would say it is a new challenge for us

38

especially that everything moves on stage and not only the dancers. When Nasser Soumi first came to Omar with the idea of a moving platform, we were extremely excited and it immediately started triggering ideas. After that, we thought of inviting Sharif Sehnaoui for the music composition and Mazen Kerbaj for the visuals, as we’ve wanted to work with them for a long time and we were convinced that this project would be perfect for that.

Watadour plays around the idea of “the impossible”, the nearly unbelievable and absurd situations we encounter in our everyday life. It confronts the question of “adaptation and survival”, which seems to be continuously present in our physical and mental being. Everything moves, changes, and shifts around us; a turmoil of human, social, religious and political conflicts.

Watadour is about coping, adapting, acting, and surviving an insecure and continuously hostile environment.

ideas and concepts, gathering material and links that would inspire us in our artistic direction. However everything is always questioned and re-thought during the rehearsals process.

What part of this production are you most excited to share with the audience?

All of it. To be seen as a whole. What we would like to share are the questions we asked ourselves through this performance as well as the magic of this collaboration.

We hope that it will take them into a new and different journey.

We must admit that we are not doing work to please or entertain the audience.

We aim to share moments of uncertainties that came out of our questions and research. We believe in this dynamic that could motivate the audience towards inquiries and investigation rather than playing a receptive role.

What’s it like collaborating with big names like Mazen Kerbaj and Sharif Sehnaoui?

are there Any pre-openingnight routines that you find yourself repeating?

Mazen and Sharif are incredible artists.

We are very happy that they are present in this production along with the whole team. Their contribution is huge and means a lot to us all, on a professional and human level as well. They are both longtime friends. It is extremely enriching to share experiences and to mix different media in this process.

As dancers we warm up of course and we relax as much as possible. We check that everything on stage is ok. Sometimes we hug and spread good energies to each other and all around. We smile.

Sometimes I create silence inside myself.

I sit quietly. That’s about it.

In the same way we are delighted to have Nasser Soumi and Jonathan Samuels in the team. Nasser is a very strong visual artists and the whole performance is based on his original idea of the scenography. Jonathan is a British light designer that designed the lighting for our previous production and we are glad that he is with us again in this one.

How long does it take to set up a production of this size?

Was there any point where you felt like giving up?

When we talked about it the first time it was about a year ago. A bit on and off because we all had very busy schedules.

But let’s say that the rehearsals/ music/ drawings/ building of the set took around 3 months. We start slowly developing

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

What is the first thought that usually comes to mind at curtain call?

Relax. Here we go. Good bye. See you later! Have fun! *laughs* If you could sneak into the mind of audience members while you are performing, what would you want them to be thinking?

I would want them not to think! As for a piece of music, let yourself go to what you are experiencing. You have all the time to think after the show!

Would you ever imagine yourself working away from the stage? … Everything is possible! - (M)

MAZEN KERBAJ

NASSER SOUMI

COMICS AUTHOR

VISUAL ARTIST

BASSAM ABOU DIAB

SHARIF SEHNAOUI

DANCER

MUSICIAN

39

40

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

ARTICLE BY MOHAMAD ABDOUNI & RUDY SHAHEEN ILLUSTRATIONS BY RANA ZAHER

41

COVER STORY: GRACE JONES // LIFE AS PERFORMANCE ART

M

any performers have created stage personas for themselves over the years, some would even go as far as sticking to them off stage, for some, during the promotional period of their projects (who can forget Bowie and his beloved Ziggy Stardust?).

But none were ever able to do it like Grace Jones: The woman never got out of character. Grace Jones is a name that deserves to ring more than a simple bell in our collective culture. She is the entertainer whose life became performance art.

Her persona might’ve looked like a show at first, but the world soon came to understand that this show was never to cease as long as Ms. Jones still had a breath in her. At 60, today, she remains just as odd and still garners as much power when commanding the stage as she once did. While some might have only heard of her and others simply can’t get past her rough edges, we, on the other hand, still get dangerously overexcited whenever we come across one of her albums during our hunt for goods at used record stores.

Although her music career might’ve taken a turn for the worse throughout the nineties and kept digging its hole deeper, one shelved album after the other (one of which, a supposed collaboration with Tricky in 1998), she still had the legacy of her seventies and eighties to keep us going and remind us of the sheer power that came with the music, the visuals, the show and the Goude.

Allow us to recount the events that led to Grace Jones’ Golden Era (1977-1983) and six of the most entertaining, if not best, albums to hail from an absolute phenomenon. We’ll let our selective memory take over for a while and kid ourselves into believing nothing came in between the last of the Compass Point records in 1982 and the fantastic comeback Hurricane in 2008… because we can.

1948 GRACE MENDOZA (JONES) IS BORN ON MAY 19TH IN SPANISH TOWN, JAMAICA INTO A WELL-KNOWN FAMILY OF POLITICIANS AND PREACHERS. HER FATHER IS A POLITICIAN AND APOSTOLIC CLERGYMAN. LITTLE GRACE IS RAISED BY HER GRANDPARENTS AND HAS A STRICT UPBRINGING, GOING TO CHURCH UP TO THREE TIMES A WEEK.

LEAVES WITH A DRAMA PROFESSOR WHO HAD APPROACHED HER ABOUT WORKING WITH HIM ON A PLAY HE IS PUTTING ON IN PHILADELPHIA.

JONES TAKES ON THE MINOR ROLE OF A CLUB SINGER IN AN ITALIAN FILM CALLED COLT 38 SPECIAL SQUAD.

1966

1977

GRACE MOVES BACK TO NEW YORK.

BACK IN NEW YORK, STUDIO 54 IS TRANSFORMED INTO A NIGHTCLUB.

SHE SIGNS WITH WILHELMINA MODELLING AGENCY AND BEGINS HER CAREER AS A PROFESSIONAL MODEL. 1970

“YOU HAD TO WEAR A HAT TO GO TO CHURCH. WE WEREN’T ALLOWED TO STRAIGHTEN OUR HAIR. WE COULDN’T WEAR JEWELLERY, NAIL POLISH, OPEN BACKED SHOES, SKIRTS ABOVE THE KNEE...

TROUSERS WERE FORBIDDEN BECAUSE MALE APPAREL ON A FEMALE WAS NOT GODLY.” (_GRACE)

GRACE MOVES TO PARIS TO PURSUE HER MODELLING CAREER. HER UNUSUAL ANDROGYNOUS, BOLD AND DARK-SKINNED APPEARANCE LAND HER RUNWAY JOBS WITH YVES ST. LAURENT AND KENZO TAKADA.

SHE IS MOCKED BY HER CLASSMATES FOR HER “SKINNY FRAME,” HOWEVER EXCELS AT SPORTS.

SHE APPEARS ON THE COVERS OF ELLE, VOGUE AND STERN.

“I WAS CALLED ‘OLIVE OYL’ AND ‘NOTHING-IN-THE-MIDDLE’ BECAUSE I HAD NO BREASTS.” (_GRACE)

1975 GRACE RELEASES ‘I NEED A MAN’ ON FRENCH RECORD LABEL ORFEUS WHILE CONTINUING TO MODEL IN PARIS.

1961 THE RELEASE PASSES FAIRLY UNNOTICED. SHE MOVES TO HER PARENTS’ IN SYRACUSE, NEW YORK ALONG WITH HER SIBLINGS. SHE CONTINUES HER SCHOOLING AND ENROLLS AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY WHERE SHE STUDIES TO BE A SPANISH MAJOR. HALFWAY THROUGH COLLEGE, SHE

42

GRACE FREQUENTS STUDIO 54 HEAVILY WHILE STILL PURSUING A MODELLING CAREER. SHE BRUSHES ELBOWS WITH THE LIKES OF ANDY WARHOL AND MEETS JEAN-PAUL GOUDE (FRENCH GRAPHIC DESIGNER, ILLUSTRATOR, PHOTOGRAPHER AND ADVERTISING FILM DIRECTOR).

“SHE MADE ME PART OF HER LIFESTYLE, MADE ME GO OUT DANCING AT STUDIO 54. SHE BECAME AN OBSESSION AND WE DID EVERYTHING TOGETHER.” (_JP GOUDE) GRACE JONES IS SPOTTED BY ISLAND RECORDS JUMPING ON TABLES, SINGING AND DANCING TO DISCO MUSIC AT STUDIO 54.

ISLAND RECORDS DECIDE TO PUT HER IN THE STUDIO WITH PRODUCER TOM MOULTON (THE MAN WHO MADE GLORIA GAYNOR). SHE JUMPS AT THE CHANCE.

1976 GRACE RELEASES ‘SORRY’, SINGLE NUMBER TWO UNDER ORFEUS. THE RELEASE, JUST LIKE ITS PREDECESSOR, DOES NOT INITIATE HER SINGING CAREER.

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

JONES AND GOUDE EMBARK ON A LONG-TERM ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP. JEAN-PAUL GOUDE BEGINS WORKING WITH JONES, EVENTUALLY STAGEMANAGING HER LIVE SHOWS, CREATING HER ALBUM COVERS AND VIDEOS.

43

44

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

GRACE AND TOM MOULTON CLASH DURING WORK ON HER RECORD BECAUSE SHE IS ALREADY TOO MUCH OF A DIVA. “I HAD NO CONTROL AT ALL. I WAS DRAGGED AROUND ON A LEACH.” (_GRACE).

PORTFOLIO IS FINALLY RELEASED IN SEPTEMBER DESPITE THE QUARREL AND IS AIMED AT THE DISCO CROWD. THE ALBUM ARTWORK IS DESIGNED BY RICHARD BERNSTEIN (INTERVIEW MAGAZINE).

TO PROMOTE THE ALBUM, SHE GOES TO THE PLACES SHE KNOWS BEST: NEW YORK’S GAY DISCOS. GOUDE TRANSFORMS GRACE’S SHOWS AND TURNS THEM INTO PERFORMANCE ART.

MAY 9TH. GRACE RELEASES ‘ON YOUR KNEES’ AS A SINGLE TO LITTLE IMPACT ON DANCE MUSIC CHARTS IN THE USA. FAME IS A HIT ALBUM IN THE NORTH AMERICAN CLUB SCENE AND REACHES THE TOP 10 ON BOTH THE USA HOT DANCE CLUB PLAY AND CANADIAN DANCE/URBAN CHARTS. ITALY AND SWEDEN PROVE TO BE JONES’ MOST SUCCESSFUL MARKETS DURING THE DISCO ERA. FAME IS ALBUM NUMBER TWO IN GRACE JONES’ DISCO TRILOGY. 1979 JONES AND MOULTON COLLABORATE ONE LAST TIME. JONES RELEASES MUSE IN SEPTEMBER.

“I ALWAYS LOVED THE MIXTURE OF THREAT AND BEAUTY. I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS TIME FOR GRACE TO STRETCH OUT.” (_JP GOUDE).

THE ALBUM REACHES NUMBER 52 ON THE BLACK ALBUMS CHART IN THE USA. PORTFOLIO IS ALBUM NUMBER ONE IN GRACE JONES’ DISCO TRILOGY. 1978 GRACE RELEASES HER COVER OF EDITH PIAF’S ‘LA VIE EN ROSE’ AS A SINGLE. “THAT’S A VERY SPECIAL SONG TO ME. OH GOD, I CRY EVERY TIME I SING IT. I HAD QUITE A FEW FRENCH LOVERS, SO EVERY TIME I SING IT I THINK ABOUT THEM.” (_GRACE) NEW YORK MAGAZINE PUBLISHES A PICTURE OF GRACE JONES BY GOUDE, WHERE JONES IS IN AN IMPOSSIBLY GRACEFUL ARABESQUE. JONES AND MOULTON TEAM UP AGAIN FOR AN IMMEDIATE FOLLOW-UP TO PORTFOLIO.

THE ALBUM ARTWORK IS ONCE AGAIN DESIGNED BY RICHARD BERNSTEIN. THE ANTI-DISCO SENTIMENT SPREADS IN THE USA. THE ALBUM SPAWNS TWO SINGLES ‘ON YOUR KNEES’ AND ‘DON’T MESS WITH THE MESSER’, BOTH OF WHICH FAIL TO CHART. MUSE IS ALBUM NUMBER THREE IN GRACE JONES’ DISCO TRILOGY. GRACE JONES BECOMES AN UNDERGROUND STAR, BUT FAILS TO GIVE HER RECORD LABEL A MAJOR HIT. ISLAND RECORDS BOSS CHRIS BLACKWELL DECIDES TO REFRESH JONES’ SOUND AND TEAMS HER UP WITH TWO OF HIS BIGGEST REGGAE ARTISTS SLY DUNBAR & ROBBIE SHAKESPEARE. “IT WAS QUITE A DIFFERENT APPROACH FROM WHAT HER DISCO RECORDS WERE, BUT I JUST FELT IT COULD WORK.” (_CHRIS BLACKWELL) 1980

FAME IS RECORDED AT SIGMA SOUND STUDIOS AND RELEASED ON JUNE 7TH. THE ALBUM FEATURES ANOTHER REINTERPRETATION OF A FRENCH CLASSIC, ‘AUTUMN LEAVES’ BY JACQUES PREVERT. THE ALBUM ARTWORK IS ALSO DESIGNED BY RICHARD BERNSTEIN.

GRACE TRANSITIONS INTO REGGAE AND NEW WAVE AND GOES THROUGH A VISUAL REINVENTION. SHE BEGINS WORK ON A NEW ALBUM AT THE COMPASS POINT STUDIOS IN THE BAHAMAS. JONES RELEASES WARM LEATHERETTE ON

THE ALBUM INCLUDES COVERS OF SONGS BY THE NORMAL, THE PRETENDERS, ROXY MUSIC AND SMOKEY ROBINSON. THE ALBUM ARTWORK IS DESIGNED BY THEN-BOYFRIEND JEAN-PAUL GOUDE. IT PRESENTS THE SINGER’S ANDROGYNOUS LOOK FOR THE FIRST TIME AND INTRODUCES THE FLATTOP HAIRCUT. JONES RELEASES ‘PRIVATE LIFE’ AS THE FOURTH SINGLE. THE RECORD ENTERS THE TOP 20 SINGLES CHART IN THE UK. MIKE MANSFIELD DIRECTS THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR ‘PRIVATE LIFE’ WHICH PRESENTS THE FAMOUS GRACE JONES MASK FOR THE FIRST TIME. THE ALBUM IS CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED YET CHARTS ONLY IN THE USA AND THE U.K. WARM LEATHERETTE IS ALBUM NUMBER ONE IN GRACE JONES’ COMPASS POINT TRILOGY. 1981 JONES RELEASES NIGHTCLUBBING ON MAY 11TH. THE ALBUM INCLUDES COVERS OF SONGS BY FLASH AND THE PAN, IGGY POP, DAVID BOWIE AND ASTOR PIAZZOLLA. THE ALBUM ENTERS THE TOP 5 IN FOUR DIFFERENT COUNTRIES AND BECOMES JONES’ HIGHEST RANKING RECORD ON THE USA BILLBOARD MAINSTREAM ALBUMS AND R&B CHARTS. NIGHTCLUBBING IS CHOSEN ALBUM OF THE YEAR BY NME. THE ALBUM ARTWORK IS A PAINTING OF JONES BY JEAN-PAUL GOUDE. SHE IS PORTRAYED AS A MAN WEARING AN ARMANI SUIT JACKET, WITH A CIGARETTE IN HER MOUTH AND SPORTING THE NOW-SIGNATURE FLATTOP HAIRCUT. JONES RELEASES ‘I’VE SEEN THAT FACE BEFORE (LIBERTANGO)’ AS THE SECOND SINGLE. JEAN-PAUL GOUDE DIRECTS THE MUSIC VIDEO. NIGHTCLUBBING IS ALBUM NUMBER TWO IN GRACE JONES’ COMPASS POINT TRILOGY.

45

JONES APPEARS ALONGSIDE PSYCHOTHERAPIST SONJA VETTER IN AN ATTEMPT AT PROMOTING THE RELEASE. SHE FEELS DISRESPECTED BY CHAT SHOW HOST RUSSEL HARRY AND SLAPS HIM ACROSS THE FACE REPEATEDLY ON LIVE TELEVISION. GRACE PERFORMS AT LONDON’S DRURY LANE THEATRE AND AT THE SAVOY THEATER IN NEW YORK CITY. THE SHOWS ARE FILMED FOR A LATER PROJECT TO BE CALLED A ONE MAN SHOW. 1982 GRACE GOES BACK TO THE BAHAMAS TO COMMENCE WORK ON A FOLLOWUP TO NIGHTCLUBBING. SHE RELEASES LIVING MY LIFE ON NOVEMBER 7TH. THE ALBUM CONTAINS NINE ORIGINAL TRACKS AND ONLY ONE COVER: THAT OF A RECORD BY MELVIN VAN PEEBLES. THE ALBUM ARTWORK IS DESIGNED BY BOTH JEAN-PAUL GOUDE AND ROB O’CONNOR. THE ALBUM IS A SUCCESS AND REACHES THE TOP 20 IN FIVE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. LIVING MY LIFE IS ALBUM NUMBER THREE IN GRACE JONES’ COMPASS POINT TRILOGY. 1983 GRACE JONES RELEASES A ONE MAN SHOW, A PERFORMANCE ART/POP THEATRE PRESENTATION DEVISED

BY JEAN-PAUL GOUDE AND JONES THAT FEATURES RECORDINGS OF LIVE PERFORMANCES FROM HER 1981 TOUR. THE PERFORMANCE BEGINS WITH JONES IN A FULL GORILLA BODY SUIT. “I LOVE TO GIVE CARTE BLANCHE TO ARTISTS I RESPECT. I THINK THOSE COLLABORATIONS WERE JUST MAGICAL.” (_GRACE) JONES IS DRESSED IN ELABORATE COSTUMES AND MASKS THROUGHOUT THE PERFORMANCE/CONCERT. A ONE MAN SHOW IS NOMINATED FOR A GRAMMY AWARD FOR BEST LONGFORM MUSIC VIDEO. - (M)

46

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

LESSON NUMBER THREE // A TRIBUTE TO DOONAN FOR ABSOLUT VODKA

In our third installment of the ABSOLUT Collaborators, we bring you ABSOLUT DOONAN: an installation of a shop window being dressed; a large segmented paper maché bottle (filled and surrounded by different limbs and busts of dress mannequins) set against a bluish glittering background.

The ad tributes Simon Doonan, who is one of the most famous window dressers in the world. In addition to being in charge of dressing the windows of Barney’s in New York, he has collaborated with the biggest names in the fashion and art worlds.

On another note, enjoy the holiday season! And by that we mean: spend quality festive times with your loved ones ... inhibriated.

Simon Doonan August 10, 1954 - Present England, UK Window Dresser & Creative Ambassador for Barney’s New York Doonan comes up in a random discussion amongst workmates? Have no fear, here’s what you’ll need to know: - Simon Doonan grew up in the working class area of Reading.

- He has a blind aunt. She goes by the name of Phyllis.

- Doonan joined Barney’s New York as a window dresser in 1986.

- He is a published author. He also writes a column on style for Slate.com.

- In September 2008, he married his partner of 14 years, designer Jonathan Adler, in California. They currently reside in New York City.

- Doonan’s favorite movie is Brokeback Mountain.

- In his book The Asylum: A Collage of Couture Reminiscences…and Hysteria, Simon claims that the role of Nigel (Stanley Tucci) in The Devil Wears Prada was largely based on him.

- He once stated that Mrs. Obama wasn’t chic, and then explained later on to New Republic that he had in fact meant that he was “getting sick of people talking about her appearance all the time, and [he] thought it was very unfair to her and borderline insulting.”

47

INTERVIEW: AMIN DORA // LEBANESE FILMMAKER

INTERVIEW BY NOUR OUAYDA PHOTOGRAPHS BY MICHELE AOUN Most directors tackling their first feature film are happy to simply get through the process and make it to the first screening. Amin Dora however, took it a whole lot further. With Ghadi, his first feature ever; he shot a bull’s eye right to the heart of Lebanese moviegoers and redefined the standards for the industry. Few are the people who were content with seeing the movie only once. And frankly, we get that.

How did the idea for the film come to be?

It was Gabiel Chamoun who first initiated the project for the movie. He contacted Georges Khabbaz to write the story and me to direct it and start development.

Georges Khabbaz is credited as the writer of Ghadi. He also plays the main character in the film. How was it collaborating with him?

I’ve always liked Georges Khabbaz’s work and his social sensibility. So knowing that he was the writer encouraged me to work on Ghadi. We got along very well from the very start, right from the first reading sessions. Later, when we started production, everything was in place, we each had our responsibilities and we were professional and respectful. I really enjoyed directing him as an actor; he has the knack for inhabiting characters.

Before Ghadi, you directed commercials, video clips and web series (most notably Shankaboot).

What inspired the switch to feature films?

Like any director, of course I’ve been wishing to direct a fulllength feature film. I was inspired to get on board this project since it’s about extended storytelling and creating a specific consistent universe through characters and actions within a longer and bigger format. Shooting for a YouTube screen is not the same as shooting for the big screen. I would have been a little worried if

48

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

I had thought that I couldn’t give the movie my maximum or in case it didn’t resemble me; but this wasn’t the case at all! As soon as I read the script, I felt totally at ease because I was able to relate to it and I knew I could take it in a good direction.

The film’s central character, Ghadi, is a young boy with Down syndrome. What was it like to work with Emmanuel Khairallah, the boy who played Ghadi?

We were quite lucky to have Emmanuel. He is incredibly talented and such a positive energy to be around. He was a good omen for the movie. Emmanuel Khairallah was a great choice for Ghadi. His talent, positive attitude and cheerfulness overcame his obstacle of having Down syndrome and any limitation that he might have had when it came to taking acting directions. Soon enough, I forgot his special case and started to talk to him as if he was just another actor. I created a game that we played together behind the scenes and it was reflected on screen.

The film is described as a social satirical comedy. Could you elaborate on that?

You can also call it black comedy… it reflects upon social issues, which we face everyday but without being preachy or giving out lessons in morality – because I avoid that. I aimed to deliver the message by keenly exposing human behavior, of which I’m an avid observer. So the fact of just talking about the subject

without lecturing, in a comedic satirical approach, makes the message come across in a light and easy-to-relate-to kind of way. From my point of view, a social comedy is a reflection on social behavior that goes beyond common sense and that’s what makes this humor.

Ghadi is constructed as a modern-day fairy tale. Why choose this genre?

I could have called the film also “the unbelievable story of Leba Seba” because what happens is unbelievable, but when I approached the film from this perspective everything seemed convincing to me... even the wings.

What films and filmmakers have influenced you in the making of this film?

It is more like several cinematic movements… I tried to mix between the genres I am most sensitive to, such as the American independent films and Italian films. So in Ghadi I was inspired by several directors’ work like Wes Anderson, the Cohen Brothers, Milos Forman, Woody Allen and Federico Fellini.

How did the experience of directing your first feature add to your journey as a filmmaker?

I think with everything we do, the experiences we take on, we learn something new and I can say that some of what I have learned

from Ghadi has been invaluable indeed. The close relationship I have developed with all the actors and the characters; seeing them day after day, watching them change and grow in the story and also the space and time that you live in from the minute you start to work on the film, it all puts you in a different state of mind and helps create new references.

What are the obstacles you encountered during the making of Ghadi?

The first challenge obviously was that the hero has Down syndrome. The second challenge was the film itself. Producing a movie in Lebanon is a big challenge on its own. It was also challenging to create a homogeneous world with solid and credible characters.

What are your thoughts about THE contemporary Lebanese and Arab SCENE WHEN IT COMES TO cinema? How would you feel Ghadi fits in, or stands out?

I believe things are moving on a right track and that hope is in the air. It is always a good sign to see new movies coming out; it means more producers are having faith in developing and producing a much needed film industry in Lebanon. I think Ghadi fits in as being part of this new wave. The cinema culture is essential in the evolution of societies and it’s time to have our own young Lebanese and Arab cinema. - (M)

49

50

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

MTV UNPLUGGED // ITS RISE, ITS DEMISE & ITS “NOW”

ARTICLE BY SERGE KALDANY ILLUSTRATIONS BY OMAR AL FIL

It’s now time to shed a light on the stage that barely had any power. Close your eyes for a second and imagine the following: a small stage, dim lights, a microphone in the middle surrounded by basic music instruments you’d find in a garage… All the ingredients you need for a small, intimate acoustic live jam session with a local band trying to make its debut in the biz. However, these jam sessions differ in one minor detail. You wouldn’t particularly categorize these performing bands as amateurs; they verge more on the platinum records and Grammy award winners.

KURT COBAIN OF NIRVANA

51

MTV UNPLUGGED // ITS RISE, ITS DEMISE & ITS “NOW”

T

his exceptional idea was cooked up by MTV in the mid to late 80’s; so right around the time you boys and girls were still chillin’ in your mothers’ wombs.

They basically called top chart artists and asked them to perform their singles, live, but this time without the help of electricity. After minimalistic organization in a couple of patched up locales in 1989, the MTV Unplugged series was born.

So there you have it, an unreal concept bringing the stars back down to earth among the people who lifted them up so high in the first place. It’s truly a magical place to be, cheering alongside your favorite bands, in a performance of a lifetime that often turned into an Unplugged album. Nirvana Unplugged is suddenly making a bit more sense now, isn’t it?

It’s when you go deeper into this rockin’ picture that all the doubts start to pile up. All this awesomeness might have been too good to be true, which begged the question: were the Unpluggeds liberating jam sessions with humbled artists who wanted nothing better than to connect with their fans? Or were they just another advertisement scheme from the money grabbing part of the music industry?

Whether you like it or not, you, not unlike us, are part of the MTV generation, the authentic one that is. We can argue that since then, MTV has slowly but catastrophically been going down the tubes and trust us, we will, but let’s stick to the good old days for now. What does MTV symbolize to you, readers? To us, it’s all about the music, coming back from school, flinging our shoes at the corner of the room, putting on channel 0 (because that’s how we programmed it) and just basking in uninterrupted tune goodness… more than often even forgetting about lunch. MTV was our accomplice and confidant, the one pure idea that helped us escape and join the singing legends, as well as the ones who were on their way to becoming legends. And sometimes we’d get indulged with an MTV Unplugged show, eagerly waiting to see which god would come a-rockin’.

Even now, the MTV Unplugged stage is still going strong. Since 1989, it has welcomed hundreds of artist from all over the globe and hasn’t let up attracting newcomers. You would think that after 25 years, it couldn’t possibly have been a continuous success, gig after gig and you couldn’t be more… right… unfortunately…

It all started on Halloween’s eve of 1989, when the bands Squeeze, Syd Straw and Elliot Easton (all sounding like something you’d get on your vagina), came together to perform a first acoustic recital-like concert under the big shiny red MTV logo and the show went on, literally. Born in NYC, the exclusive stage rarely let the Hollywood fever join the fun, moving the stage for a couple of worthy stars who were too busy to get their asses to New York. In the next few years, the Unplugged stage had the honor of hosting some respected colossal successes like Elton John, Aerosmith, Paul McCartney, R.E.M. and Sting. Those weren’t even the golden years!

The golden years spanned from 1992 to 1999, bringing a bit more diversity and lenience to the mix and kicked off with Mr. Eric Clapton in England. From then on, the list of stars just exploded; they weren’t waiting for MTV to call them anymore, they were lining up in queues, fighting to get a few minutes on the impoverished and cracking wooden floor. This clearly was not a marketing stunt. They actually did this for the love of the music and the nostalgia of fans. However, it didn’t hurt to generate

52

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

millions of dollars worth of albums and singles. The golden years saw on stage the rising stars, the shooting stars and even some black holes. Lenny Kravitz, Oasis, Bob Dylan, Mariah Carey, Alice in Chains, KISS, Alanis Morissette, Nirvana, Bjork, those are just a few names on a vast list of Unplugged artists, one as long as Santa’s bad list (Merry Christmas everyone!). In those 8 years, MTV Unplugged went from a small concert in a back-alley shed, to the most appraised front stage of all times. Sure enough, with fame comes fortune and greed unfortunately; hungry producers decided to get their beaks wet and turned this wonderful project into a moneymaking machine.

The new millennia saw the downfall of the Unplugged show.

From 2000 to 2010, MTV Unplugged drastically went from music utopia to marketing stunt. Suddenly, stars became reluctant to go on and ratings started to plummet. Even though some bands and stars managed to haul out good concerts, the magic was long gone.

Artists were becoming the victims of money maneuvers rather than the boogying trophies on stage. No Doubt, Jay-Z, Bon Jovi and Nickelback had average performances. Some other artists like Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys and Adele went above and beyond to bring the Unplugged series to its feet, but failed at the task. MTV got so desperate that they even tried to have R.E.M., one of the previous successes and pioneers of the show, come back to play on stage, but to no avail.

Thankfully, MTV Unplugged broke away from its monetary chains with the revival years, which started not too long ago in 2011. Lykke Li, 30 Seconds to Mars, The Scorpions and Florence and the Machine are some of the witnesses to this turnover. Even though the golden years produced 5 times more shows than the later years, at least MTV has traded quantity for quality.

Even with the black mark in their history, the MTV Unplugged were and still are a hit; uniting the big stars with their fans. From all those gargantuans, a few stood out of the “crowd,” either thanks to a surreal performance, or the story behind their Unplugged concerts. Notice that most of them come from the golden age of the MTV Unplugged series. And here is the countdown of our top 5: First up, number 5 goes to Eric Clapton for two reasons. He was the first performer of the golden era and his MTV Unplugged album granted him one more Grammy to put on another shelf in one of his several bookcases full of awards.

In number 4, tired of fake conventions, the band KISS, decided to go for one last hurrah in 1995, to answer to their fans prayers and perform the beginning of their reunion tour with their vintage instruments and a couple of best of suits from their, let’s say exotic, wardrobe. This extravaganza is still remembered in the hearts of old fans and ignited a new flame from an old torch in the new generation.

Florence and the Machine takes the third place on our podium. The red haired prodigy single handedly revived the Unplugged saga, lifting it on her shoulders back to its yester glory. She delivered a transcendent show in 2012, featuring songs from her orgasmic album Lungs, spreading goose bumps to whoever caught the smallest grain of her vocal energy. The silver medal is loosely wrapped around the neck of Alanis Morissette, for the simple reason of her being who she is; the average girl with the heart of gold and the lyrics of a wise man.

Alanis Morissette was the last performer of the golden era and no one in 10 years could measure up to her 1999 show. She is god to a lot of people and we don’t really need a logical reason to justify this choice.

Don’t hold your breath in suspense… the winner is none other than Nirvana. This concert is entwined with Kurt Cobain’s death. The MTV Unplugged in New York album, one of their most famous ones, is the first album released after the death of the grunge superstar. Also, it is his last video footage. The band performed in November of 1993, a few months before Kurt’s suicide.

After that, MTV aired their Nirvana episode several times, making it one of the most memorable performances of all time.

This was MTV. This used to be our MTV! Now all we have to look forward to is teenage moms yelling and throwing random tantrums, people with dollar signs and hash tags in their names, artists with so much gold in their teeth that they spit out their so-called lyrics and twerky performances at a butchered VMA, yes we’re looking at you, Miley. Now blame MTV all you want, but, truth be told, we should share the blame; we’re the ones who pushed to the trend of reality TV and the hype of vulgarization of music. The consequences that we have to put up with now were unavoidable and we have to bring back the MTV we all sat in front of for endless afternoons. Let’s have the future of MTV similar to the MTV we remember. A good way to start going back to the path of musical righteousness is for MTV Unplugged to travel back in time and, why not, surpass its golden era.

Here’s to a brighter future for the most iconic stage on the planet. - (M)

LAURYN HILL

53

what not to miss out on this holiday season. Merry christmas y’all!

M

M

OUR 20 FAVORITE THINGS

15 $

65 $

8$

MIGHTY WALLET

BATHING GIRL TEA SET

ADHESIVE NOTES FOR iPHONE

DYNOMIGHTY.COM

DUTCHBYDESIGN.COM

ILOVEHANDLES.COM

90 $

108 $

75 $

18 $

KEEP IT COOL SWEATER

MOLESKINE LAPTOP AND iPAD SLEEVES

CRUMPLED CITY MAP BARCELONA

BREAKINGROCKSCLOTHING.COM

WEARE-URBANISTA.COM

FLIGHT001.COM

50 $

STERLING SILVER + RHODIUM

54

140 $

22 $

50 $

SHAPES B&W + SOLAR ECLIPSE

LOST & FOUND BY SHAUN TAN

F/I/M2/P YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION

GHADAHACHEM.COM

SHAUNTAN.NET

ANTOINEONLINE.COM

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

88 $

60 $

LOMOGRAPHY FISHEYE CAMERA

CRAFTED MAPLE COFFEE MAKER + 1 LB COFFEE

SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS.ME

CANADIANO.CO

135 $

120 $

2$

WACOM INKLING

CIAO ADIOS WATCH

DMD PANORAMA iPHONE APP

DOT.COM.LB

TOKIDOKI.IT

DERMANDAR.COM

40 $

125 $

250 $

ADVENTURE TIME SILKSCREEN PRINT

LEATHER ROLL TOP BACKPACK

CHAINSAW PANDA VYNIL FIGURINE

LITTLE FRIENDS OF PRINTMAKING

ETSY.COM

PAUSEDESIGNS.COM

70 $

58 $

16 $

iPIG iPOD SPEAKER DOCK

DELFT GRENADE T-SHIRT

OF NARCISSIM ... THE INCOMPETENTS

SPEAKAL.COM

LATSHIRTERIE.COM

BEIRUT ART CENTER

55

INTERVIEW: ETYEN // GLORIFIED ELECTRONIC WONDERLAND

FREE DOWNLOAD EXCLUSIVE TRACK

ETYEN

INTERVIEW BY JAD MROUé PHOTOGRAPH BY JINANE CHAAYA

Around a month ago, social media feeds in Lebanon buzzed with the release of a surprising track that went a long way to bridge the gap between musical legends and the new generation.

The track was a remix of Wadih El Safi’s ‘Lobnan Ot’it Sama.’ The artist: ETYEN, a Lebanese music producer forging his way in a pulsating electro scene. This, we believe, is the beginning of an electro success story.

What made you start making music?

I’ve always been involved in music, since I was young. I took piano lessons in the national conservatory for 5 years as a child (I think until I was 12 or something) and then when I was 13 I bought my first guitar. I did a lot of singer-songwriter stuff and then played and sang in a few bands, until finally a few years ago I started recording and producing the music myself.

Among all the genres available, you chose to make electronic music and especially a really new kind of electronic sub-genre that is called Witch house. Why specifically this genre?

I didn’t exactly choose a specific sub-genre, it just happened that way. Although I wouldn’t call my music Witch House, I definitely do have similarities with that genre. To be honest, when I started making electronic music I was into many things: Indie Rock, Ambient, Glitch, Dubstep, Electro but I’ve always been into dark but energetic, heavy, emotional and “beautiful” music. I think my music today is a reflection of all of the music that I love and that I grew up listening to, but I don’t really think about it. I do what I feel and I unintentionally incorporate the different things I like into my music We are big fans of some pioneers and leaders of this sub-genre such as Balam Acab, Lapalux, Boards of Canada, T.I.P. (Two Inch Punch) and Chrome Sparks. When did you discover it and with whom?

I think it was late 2009, early 2010 when I almost only listened to Electronica and namely Gold Panda, Baths and Nosaj Thing who were among my favorites. Then more recently, I really got into Lapalux, Chrome Sparks and Balam Acab. But I guess the first time I heard the name “Witch House” was with Salem.

The use of nature sounds such as in ‘Back Home’ is a common habit in this kind of music.

Technically speaking, what are you aiming for?

To be honest, I’m not really aiming for anything specific when I sit down to make music, but definitely, this new wave of electronic music using more organic sounds and textures such as Bonobo, Gold Panda...etc is something that I am very fond of. Especially since I’m also a musician, I always like to incorporate real organic sounds into my music when I can. Generally speaking though, I rarely already know what I want before I sit down and experiment with stuff.

56

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

Tell us about the importance of playing with the pitch in your music (especially with the vocals).

I play with the pitch a lot while producing. I pitch keyboards, strings and sometimes drums to create weird sounds and textures.

But it is especially important with vocals as I like to incorporate lots of vocal chops and make melodies out of playing around with the pitch. In fact, it’s kind of my signature in the first EP. A lot of the new stuff I’m releasing includes vocals but in this new EP I’ve chilled down on the frantic vocal chopping and pitching and there is more sung parts. However, I’m still playing around with the pitch whereby I sometimes change my voice into a female voice, something which you will be able to hear in my new EP. In the “process of writing,” what instrument or part of the song do you start making first?

Generally speaking I never start with drums, I’ll always fiddle around until I make something that I get excited over. As soon as I do, I’ll picture what it could sound like and start adding instruments or parts depending on whether I can visualize what happens next or not. Then, when I figure out the direction of the track and I’ve got some nice sounds working, I’ll write the drum part.

Do you record all of your vocals?

Yes, I would say 99.9% of the samples in my tracks were recorded by myself. Sometimes, I’ll record my girlfriend or my friends and sample their voices. It’s actually a really good trick. I always get inspired by having someone else’s vocal to play around with rather than having to play with the pitch of my own voice. I’ll usually say to the person: “just say anything into the mic,” and sometimes they’ll laugh and that ends up being an awesome sample. That said, I’m currently collaborating with two female friends who have great voices and will be releasing some epic stuff pretty soon.

Usually, the most used samples are drum samples. And if we’re not wrong, you use some 707, 808 and 909 drum samples in your songs.

Some of the producers are starting to use world/traditional percussion and “textured” ambient sounds as fully functional drums in their songs. What do you think?

I definitely use a lot of 808, 909, 606 and some 707. I always layer my drums to have a unique sound each time but it’s really about the track and what it sounds like. Sometimes I feel like there is too much organic stuff going on and I need very electronic sounding

drums to break that, so I’ll use an 808 snare (I love those). Other times, depending on what fits, I’ll use more organic, as you said, traditional percussion.

As an avant-garde musician in the region. How do you feel about your place in Lebanon?

Lebanon is a weird place for me to be honest, because on the one hand, the scene is still young and there aren’t many people doing what I’m doing so there is less “competition” in a sense (not that I’m competing, just in terms of getting out there) but on the other hand, there isn’t such a large audience for my kind of music, or avenues to showcase it. But I would say it’s not only about the kind of music, but also the idea of production. So many people take for granted what producing music means. Whenever I say that I produce music to someone I’ve met, they’ll ask things like: “So what’s the best part about being a DJ?” But then, I’ll run into someone who will tell me that they love what I’m doing and that really motivates me and keeps me going.

Outside the electronic environment, what inspires you the most?

Sigur Ros is hands down my favorite band of all time. I literally grew up listening to them and it really shaped my character today and helped me cope with my life. Their music brings out so much emotion, melancholy, hopefulness and joy all at the same time; it overwhelms me in such a way. I think they are my biggest influence to date. I love ambient whale-y eerie sounds and I guess my music is kinda dark and bright at the same time. Apart from that, I’m into tribal and jungle sounding beats and sounds and I really like indie music that relies on that (such as Animal Collective – their none electronic stuff).

Do you have any other artistic activities or passions besides making music?

When I was younger I would draw a lot. I was really into drawing comics when I was in school, always doodling everywhere. Once I started playing and making music that was all I could think of and I would always draw myself playing the guitar or something. But apart from that, I guess I’ve always loved to sing and perform music and that is definitely my number one passion. Oh and also, “interpretative dancing” as in freestyle busting moves all day every day.

If you could be another singer, who would you be? And another musician/band?

Fever Ray, I love her voice and the way she pronounces words, it’s really weird/cool I think. And Sigur Ros definitely.

Are you planning on exploring other genres or do you want to push your own to its limits?

In the past year, I’ve made so much music that right now I’m overwhelmed with finishing up tracks and perfecting them for release. If you listen to my music in chronological order of creation, you can immediately notice an evolution, or maturity in the sound, so I guess in a sense that is taking my own to the limit. - (M)

“MY MUSIC TODAY IS A REFLECTION OF ALL OF THE MUSIC THAT I LOVE AND THAT I GREW UP LISTENING TO”

57

C

urtain

call

FASHION KRIKOR JABOTIAN PHOTOGRAPHS TANYA TRABOULSI MAKE-UP STYLING MARYAN EL-KHOURY LOVE AND GRATITUDE DR. SAYED FRANGIEH

58

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

59

60

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

61

62

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

63

64

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

65

66

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

67

68

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

69

INTERVIEW: MIKE DAWES // BEIRUT JAM SESSIONS

INTERVIEW BY STEPHANIE KOYESS PHOTOGRAPH BY CARL HALAL On December 1st, Beirut Jam Sessions hosted their first showcase: Mike Dawes a 23-year-old English solo guitarist. Dawes, who could easily be mistaken for a stand up comedian, amazed the crowd with his crafty fingers and the energy he oozes on stage all while cracking them up with his sidesplitting humor.

So, what made you and your guitar inseparable? And why play solo guitar?

I’ve always had a desire to make and play music. At an early age I played keyboards and other instruments, but the guitar was the outlet I eventually chose. It’s not the guitar but rather the Rock Music that I fell in love with at a young age, and the musicians were all playing guitars. So, I fell into it like that and stuck to it.

I try to make the most out of it as possible and be expressive I guess.

I played in a Metal band, as a lead guitarist, and it was a lot of fun. But that fell apart so I just fell into playing solo too. To be honest, with solo music it’s just your baby; you don’t have to make compromises. As soon as I built up the confidence to travel by myself and use the stage on my own, I just fell in love with it.

Does playing solo let express yourself better?

you

Yeah, absolutely! It’s so gratifying to connect with the audience over something that is completely yours. And that’s the great thing about the acoustic guitar, because it’s just such a diverse instrument. You can create anything; it’s a box with strings.

Mike, not that your music needs it, but a questionthat is probably on everyone’s mind, will you ever incorporate vocals and lyrics to your material? (And if so, how’s your singing voice?)

Aahh *smiles as he was expecting that one coming* Well … probably, sometime in the future… In fact, I have been working with a few singers on some tracks that may make the next album and there will be something coming up, like an in-between track, which I can’t really say too much about; it’s still a little secret. I’m just not very comfortable with my singing but in the near future, it might happen naturally. I can never say never to things like that. Currently I have no intention of singing, but maybe two years down the line, this will happen; you never really know what’s waiting for you.

70

When looking up your name, or watching your material on YouTube, your main influences arealways statedas Andy Mckee, John Gomm and the likes. Did anyone outside your particular music genre influence your music and how?

Absolutely! For sure, in all honesty it might be a cliché response, but I would say anything I’ve ever listened to. I have so many strange influences, I mean tonight I’m doing a few different covers, one of them is a Motown tune, another is a French rave tune and another still is an Australian quirky Pop song. I think, whether it’s music you love personally or not, everything is an influence. In fact I have a track on my album, where I only realized recently that I subconsciously totally ripped off the percussions from an 80’s Power Ballad. It just all subconsciously sinks in.

What songs are onyour recently added playlist?

You know, I recently, like very very recently, started getting into Bjork. The first album.

Which is quite unusual. I’m also back to Sigur Ros, I got a few more of their albums. There’s also a woman from New York Called Kelli Rudick, I don’t think she’s a professional musician, but she made one independent album and I love it, it’s instrumental with a bit of singing and all kinds of weird instruments. I’d really recommend buying her album, to encourage her, cause she’s doing very innovative things.

And what songs are on your most played playlist, songs that no matter what, you can always go back to? *Pause * Oh wow, you know that’s a really tough question.

Well you know nothing binding here, just anything off the top of your head I used to listen to a lot of metal music, so

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

all of those kind of 90’s early 2000 Metal bands from Europe. Those bands I can listen to whenever and they always bring me a huge sense of nostalgia. No one song in particular, just any song from that period.

The clichéd Metal guitar bands, like Dream Theater, classic Metallica, Rage against the Machine. Things you listened to growing up.

I’m a sucker for Nostalgia, so anything that my parents would play in the car while going on a holiday; like Sting. If it brings a happy memory then I’ll probably listen to it more.

Tell us a bit about what you’re cooking up for the coming year?

Well I’ve just started to think about it really.

Being on tour, I’m sort of focused on that now.

I released What Just Happened this April and have been on the road ever since. But tonight I’m going to be playing, for the first time, a cover song of the band Periphery (an American Metal band). That’s the one thing that I’ve finished for the next album. In general I’m pursuing more multi-insturmental stuff, so I will be working with lots of different musicians, as a next step. the Beirut Jam Sessions team showed you around Beirut in the past three days. So we can’t help but ask what were you expecting before coming here, and what were your thoughts now that you’ve seen it?

Yeah, they’re very cool guys; they really know how to show someone a good time around here.

As for my expectations; I was talking to the BJS team via email for quite a while and the way they talk about the place got me excited. I know that there is a side of here that you don’t see on the news, or in England where I’m from, so when I said I was going to Lebanon, the broad answer back home was an unfortunate: Be careful. Which I suppose is fair enough given the media doesn’t help. Since I got here, I’ve learned so much more about the place and the people here than I ever heard through the news.

This street was insane today (talking about the car free day in Gemmayze), people everywhere, great food and everyone was having a great

time. Yesterday we had seafood by the sea, and had a lovely afternoon ride in a cable car.I’d even consider shooting a music video here, since it’s so beautiful, and it has such a nice vibe.

We know it’s hard to pinpoint, but where do you draw your inspiration from? Any special place? Setting? Person?

Well, some people have specific things they need to get inspiration, but I don’t really have a set of particular inspiration triggers. As I said, I’m a sucker for nostalgia, anything that triggers a memory, and when it’s a bad memory, it gives an even better musical result, like any other creation. So, that’s something that pushes me to write. Also, weird fun stuff. I am a bit of a weirdo, and I’m into quirky music, a strange sense of humor and things in general. It has to be something, because it’s quite impossible to write out of the blue, there has to be some sort of an emotional trigger.

How do you build your arrangements (process / state of mind) They’re quite intricate, and we are curious, to say the least, to know how you do it.

It varies. One of the approaches is being inspired by and playing a lot on different guitar tunings.

So you’ll see in the set I’m tuning my guitar a lot between songs. Another method, for covers, is going through the whole song, isolating the baseline and reproducing it. And then doing the same for this part and that part. And then going through one beat, or bar at a time and trying to reproduce all these layers and play them all at once. Frequently recording yourself playing and listening back and making sure you’ve got all the parts in there. It’s a long process.

How long does it take?

The longest it ever took me was three years and the quickest was two days. It depends on the emotional trigger.

What can’t you go without for too long? (Don’t say the guitar because we know you are inseparable) * pointing at the guitar he’s been holding (hugging) in his lap throughout the whole interview * Umm it’s going to sound kind of strange, but adrenaline. Since I started travelling, when I

get home, I just get itchy feet and I have to go; I have to move again. The idea of settling in one place is just terrifying. I can’t live without that feeling of seeing something new, experiencing something new; the rush. It sounds weird, I know. I want to see everything, the world is so big, but so small nowadays too with social media. When you connect with people from everywhere, sometimes you feel like saying: “Hey, let’s hang out,” and go for it.

As a new artist, any roadblocks you’ve faced so far?

I just disbanded and that cost me a whole album worth of material, so it was a huge roadblock. But without that I wouldn’t have started writing solo. Every kind of bump along the way has a massive silver lining and leads to something good and positive eventually. You learn from every moment, because you can draw compositional inspiration from it.

So, basically you go looking for trouble just for inspiration?

Yeah absolutely, (laughs) it’s quite a bad psychological trick, but everyone does it in some way. - (M)

71

PHOTOGRAPHER 72

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

1. Tell us briefly about you and what makes you do filters i am going through at the moment. the choice what you do. seems to always be an emotional mirror of that vision of the now. Although not a photograph, lately i have been i recall asking myself “what is reality?” at a very early feeling an unexplainable attraction for J.M.W Turner’s age. i received my first camera in 1993 and i was instantly ‘Fisherman at sea’. obsessed; not with the object, but with the surreal tool that gives you the power to slice, define and bend 4. Professionally, what is a project you’ve always reality in endless possibilities! There is an incredible WANTED to delve into but haven’t gotten the chance satisfaction in reshaping the world as you see it, to yet? reaching “perfection”; or maybe i’m just another human with an obsessive personality and a messiah complex!

An isolated month-long journey of personal research and shoot on a remote shore in Scotland. Fingers 2. When was the last time you were on stage or in the crossed for 2014! spotlight? and why?

5. Who’s the first persona that pops to mind when i feel that every-time you exhibit your work you are on you think of the stage and what does that person stage. being part of this issue is definitely yet another represent to u? form of it.

Being a narcissist, i would have to say oneself. each of us 3. What is the one photograph you wish you had taken? is a unique spectator in the greatest theatre play of all time (NSFW), the One 3D life-sized immersive experience, (AdFree version available for the lucky few) being streamed it would be hard to choose just one. it would vary in real time, right on our full HD retinas. - (P) depending on what underwater currents and mind-eye

73

74

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

75

76

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

77

78

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

79

80

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

81

82

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

FOR THE MODERN DAY ARTIST & CULTURALLY INTRIGUED INDIVIDUAL 84 ALBUM REVIEWS

92 MOVIE REVIEWS

100 SOUNDTRACK REVIEW

102 LIVE REVIEW

THE MIXTAPE

PHOTOGRAPH BY CLARA ABI NADER

83

ALBUM OF THE ISSUE ARTICLE BY LEA YAMMINE ILLUSTRATION BY NOUR FLAYHAN

I

t’s been almost three years since The White stripes have officially called it quits and over six years since their last studio release Icky Thump, but listening to them today does not feel outdated in the least, especially since they have produced a few timeless hits. Their live album Under Great White Northern Lights could very much be considered a classic in the sense that it is rich in catchy powerful tunes that turn into perfection when performed on stage.

Technically, the album is not a full concert; the songs are recorded from various shows, but it doesn’t matter because the lack of interaction or improvisation is made up for with the strong delivery of the songs live.

The reputation of the red, white and black duo being amazing on stage is proven to the delight of your ears and there is no need for other supporting evidence (although the documentary that comes with the album is said to be good). UGWNL is essentially a power hour of their characteristic brand of Garage Rock infused with a touch of Blues that’s absolutely brimming with energy.

Led by Jack White who oozes raw power and sexiness, the coolest pretend siblings of music command the stage with their minimalistic but feral arrangements. Meg’s signature spare and simple percussion are intense and set the fast pace of the songs, fuelling their head-banging foot-stomping attributes. The whole album is a considerably more hard, violent rendition of their studio songs, which is what makes it so good.

The whole thing opens with bagpipes, reminiscent of Celtic sounds used in Icky Thump, before the duo jumps right into a soaring performance of ‘Let’s Shake Hands’, which acts like a fitting introduction to the

great things to come. Quickly, the hits follow one another. Tracks like ‘Black Math’, ‘Blue Orchid’ and ‘Icky Thump’, although taken from different stages of their career are performed in a way that distills away any divergences they may have had. Heavy distorted riffs sit perfectly well with keys and pipes used here and there and it all ties in with the distinctive vocals of Jack. The live version of ‘Ball And Biscuit’ is quite different from the studio version. It is almost entirely devoid of its rhythmic melody and is instead layered with dry guitar sounds and some keys. And in some genius musical move, it incorporates songs by American Blues musician Robert Johnson (‘I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom’ and ‘Phonograph Blues’).

‘I’m Slowly turning Into You’ is performed in a lively manner to cheers of the audience singing along and just might leave you with bitter self wishing for a time travel machine. ‘Fell In Love with A Girl’ is delivered with a slowed down tempo but doesn’t lack any of its punch, in fact it takes on a whole new grungier sound.

As if you needed any more proof of The White Stripes’ skills, they cover the classic Country tune ‘Jolene’ and twist it in their own way, making it theirs. Jack White bawls through it, mastering its delivery and making it sound like the lament that it is. It does the song justice and is testament of the maturity of a band that can revisit classic songs while marking them with its own stamp. Burt Bacharach’s tune ‘I Just don’t Know What To Do with Myself’ is another cover that they beautifully appropriated since its release on Elephant in 2003, so much so that people tend to forget that it’s a cover. Such songs show the array of emotions this band can communicate through its music and a lot of it is due to the expressive singing of Jack White and his musical expertise.

Of course, the Stripes’ most iconic song and mother of all cheering anthems is featured on UGWNL. The ever-infectious ‘Seven Nation Army’, which conquered radio waves and found its way into sports events everywhere, closes the album with its characteristic guitar riff. But the way it is delivered takes the explosive quality and power of that riff up a notch, only to dilute it down through distorted guitars and back to the sounds of pipes that opened the album.

UGWNL is the perfect reminder of how painfully good The White Stripes were. It showcases a band that is in complete control of the stage and of its performance. If you miss the band and Jack’s numerous side projects aren’t enough to ease that itch, this is your go-to album. - (M)

UNDER GREAT WHITE NORTHERN LIGHTS THIRD MAN RECORDS // 2010

84

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

85

86

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

ALBUM REVIEW ARTICLE BY MAYA KHOURCHID ILLUSTRATION BY NOUR FLAYHAN

O

ur first introduction to Sia came through the speakers of a seedy club we had no business being in. Our teens played out in the early 2000’s in Beirut, with its lax laws on everything, including underage drinking. The obscure 2001 vocal house track ‘Drink to Get Drunk’ featuring the introspective vocals of the Australian singer-songwriter never charted internationally, reaching 91 in the UK and only marginally higher in the Netherlands, but it quickly became a key backing track to our predictably confusing teenage years.

It wasn’t until a few years later that we would hear ‘Breathe Me’. Released on her third studio album Colour the Small One in 2004 in the UK, it didn’t find its way to mainstream airwaves and across now-defunct peer-to-peer file sharing networks until the album was re-released in the USA in 2006. Piano-led, with painfully personal lyrics sung in low and gasped breathes, it’s an understatedly powerful song, wholly identifiable in its honestly and vulnerability.

Like many others, we lived vicariously through this and several of her other tunes that vocalized uncomfortably dark moments plainly, perfectly and unapologetically.

Classic Sia tunes are sad songs sung in minor keys that manage to never cross from cathartic to Evanescence-styled self-indulgent fatalism, despite being pulled into albums with jarringly frank titles such as Healing is Difficult and Some People Have Real Problems. Her songs are by trademark raw, real and hauntingly beautiful. The lyrics excruciatingly honest and her husky ethereal voice used with restraint to paint and emote carefully chosen words not showcase her enviable vocal range, except in surging transcendental glimpses. Her songs are crafted as a cathartic musical release and sung that way.

If the height of your musical education came by way of the past five years or so of radio, you would be forgiven for not knowing this. Born Sia Furler, she’s on a first-name-only basis as the force behind most of the songs that have charted astronomical success in recent years.

New single ‘Elastic Heart’, a collaborative effort with The Weeknd and Diplo featured in the Hunger Games sequel ‘Catching Fire’, is currently making international waves. Her voice powerfully leads both David Guetta’s hit tracks ‘Titanium’ and ‘She Wolf’, as well as infectious club track of 2011, FloRida’s ‘Wild Ones.’

This was incidental. Deciding to retire as a performance artist and become a full time songwriter instead, she penned dozens of chartfriendly hits from Rihanna’s ‘Diamonds’ to Celine Dion’s ‘Loved Me Back To Life’ and Ne-Yo’s ‘Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself).’ Flo Rida and Guetta decided to keep her demo vocals on their songs, because sing she most certainly can.

In total the chanteuse’s discography to date consists of five studio albums, two live albums and 21 singles including the aforementioned three as a featured artist. There’s a lot of ground to choose from and she’s certainly gone in several different personal and artistic directions.

As remarkable as her new work is both in catchy composition and vocal prowess - the best of Sia is her frank and brutal early ventures into uncharted emotional territory.

The 2007 live album Lady Croissant, is the perfect introduction to classic Sia or reintroduction to different renditions of her best work, depending on where you stand. Called a “mini-album” by her label, it’s a collection of eight live tracks recorded during a concert at the Bowery Ballroom in New York a year prior and one new studio recording.

With a tight band accompanying and little audience atmosphere, it feels less like a live album and more as a well assembled overview of key moments of the singer’s career that covers a lot of ground in not much time; one new studio track, one new live track, two from her time with indie-electro band Zero 7 that launched her early career, one from her solo debut album Healing is Difficult, three from Colour the Small One and finally one cover tune – the Pretender’s classic ‘I Go To Sleep’, given the Sia treatment.

The album starts off with the uncharacteristically carefree ‘Pictures’, the new studio recording and quickly moves into live versions of the key singles off Colour The Small One. Modern classics ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’ and ‘Breathe Me’ are moving and highly distinctive renditions, sung in drawn out consonants as Sia pulls power out of the words to the point that the lyrics don’t really matter except as vehicles for raw emotion.

Her vocal manipulation dances off the oddly named ‘Lentil’ as well as ‘Destiny’ from her days with Zero 7, executed with the same mixture of powerful fragility.

To each his own but at least for us, context is key and Sia’s journey from wholly soulful broken songbird to the Max Martin of this generation is one highly worth exploring. Her style is haunting in its absolute inimitability and Lady Croissant is the Cliff’s Notes to lasting legacy. - (M)

LADY CROISSANT ASTRALWERKS // 2007

87

88

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

ALBUM REVIEW ARTICLE BY MAYA KHOURCHID ILLUSTRATION BY NOUR FLAYHAN

U

p until the mid-2000’s when brand name DJs exploded into the height of their mainstream vogue, our musical taste leaned sharply towards the contemporary alternative genre. Not venturing too far, we however quickly found a soft spot for Vocal House. Some classic if clichéd tracks from this era are still on our go-to playlist for background music to accompany mundane tasks Tiesto’s ‘Do What You Want’, Gabriel & Dresden’s new take on old classic ‘Dust in the Wind’ and Armin Van Buuren’s ‘The Sound of Goodbye’, chief among them. As overplayed as they might be, the musical arrangement and manipulation of these tracks lift the vocals perfectly, elevate the lyrics and give the songs a skillfully nuanced mood and meaning.

Already skeptics of the seemingly overhyped art that goes into electro, we had little tolerance for seemingly simple beats that seemed to garner near fanatic worship or for standing in long and sweaty lines to “watch” artists push buttons and release pre-recorded sets. The concept of watching these acts “perform” seemed counterintuitive. Call it blasphemy, but Deadmau5 agrees with us.

The infinitely acclaimed Progressive-House music producer and performer took to his Tumblr in a deliciously blunt rant to call himself and his peers “button pushers” and set the record straight: “When it comes to live performances of EDM … I think given about one hour of instruction, anyone with minimal knowledge of Ableton and music tech in general could do what I’m doing at a Deadmau5 concert.” For the uninitiated, EDM is Electro Dance Music, Ableton AG is a Berlin-based music software company that primarily produces production and performance programs and we wholly agree. By all means, attend “live” electro performances to revel in the collective high of good music in a shared group experience, but don’t kid yourself into thinking you’re getting anything different than you would via illicitly shared mp3.

That is unless the act is Justice.

French House music duo Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay are no strangers to critical acclaim. If you think youhaven’t heard of them, allow us to inform you that you almost certainly unknowingly have. Justice won Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2006 for the addictive ‘We Are Your Friends’, their debut 2007 album was nominated for a Grammy for Best Electronic / Dance Album and they won the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical for their remix of MGMT song ‘Electric Feel’ in 2009.

Despite having little to prove in terms of both technical capability and artistry, Justice make it a point to use their live shows to experiment organically; making them what Pitchfork called “one of the few existing electronic acts where the impulse for the crowd to arrange itself facing the stage actually seems justified.”

These days the duo is zipping around prime venues across Europe and North America, so catching them live in the near future without investing in a plane ticket out of the Middle East is improbable. Fortunately, this year’s live album Access All Arenas is a formidable substitute.

Recorded at the Arena of Nimes in July of last year, this is their second live album in a climate where one is already a toughsell. A little under an hour and a half of musical mastery, it goes through 14 tracks, including the inescapable ‘D.A.N.C.E’ which earned them a nomination for Best Dance Recording and Best Electronic/Dance at the 2008 Grammys and their first single ‘Waters of Nazareth’ that catapulted them into the public eye.

Some, such as ‘Audio, Video, Disco’, are pulled to almost ten minutes and all interwoven with a spectacularly curated selection of samples - from classical Bach, to contemporary Jay-Z and even obscure Italian progressive rock.

Though they might not be musicians in the classical sense, they certainly know their techie tools and play them like instruments. It’s this intrinsic familiarity that allows them to actually perform their studio work, taking it to different heights and in different directions to truly play live.

Justice are known foremost for incorporating a strong Rock and Indie influence into their music and as the explosive crowd reactions indicate on Access All Arenas, this extends to how they conceive their shows. In the arena they hold themselves more as Rock gods than Electro artists and blur the line between classical performance and its modern incarnation impeccably.

Listen to Access All Arenas to redefine your expectations of live Electro-music and vocally demand more than pre-queued audio tracks out of your next $100 show ticket. - (M)

ACCESS ALL ARENAS ED BANGER RECORDS // 2013

89

ALBUM OF THE ISSUE ARTICLE BY LEA YAMMINE ILLUSTRATION BY NOUR FLAYHAN

E

rykah Badu is such a prominent artist that even non R&B fans have heard of. But there is more to this lady than gorgeous colorful headscarves or that controversial stripping nude video which was the nightmare of pearl-clutchers everywhere circa 2010. Dubbed “Queen of Neo Soul,” her debut album Baduizm was both a critical and commercial success and went triple platinum.

Quite boldly, her subsequent release was the Live album recorded on her tour for Baduizm; incidentally, her first headlining tour.

There aren’t many artists following up their chart-topping highly acclaimed debut with a live album; it’s seen as a risky move since people would be looking forward to new material rather than live versions of hits they have already heard over and over again. But in this case, it works perfectly well due to Badu’s absolute talent and presence on stage.

Although she was a relatively new artist, the album shows she masters her craft and art and is able to deliver a solid show.

In general, good live albums convey a feel of what the actual performance was like, where you can hear the audience reacting to the show and the artist interacting with the crowd and where already known songs are performed in a different way, whether more energetic, raw or emotional. It’s a thing of projection, expectation and imagination It can go terribly wrong but when it works, it’s beautiful. Live has all these elements: Badu delivers a compelling performance of her hits. She communicates with her audience extensively and in turn, the audience does not fail to react with the kind of energy and excitement you’d expect fans to have. She also introduces some new songs, a couple of

beautifully revisited covers (‘Boogie Nights/All Night’ and ‘Stay’) and her then-to-be-released single ‘Tyrone’; testing it out with the crowd.

The song later went on to be nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance so needless to say it was well received, but choosing to share it with the live audience first must have played a part in its high ranking on airplay charts.

The mood is set from the get go with the intro song (‘Rimshot’).

Badu is greeted on stage, she thanks her audience and sings with the smooth voice that earned her comparisons to the great Billie Holiday, “I came to hear the band today.” It sets the tone for the Baduist musical experience that ensues. Indeed, the whole album is an emotional and sensitive performance in which the artist does not shy away from making contact with the crowd; inviting them in her own universe. This also makes her seem more accessible and close.

“Emotional” is in fact a recurrent word in all reviews of this album and with good reason. Badu is not afraid to deliver her songs with genuine feeling; you can hear her almost sobbing on some of these songs and it never veers into the cheesy cringe-inducing territory.

Her rendition of ‘On & On’, the single from Baduizm and the first Neo Soul song to top the R&B charts, gives it a whole new feel. She talks to the audience asking them how they’re feeling, enticing them to make themselves heard and the energy reaches its height with the rapping in the last part of the song. It is delivered with what can only be qualified as swagger and comes as further evidence of her absolute confidence and ease on stage. She is playful and jokes with the audience, managing to transport her live audience as well as the people listening to the album. Badu also shows this eagerness to share her art and communicate her ideas. For example, she explains extensively the meaning of the song ‘Apple Tree’, complete with the symbolism behind it and how it relates to the meaning of life, for around two full minutes before she starts singing it.

Badu’s Live album, although recorded on a major tour, still sounds intimate and personal and that’s largely thanks to her emotionally-charged performance and her attitude towards the audience. The album eventually went double platinum, thus contributing to affirming her presence on the music scene and showcasing her talent as an artist and performer. That’s what makes it such a good album still featured on many “best live albums” lists and if you were not familiar with Badu’s music it would be a good introduction. - (M)

LIVE UNIVERSAL RECORDS // 1997

90

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

91

92

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

MOVIE OF THE ISSUE

DIRECTED BY BOB FOSSE

“ LEAVE YOUR TROUBLES OUTSIDE! LIFE IS DISAPPOINTING? FORGET IT! ”

ARTICLE BY SAKO DERSAHAGIAN & SERGE KALDANY ILLUSTRATION BY JO BAAKLINI

M

ein Damen und Herren, Mesdames et Messieurs, Ladies and Gentlemen! Guden Abend, bon soir, Wie geht’s? Comment ca va? Do you feel good? I bet you do! Leave your troubles outside. So- life is disappointing? Forget it! We have no troubles here! Here life is beautiful... The girls are beautiful... Even the orchestra, is beautiful.

And that it is, at the seedy Kit Kat Klub, the birthplace of one of the most outstanding movie musicals you will ever witness. Wilkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome, im Cabaret, au Cabaret, to Cabaret!

Adapted from Christopher Isherwood’s book ‘Goodbye to Berlin’, the musical Cabaret is set in 1930’s Berlin, where general promiscuity and freethinking clashed with the growing strength of the Nazi Regime. It centers on Sally Bowles, a 19-year-old British singer who thinks she is God’s gift to the stage (think early cabaret version of Rebecca Black) and the nervous and quiet American Cliff Bradshaw, whose libido knows no gender preference. Here’s a tidbit we bet you didn’t know: The original Sally Bowles in the London production of Cabaret is played by none other than Judy Dench. Surprisingly, the ability to sing doesn’t rank high in musicals; Dame Judy Dench’s voice is as pleasant as a colonoscopy. The score, however, is considered to be one of the gems of the Kander and Ebb songbook (for those of you unschooled in the arts, these dudes friggin’ wrote Chicago!).

The staged musical also includes a subplot starring Herr Schultz an elderly grocer and his love interest Fraulein Schneider. The entire musical is hosted by the Emcee of the KKK, (Kit Kat Klub), the rouged-cheeked asexual, pint-sized figure in a monkey suit. With no apparent relevance to the plot itself, the Emcee welcomes us to the musical and introduces us to all the hyped up sexual shenanigans of the “Klub.” One of the most brilliant characters written in musical theatre history, the Emcee of Cabaret is an enigma, bringing us closer to the truth but never quite revealing his identity.

In the inevitable adaptation from stage to silver screen, Fosse’s interpretation and direction are interesting to see; especially in the

choreography and the cinematography of Cabaret. First of all, in the very beginning of ‘Wilkommen’ the opening song, you can quite clearly notice several shots modeled after popular paintings, like ‘Otto Dix’.

The transformation and editing process that Fosse did to Cabaret was so amazing that it should be the molding pattern which all stageturned-film musicals should follow. Some songs were cut, some were added; keeping most of the musical numbers within the confines of the Kit Kat Klub to either service the plotline or the emotional outburst of characters. The film is also noted to have won the most Academy Awards without winning for best picture. Fosse beat out Francis Ford Coppola for The Godfather in the Best Director Category (suck on that Don Corleone… and on the day of your daughter’s wedding as well! Perhaps you needed to call in some favors!)

As important as all of this showmanship is, it all falls under the umbrella of minute details that can be swept under the rug. As anyone who has ever watched Cabaret would know, you only watch Cabaret to witness the beginnings of one of the most prolific and high-energy performers of all time; Liza Minnelli. Now, take a deep breath and let this following tidbit seep into your senses: Liza with a Z is the daughter of ruby red slippers Garland. That blew you away didn’t it? Ok, click your heels three times and get back here. Liza made this movie, this movie made Liza. Bob Fosse was a smart man; he knew he had the winning ticket. Minnelli not only shaped the look of Sally Bowles to forever bind the persona to her own act; she set an entire fashion trend for the seventies. With her big brown eyes, gigantic lashes and barely-there eyebrows, her look became one of the most vastly copied looks of that decade.

So, let us recount the reasons you need to drop your children/ wives/play dates/hookers/projects/inflatable dolls and go watch Cabaret. The direction is amazing; the music is astonishingly catchy and iconic. The Emcee is a character to trip on; he knows it and he will exploit that to his advantage. But mostly watch it because Liza Minnelli came out of Judy Garland’s vagina. Enough said! - (M)

93

MOVIE REVIEW

DIRECTED BY HOWARD HAWKS

“ I want you to find happiness and stop having fun. ”

ARTICLE BY SAKO DERSAHAGIAN & SERGE KALDANY ILLUSTRATION BY JO BAAKLINI

W

e, the human race, have been at war for a long time.

No one really knows how and when it began, but we have all chosen a side and are loyal combatants in the never-ending battle between blondes and brunettes. Historians estimate its debut around the year 1953, after the Second World War, and have labeled it “The Hot War”. Us on the other hand, after having read a lot of factual history books, assume it all started when one blond icon clashed with a brunette legend in a movie, appropriately titled Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

Simple minded Lorelei (Marilyn Monroe) and her friend Dorothy (Jane Russell) are showgirl dancers. Lorelei gets engaged to Mr. Esmond (that’s how she calls him, can’t you feel the love?), a rich man who keeps buying her diamonds. Dorothy on the other hand, pursues men for their looks and charisma. Of course, each woman thinks the other has the worst approach to love. Suspicious of the possibility of a getaway to “commit matrimony,” Mr. Esmond’s father has Lorelei followed by a private eye, Ernie Malone (Elliott Reid). As they cross paths, Ernie and Dorothy slowly fall in love even though Lorelei tries to set her up with a more suited and richer gentleman.

Right up there, that was the plot of the movie, but really, this movie is about just three things: Marilyn, Marilyn’s boobs, and ummm…. Oh yes, Marilyn’s quivering lustful voice! A lot of times it’s the actors that make the movie, but this time it’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes that launched Marilyn as one of the most recognizable sex symbols in history. She might not be the only star, but she is the blonde. Back then in 1953, both Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell were rising stars, huge names and gorgeous hourglass-figured women. Jane’s fame lit up like a candle, but slowly and inevitably, the flame went out. Marilyn, on the other hand, is like a mountain of burning tires, powered

94

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

by a flamethrower with endless fuel. And we can prove that right now: Do you even know who Jane Russell is?

Only 4 years prior, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes opened on Broadway, starring Carol Channing, surprisingly enough. The rocky frog-on-acid voice of Carol Channing compared to the boner-inducing calls of miss Monroe seems to show how incredibly different from the original musical the movie set out to be. First off, the on stage musical had more backbone to the plot, adding rape and even murder to the mix. Granted, it is told in the most PG-like rates of the 40’s, but it was still there, giving substance, and some sort of edge to the play. Making it into a movie meant severe editing: there’s no mention of rape and/or murder whatsoever, there’s actually no mention of a tangible story, which makes it that much nicer. The songs are the spine of the whole film. Plus, comparing Marilyn Monroe to Carol Channing is like comparing lacy panties to your grandma’s underwear.

We also see that in the movie ,they tried to divide the focus a bit, giving more importance to Jane Russell as the brunette. There is a scene close to a pool, where she sings around oblivious men about her trying to grab some attention and the hopes of finding love.

The men actually don’t care at all about this singing bombshell in a swimsuit; so much so that they trip on her and make her fall in the pool. Funnily enough, this goof was not written in the script, but they kept it for so many obvious reasons.

It’s a simple story about “two little girls from Little Rock” who try in their own way to find true love. And we have to say the movie overshadowed the musical, but that might be the consequence of the collective sizes of Monroe and Russell’s boobs. When it comes right down to it, “I can be smart when it’s important, but most men don’t like it.” Sad but true, Marilyn, sad… but true… - (M)

95

96

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

MOVIE REVIEW

DIRECTED BY JIM SHARMAN

“ I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey. ”

ARTICLE BY SAKO DERSAHAGIAN & SERGE KALDANY ILLUSTRATION BY JO BAAKLINI

W

e would like to take you on a strange ride. Warning: The following is NOT based on a true story… The time is the 70’s. On a brisk but sunny morning, someone woke up from a nightmare and thought that it could make a great movie. He then followed that up with a brilliant idea “No, this is not meant to be a movie, I’ll turn it into a live musical, nobody has done it before, singing horror, what could go wrong?” At that time, not so unfortunately, no one was around to tell him that there was a reason nobody had made a horror musical before, and lo and behold, it was a huuuuuge success. Then in 1975, John Sharman pushed the envelop a bit further and made a movie out of the musical that was set out to be a movie in the first place.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is inception.

The result of this weird Matryoshka-like backstory is none other than: The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Now allow us to obsess about it for a bit!

In the middle of a rainy night, a young engaged couple takes a shortcut through a dark forest when their car gives up on them (pretty basic scary movie stuff). They decide to go knocking on the nearest door to ask for a phone so that they can get out of their jam.

However, the nearest door belongs to a huge isolated mansion (no surprises there). Of course, lightning strikes a couple of times as they approach to ring. The hunchbacked balding grey and creepy butler (who else) comes over to open and asks them to wait while he calls the master, a crazy scientist. (Get ready, here’s where things veer towards the weird)… The lovebirds Brad (Barry Botswick) and Jane (Susan Sarandon) are waiting for the butler Riff-Raff (Richard O’Brien - the writer of the movie) to call on Dr. Frankn-Furter (Tim Curry). Now, the cliché story would dictate that the doctor shows up with electrified hair but in reality… Frank-nFurter is a transvestite scientist about to unveil his latest creature creation; a golden boy by the name of Rocky. Things then turn sour when a tubby person comes to ruin the party while singing his ass off (as a side note here, guest starring as the tubby singer is none other than the only overweight rockstar, Meatloaf).

Keep in mind that this is a musical, and cold-hearted snobbish Susan Sarandon is singing! (God bless her.)

For once in these reviews, the focus is more on the backstory of the movie than the movie itself, since The Rocky Horror Picture Show is an icon in the show industry. Now grab a pen and paper and take note kids: Step 1 – Figure out from the underground scene when and where the next show is going to happen; a not-so-simple task due to the limited release of the musical.

Step 2 – Prepare your costume. Here are the popular ones: transvestite scientist, freaky French maid and naked golden boy.

Step 3 – Make sure you have someone in the group who has never seen the show before; he or she will be the “Rocky Horror virgin”.

Step 4 – Show up and enjoy the f**k out of the performance.

Step 5 – Decide whether you want to side with the movie or the theatrical version for inevitable future debates.

In other matters, this movie is just a parody of B-movies from past eras; winking at several icons and jokes. Here’s a challenge for ya; try to spot King Kong for example. Its costumes are colorfully black and grim, saluting Cabaret. It has a lot of cultural cameos, like Mona Lisa, The Creation of Adam, and American Gothic (you know the freaky ass painting of a farmer holding a pitchfork and his wife looking like she’d had that pitchfork up somewhere).

Brace yourself for a fabulous and more than entertaining flick that starts with luscious red lips singing the opening credits song.

Whether you’re a man, woman, hetero or homo, sparks will fly.

It’s a ride you will remember for a very long time. - (M)

97

MOVIE REVIEW

DIRECTED BY ALFRED HITCHCOCK

“ How do you go about writing a detective story? ”

ARTICLE BY SAKO DERSAHAGIAN & SERGE KALDANY ILLUSTRATION BY JO BAAKLINI

T

he Usual Suspects, Se7en and The Departed are all excellent thriller/suspense movies and we definitely recommend that you watch them, but they all fall short in comparison to the movie that brought them to life: Dial M for Murder. Here’s a Hitchcock movie that doesn’t involve psychopaths, freaks of nature, or weird phobias. It’s simple average people in a not so simple but plausible situation. Yes, Hitchcock did realistic movies!

Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) is a retired tennis player who got married to a rich heiress by the name of Margot Mary (Grace Kelly) to live the rest of his life as her trophy boy. After several years of marriage, routine takes its toll and Mary engages in an affair with a certain Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings). Tony now faces a dilemma that many people struggle with daily: How to keep your spouse’s money without keeping your spouse. Murder is the simple answer, so Tony pays a long lost acquaintance to kill his wife for him.

On the fateful day however, Mary manages to escape her attacker and kill him, forcing Tony to improvise a plan B, and start to plant evidence that says that Mary killed an innocent man in cold blood.

Being a Hitchcock movie, you can bet your house that it has unreal facts behind it, like the fact that the movie was shot in only 36 days, or that Alfred himself appears in a picture cameo at minute 13… thirteen… horror, suspense movie… hmmm… coincidence?

At this point, fellow readers, you might ask yourselves “Great, another Hitchcock movie, but what has it got to do with the stage?

I thought this issue was about onstage performances, musicals, and plays!” Well, let us clear the fog on any doubt you may have. Dial M for Murder was originally a play by Frederick Knott, which Mr. Hitchcock enjoyed so much he made it into a movie with his own little twist. You know how nowadays, people say the book is always better than the movie; the original script had more depth.

We’re talking Harry Potter, Eat Pray Love, Game of Thrones… well here it’s quite the opposite. Since the movie came out, no one even remembers the play. Even Google forgot about it: type in Dial M for

98

F/I/M²/P - DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

Murder on Google and you’ll find mention of the original play on the 7th page, not before, and we all know what that means… So it’s safe to say that the movie cast a big-ass shadow over the play and that in this particular case the “remake” is better than the “original”.

The original play, much like the movie, took place in only one scene, with only one background, with minimal setting and that’s the whole point. The script and the plot were so strong that they didn’t need extra details. The entire thing heightened the sense of thrill and enigma. We can only deduce that Sir Alfred Hitchcock saw great potential in a small production that ought to have had more exposure and recognition, so he took on this project to shed more light to the play. Inadvertently, he actually annihilated the notion of the play and replaced it with this awesome movie.

It’s not the easiest of tasks to talk about 1950’s actors and actresses, from Ray Milland to Mark Halliday, things only got more and more obscure. We even tried the big guns on this one; our grandparents… Nothing. Let’s be honest, even their names sound fake… But Grace Kelly, however, we know. All of you have heard that name at least once in your life. The Monaco princess-to-be, at the time, is a shiny jewel in this movie. She stars in it, representing the victimization of women. If you’re shocked by the inequality between the sexes nowadays, try picturing how things were back then when women didn’t have a say in anything. Falsely accused of a murder she didn’t commit, Grace Kelly is sentenced to prison and maybe even the death penalty. Seriously, who wants to see Grace Kelly harmed in any way…

So in a nutshell, this is the mother of plot twisty murder movies, directed by one of the all-time greats and starring the princess of all actresses. It’s also in IMDB’s top 250 list. What more do you need to get off your fat ass and watch that movie? If anything else, it is one of the movies on the ultimate movie list; the ones you have to watch at least once before you die. If we’re going to be completely open, we had been putting it off for quite some time, and now, after having watched it, we feel ashamed and stupid… - (M)

99

SOUNDTRACK REVIEW

The best part about writing a SOUNDTRACK review is that you get to listen to music while working and no one has the right to judge you. We recently re-watched nightmare before Christmas and got thrown into a joyfully twisted Christmas spirit. Ho ho ho, Tim Burton!

The movie follows the adventures of Jack, a star in Halloween town, as he discovers a whole new world: Christmas town, and, more importantly, the Sandy Claws phenomenon (can we stop for a second to contemplate the genius of that name?).

ARTICLE BY PAMELA KARAM ILLUSTRATION BY RAPHAELLE MACARON

T

here is this thing about old animated movies (and by old we mean the nineties); we do not actually know whether it’s the pure simplicity of the visuals or the effortless humor, but somehow they find a way to burrow deep within you. It is impossible to go through the entire 72 minutes without noticing the brilliant work of Danny Elfman on the original soundtrack, sung almost entirely by Elfman himself. In 1993, it was nominated for a golden globe for best original score. The sounds added an enchanting new dimension to Jack’s adventures. But with time, many tracks lost some of their impact and needed to become gloomier.

the limit. With every title, each singer holds your hand, walks you slowly down somber corridors and throws you into his unique vision. Whether you like that type of music or not; you can’t help but admit that each artist did a brilliant job.

Bottom line is, the revisited sounds could not be more appropriate for a modern perception of the movie.

The album starts and ends with instrumentals from Devotchka and Album Leaf. The first one,‘Overture’, is by far the kitschiest title on the album. It projects you directly into the mood of the animation.This instrumental makes you feel like you are surrounded by accordions in the Parisian underground. The ‘End title’, however, is far less heavy, as it is meant to send you That is why it was almost natural to back to the real world at sunrise when all revisit the soundtrack and give it a more the monsters retreat to their vaults. Then contemporary feel. In 2008, a number comes the first real“cover title”; this handy of Rock artists collaborated to turn the task fell in the hands of none other than experience into something a little more the master of dark, heavy metal Marilyn modern with a kitsch twist. With big names Manson. The song is meant to sound such as Marilyn Manson, Fiona Apple, sinister and frightening since it is then that Korn and Fall Out Boy, you are sure to be you are introduced to Halloween town and in for a treat. As we settled down to have a boy, did that work.We could almost see Jack listen, we thought we were ready for this – walking around with his humongous legs as we have never been more wrong. The reason he passed by troubling creatures. it is so dense is very simple. First of all, the selection of artists can give you an idea of Our personal favorite is ‘Dr. Filkenstein its content. Secondly, it is a soundtrack for in the Forest’ by Amiina. We can’t really one of Tim Burton’s classics, which forced say why that track does it for us, but it is the performers to push their sinister side to somehow the embodiment of Tim Burton’s

100 F/I/M²/P

- DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

Christmas and it fits the mood perfectly.The instrumental kicks off with a rather slow tone. We’re not exactly sure where this song is featured in the movie, but it shouldn’t be far from the adventures in the forest, especially after the harp-like sounds sneak in and you feel surrounded by ghosts in a lost, wild garden.

Despite all the strong covers on this album, there are a few titles that fail to impress. Amy Lee’s performance on ‘Sally’s song’ is not nearly as good as it should be. We still cannot make up our mind on whether it’s her voice that is plain boring or just her Gothic style that is a little outdated. Lee didn’t rise up to the challenge, especially when all the other contributing artists exceeded expectations. To make matters even worse, the song was also performed by Fiona Apple, who managed to turn it into a far more interesting and mournful version. It is true that the rhythm is a bit redundant throughout the track, but Apple truly embodied Sally’s character, and how miserable she was.

As a whole, though, Nightmare Revisited is an outstanding collection of cover songs, that gathers many types of music.This soundtrack is an adventure; at times you feel like you are inside some kind of a twisted video game and you are enchanted with new types of melodies that take you to dark places you never knew could exist at others. - (M)

101

LIVE REVIEW: GOLDFRAPP // LE TRIANON, PARIS

ARTICLE BY MOHAMAD ABDOUNI

T

he heavy cheering of an impatient crowd hushed abruptly at the Trianon in Paris as a golden-haired black silhouette finally made her way to center stage and settled in front of her microphone stand, an hour late. There literally was no longer a sound to be heard: a total “pin drop” moment.

Not many had stood outside all day in the pouring rain, waiting for the theatre doors to open so that they can make their way to front row. The dozen few who did, however, understood exactly what they were so eager to witness. We had all glanced at each others, sometimes throwing smiles at one another and, at times, striking up conversations.

The wait was excruciating, even more so inside than outside, but it all seemed worth it once the crowd went hush and Ms. Alison Goldfrapp crooned the first lines of ‘Jo’.

“Heard a shot and someone calling strained in darkness”.

An audience member about three spots to our left attempted to follow that by whispering along “vapor like veil hangs over the city tonight,” only to be shushed by all those near him; and it went on as such for the remainder of the 40-something-minute first act. No cheers, no sing-alongs, nothing. Everyone just gazed silently as a mini orchestra backed Alison’s breathy and melancholic vocals through six of the ten songs that make up the band’s latest album Tales Of Us. Ms. Goldfrapp’s voice has in fact been the only constant in the duo’s recording career over the past thirteen years. They have been through ambient soundscapes (Felt Mountain), moody Electronic (Black Cherry), dance (Supernature), Folk (Seventh Tree), nu-eighties (Headfirst) and the orchestral and ethereal wonder of their latest offering, all the while keeping Alison’s breathy vocals, dreamy chords and crooning ways.

On their sixth studio record, the duo served up ten tracks on love, desire, gender and nature. Nine out of the batch were crowned with first names as titles; the remaining one being ‘Stranger’. They shed the Synth-Dance Pop of their previous Headfirst for melodies revolving around simple guitar plucks or keyboard notes and brought to life by subtle synthetic sounds that Mr. Gregory applied in order to achieve a monumental crescendo and add an orchestral/theatrical aspects to each opus. Alison’s breathy vocals and shrieks ties the bunch together, making the

102 F/I/M²/P

- DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

PHOTOGRAPH BY CLARA ABI NADER

whole thing sound like a missing capsule of James Bond themes that, albeit amazing, never saw release.

The lights blinded us. The stage itself however sunk in the shadows. The setup was not lit, neither was Alison, nor any of the musicians. The lights came from behind the stage instead, casting an omnipresent beam on the crowd. We could all see each other clearly yet focused on the shrouded dark visual that the live silhouettes had been conjuring.

Following six tunes off their latest LP, act one proceeded with ‘Yello Halo’ (a bonus track from The Singles compilation) and a couple of tracks off the Folk-y Seventh Tree, only to go back to yet another gem from Tales of Us, ‘Thea’. And then… nothing.

Alison walked off the stage.

Fortunately, the orchestra members and her band mates stayed put, which settled any anxiety we might have had at the thought of the show being indeed over.

The show was not over. The show was far from being over.

As Alison came back on stage, gone was the mellow mood she had seduced us into and the soundscapes that cradled her croons. Instead she came back in full force, rocking the (opera) house with the band’s previous dance hits (‘Ooh La La’ and ‘Ride A White Horse’). The crowd grew rowdy and we could barely contain ourselves at that point. We screamed to every lyric and shook our hips to every grunting beat. Looking back, we felt as if people were just about ready to jump from the theatre’s balconies: we could’ve sworn a few fell over into the lower crowd. It all simply took an unexpected turn into a ravelike party … in an opera hall.

The encore proved to be the most mesmerizing part of the entire gig. As the band prepared for ‘Lovely Head’, a technician walked on stage and set up a second microphone in front of the lead misses. She sang her verses in one and yelped her longing chorus moans into the other, which in turn filtered her screams and turned them into beautiful melodies of anguish.

As ‘Strict Machine’ played, we were already experiencing bittersweet euphoria since we knew it was nearing the end of the show: She had announced so herself. It was one last song, one last dance, a swift “Merci Paris” and then she sauntered off, along with her band, leaving us to bask in the after glow of the most bipolar show of the year. You should’ve been there. - (M)

103

COMPILED BY THE PEOPLE BEHIND F/I/M²/P

104 F/I/M²/P

- DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

CAPTURES COURTESY OF THE WEEKND’S ‘THE ZONE’ FEAT. DRAKE

01 ‘Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome Variation n. 02’ Johanna Wedin

08 ‘Thinkin’ About Your Body (Virgin Magnetic Material Remix)’ Bobby Mcferrin

The classic ‘Cabaret’ opening song is given a completely modern revamp. Joel Grey iconic vocals are swapped for the sweeter tones of Johanna Wedin.

Bobby Mcferrin’s vocal acrobatics are added to this Virgin Magnetic Material remix. Start your day with a Nu-Disco remix that involves touching one’s privates.

02 ‘Love Will Keep Captain & Tenille

Us

Together’ 09 ‘Maker (Synapson Remix)’ Fink

A nostalgic classic that embodies every tender element of mid 70’s Pop music.

The core message of this song is in many ways a lie, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t ultimately enjoy it.

03 ‘The Way We Touch’ We Are Twin This soulful Pop tune with classic Southern appeal is brought to you by Sri Lankan born producer Nicholas Balachandran and New Yorker vocalist, Gabi Christine.

We dare you to keep your hips tamed.

04 ‘I Will Be Found Lost At Sea’ John Mayer Following his throat surgery, Mayer’s music has been more folky and relaxed.

While dipping his feet in some bluegrass influences he maintains his signature guitar flare with added romanticism.

05 ‘Relax’ Starchild & The New Romantic Featured on the Saint Heron Compilation, ‘Relax’ is an immediate chilled stand out.

It features an array of looped piano riffs and electronic beats that take you on a clandestine rhythmic journey.

06 ‘Late Night (Solomun Remix)’ Foals Solomun’s take on one of the U.K.’s most prominent indie rock bands’ music stays somewhat around their familiar territory. ‘Late Night’s’ transcendental vibe shifts into a perfect club form.

07 ‘Is That Your Life’ Tricky The reigning king of Trip Hop proves that he still reigns supreme with this Francesca Belmonte assisted mp3. Soft vocals smoke through a motorized circuit of bass-y riffs and slippery violins accords.

How sexy must the person standing in front of you be in order for you to give in to their advances? Synapson leaves Fink’s original propositional lyrics and adds a leading beat with seductive guitar and piano touches.

10 ‘Run (LCAW Remix)’ Daughter Daughter trade their usually downtempo production for a more glitzy oriented route. ‘Run’ takes on any classic David Guetta house production all the while maintaining some class.

11 ‘The Zone’ The Weeknd Feat. Drake The Weeknd keeps it classy while swooning over sipping his lover slowly.

After the preliminaries are over and done, Drake takes over the thrusting beat and follows it with a money shot.

12 ‘Sort Of Light’ Cuushe Japanese indie songstress Cuushe treats her music like a forming envelope of foamy clouds. ‘Sort Of Light’ is the perfect example of how meticulously thought out every single layer of her music is.

13 ‘Fifteen (Oxford Remix)’ Goldroom Feat. Chela

Producer Goldroom gets a helping hand from Parisian DJ Oxford for a summery house remix. Equipped with just the right amount of bells and whistles for a 3 a.m booty shake.

15 ‘When I Think Of You’ Janet Jackson Janet Jackson’s first number one hit still sounds as fresh as it did 28 years ago.

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis’ riveting RnB and Dance Pop arrangements will have you busting out your leg warmers.

16 ‘Happy’ Pharrell Williams After collaborating with robots, Pharell finally blesses us with solo material.

Originally for the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack, this Pop tune is proof that only him can make serial raping appealing.

17 ‘Sexodus’ M.I.A feat the Weeknd Employing a thumbing break-hoppy Weeknd beat, M.I.A invites you to join her on a sexual crusade. Being that she is the queen of samples, she reigns supreme on your libido with perfect oriental savagery.

18 ‘Time Will Tell’ Blood Orange Dev Hynes employs all of his rhythmic smoke and mirrors to conjure the perfect love song. The extended track will have anyone dancing euphorically as soon as the first chorus kicks in.

19 ‘Drowning Butterflies’ Bipolar Sunshine The up and coming Englishman uses his knowledge of Ska and Soul to create a new pop hybrid. The perfect glomeration of perfectly put together repetitive hooks and chantey vocals.

20 ‘Beautiful Trash (Her 12 Faces)’ Lanu Feat. Megan Washington Funk veteran Lanu takes on the perils of falling for a stranger with the help of Megan Washington. A Latin infused beat dances around the vocalist’s singing perfecting the omnipresent passive-obsessive tone.

14 ‘Don’t Matter’ Cherokee feat. Darianna After a pretty dry spell, Cherokee are back with a disco kissed, feel good track. Unknown chanteuse Darianna fits right in, by lending her lusty vocals to their joyous beats.

LISTEN TO THE MIXTAPE ON-THE-GO

105

106 F/I/M²/P

TURN TO PAGE 8 FOR MORE ON MADONNA & // THE BLOND AMBITION TOUR

+

- DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014

9-10 January, 2014 8:30 pm | Al Madina Theatre

Corps Étrangers A contemporary dance performance choreographed by

Mouvoir / Stephanie Thiersch

Photo by Martin Rottelkolber

107

108 F/I/M²/P

- DECEMBER / JANUARY 2014