Posted October 31, 2009 at 5:10pm
I’m a socially conscious musician with a strong gospel background,” Mbugua said. “I want to use my music to communicate with our youth about their great potential … of being the solution to Africa’s problems.
Posted October 31, 2009 at 1:33pm
If an artist is a symbol-maker, then Glenn Weyant’s musical artistry is pure magic. In a work he calls The Anta Project, he transforms the U.S.-Mexico border wall into a musical instrument using, as he says: “a cello bow and implements of mass percussion.” He literally uses that cello bow to make avant garde music from the steel wall, barbed wire fences and assorted barriers that separate the United States from Mexico in the Sonoran Desert.
Weyant took a look at the border wall and then set out in 2006, as he said: “to transform this symbol of fear and loathing into an instrument capable of promoting unity, dialogue and compassion through sound and performance.”
Now, three years later, his project potentially has the power to transform the suffering of border crossers into relief and assistance. By collaborating with No More Deaths, an Arizona-based human rights organization, Weyant plans to release The Anta Project and its companion Droneland Security as a limited edition, double-disc set. All profits from the album will directly benefit No More Deaths’ life saving mission: to address the suffering and deaths of border crossers and to illuminate and rectify problems in U.S. border policy.
Weyant is seeking financial backers to make this dream come true. And he offers his supporters rewards for their contributions through the website Kickstarter.com. Follow this link to view Weyant’s groundbreaking project proposal:
DECONSTRUCTING BORDERS WITH A CELLO BOW AND A SMILE
The Anta Project’s name comes from a Sanskrit word meaning “border” or “end of known territory.” You can watch Weyant create his avant garde music on this video:The Sound Sculpturist. He is also featured in the YouTube video at the top of this post. Hear more examples of his sound sculptures here:http://www.sonicanta.com/music.html
In this clip from Leslie Wylie’s article in Metro Pulse (Jul 12, 2007) we see the ideals that motivate Weyant:
Weyant humbly points out that he’s not the first person to have “played a wall”; other politically charged borders, such as the barbed wire surrounding concentration camps, have also yielded music in the past. But he’s the only artist thus far who has applied the idea to the wall between Mexico and the United States, challenging the disturbingly popular notion that a fence could stop the flow of undocumented immigrants into our country.
“It’s an easy way of galvanizing the tension,” he explains. “We don’t have solutions, but at least we can have a focal point for our fear: ‘We built a wall, we’re safe.’ But if the border has become a symbol of national insecurity, why can’t we take the symbol and turn it on its head? Let’s transform the wall, reconceptualize it as a bridge between two worlds.”
For more information about The Anta Project: www.sonicanta.com Weyant’s website has gained a cult following receiving 9,000 unique visits each month!
You can also follow Sonic Anta’s progress on Twitter: http://twitter.com/sonicanta
To contribute to The Anta Project: Kickstarter.com You can be part of this magic!
Posted September 1, 2009 at 6:42pm
The Courage Project
Walking down the streets of Palo Chino, Juarez, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t being too conspicuous and stand out even more than I already did, so my camera was mostly hidden down by my side. When the moment was right I would quickly raise and snap a picture of the documentary I wanted to bring back to the Church here in the States. Pictures of desolation, hardship and poverty stricken streets were the messages I thought were needed to awaken the hearts of the people who “have”, to bless the “have-nots”. The lonely old lady Martha selling eggs; the sweet smiled Abigail who plays in the streets while her parents are high on drugs; and Ernesto sweeping his dirt porch with all the honor he has left from this little pocket of the most violent city in the world.
I guess I am not much different from anybody else who is trying to get outside of themselves and be awakened to the hard needs of God’s children. The initial shock seems so extreme and overwhelming that you feel if you can only somehow capture what you see and bring it back to show your community, then of course everyone will be moved to act and make a lasting difference.
So I focused on the ruin. I snapped shots of the bleakest living conditions. I saw Satan’s grinning satisfaction. Then I walked a little farther and saw a little more. I then realized that there is no satisfaction in Satan—only hate. He will never stop. This ruin will never be enough for him. I had to show this back in my corner of the world. But then something happened…
I stepped over a hose that was turned on. I realized someone was watering their little tree they planted next to their shack. And next to this was their small flower garden. Then I looked up and across the street was a palate house with a brightly painted front door. As I looked over the neighborhood landscape, I stopped seeing the ruin. Instead I found beauty. Pockets of color and life. People all around were doing what they could to make better what was under their care. They took the responsibility of their stewardship and fought—better yet, continue to fight—to reveal what is good. The greater truth is that the majority of people desire goodness. They show their hope of good through the things around them that they can actually do. They want more goodness. Evil is in the small minority of people here.
But there was a large barrier this morning to seeing this. I started out at 6:20 a.m. on a Saturday morning. The haze of a beautiful sunrise lighted the neighborhood. A cool breeze flowed through the streets. And very, very few people were up yet. I thought this was a great time to get out and experience the landscape with the world still quiet. As I ventured down the street, it wasn’t more than two houses down that I was nearly overcome by fear; to the point that I almost turned back around. All I could hear running through my mind were all the words spoken about how a gringo like me shouldn’t be walking these streets alone. It doesn’t even matter if it is daytime—I was told not to walk the streets. I had only been here a day and it only took me about two hours of being here that I felt like a prisoner in a home; some new form of a witness protection program that would be kidnapped if ever found outside the compound.
So the next morning before the world woke up I decided to venture off. I had no intention of going beyond the end of each joining street but this felt like I had crossed into another world…and yet I had only just crossed a street. I was aware of my surroundings and yes, I got a few stares but other than that there was nothing. I truly had no reason to be intimidated. In reality, any troublemaker was probably sleeping off Friday night’s hangover. It was light out, and I was not out of the sight of my friend. I was not even without means of self-defense and honestly with my background, if anyone really wanted to start trouble, they would be asking for more than they bargained for.
But no matter how much self-talk, fear was very strong and present. I had not seen or experienced anything to bring about this fear. Matter of fact, the night before I ended up sleeping on the roof to be able to experience what happens through the night here in Palo Chino. I was pleasantly surprised. I expected most people to be locked away hiding in their homes at sundown while the gangs came alive to sweep the streets. But instead, I saw mostly high school aged kids playing music, hanging out, even singing…kids being kids. No trouble. The fear I felt as I walked down the street this next morning was a ghost. Fear was carried only by the air of words.
So where does evil actually take over? Yes, it is true there is violence even death. I walked past a home where only a week earlier two bodies were found dead of people that had been kidnapped. There is definitely poverty and desolation. BUT THERE ARE PEOPLE. And the majority of these people want to see things better. They ARE making things better. They are not some sort of social project. They flow with the same blood and spirit given to us that groans for the beauty of God to be restored. They are our brothers and sisters.
I would have never seen this if fear had taken me back and I had never lifted my eyes. When I began to see the beauty I began to relax. I would continue to be aware—evil is always lurking and ready to devour. Its appetite will never be content. But I will not allow its bark to scare me away from where Jesus is—in His people who have beauty and goodness written in the desires of their hearts. These people have shown me what true courage really is: To face the reality of evil and fight for the beauty and goodness stewarded to us. To create life where there was no life just like our Heavenly Creator did for us. To take back what is rightfully ours in our inheritance and manifest the truth that “He is greater than he who is in this world”.
No virtue is possible without courage. If we are to love as Jesus loves and lay our lives down for one another, than we are in a continual battle to overcome fear by walking in faith. This we know is what pleases the Father. This lies on the precipice of courage. Whether we are in the remotest places on earth in the harshest of conditions or in our own backyard, we must remember that we are not bringing God to this place—God is already here. He is the Author. His seed has already been planted. We are called to reveal and expose the seeds of the Kingdom so they can grow to the glory of God. And what better time to bring this growth than when it contrasts the backdrop of the defeat of evil.
It is time to open our eyes, seek out, praise and encourage those all around who are already bringing about the beauty and goodness in this world. Let us join arms in the battle. Whether we like it or not, we are all in this battle and cannot hide from it. The cost has been high and will continue to grow but our King is great. The foolishness of God is greater than the greatest wisdom of the world. This is His economy. Evil would want us to cower, hide and protect ourselves in the face of oppression but God says this is the best time to be generous and show the abundance of His goodness. God loves to come through. The world does not need to know more about God, they need to experience God. And we will only experience God when we place ourselves in positions where God is asked and needed to show up. If we try to save ourselves by hiding from the battle we will ultimately be hiding from where God is and lose ourselves in our fear. But if we abandon ourselves, place ourselves in positions that stretch our faith and require God to catch us, He will. When we experience the trustworthiness and love of God, we will begin to ask for things and actually expect things that are beyond anything we have ever seen or experienced. We will no longer come in words but in the full power of God. We can get there. As we begin to show our belief with our actions we will believe and not stop until the words of Jesus are fulfilled that we will see greater works than what even He did.
We need encouragement to open our eyes to the reality that this is possible and that this is not just a future luxury in heaven but a desperate necessity here on earth if we are to overcome in this world. If we do not feel hungry we will not feed ourselves. If we do not realize our need for resurrection we will not ask for it. And God says that we do not have because we do not ask. God is waiting for us to take our responsibility as His children and fight for what is rightfully ours. He is waiting for us to ask. He is delighted to give good gifts to His children. Will we truly believe it?
If we see all the beauty and goodness that is currently around us and encourage others to see this as well, we will grow a hunger that will not be satisfied until the fullness of Christ is manifested here on earth. What an exciting time we are in where we will move mountains and see Satan fall like lightning in the sky.
Peace and hope to all the warriors of God.
DIOS LE BENDIGA
Posted September 1, 2009 at 6:26pm
Matisyahu—One Day..(Official video) (via NokkhaWangsa)
Rebel Music!!
Posted August 25, 2009 at 4:47pm
The Ordinary Radicals - Trailer (via jamiemoffett)
Posted August 19, 2009 at 10:07am
Just wait for it….(Beardyman!)
Nathan “Flutebox” Lee and Beardyman @ Google, London (via GoogleChannelUK)
Posted August 12, 2009 at 9:45pm
Courage
Do you really know what courage is? Have you seen it lately? We think we know. But that is the deception. If you wake up and decide to be courageous today is it really courage? What a luxury we have here in America to be able to choose if we want to be courageous today. What about those around the world who don’t get that choice. If they wake up and choose not to be courageous today—they die. Or someone around them dies. It is time to open our eyes. It is time to expose courage for what it is. Without courage, no other virtue is possible. If we say we want love, we must know courage. Courage is what stands in the opposition of fear and we cannot truly love without combating fear. Remember, fear is the opposite of faith and we cannot please God without faith. This stands on the precipice of courage. Will you join me in this quest to reveal courage and bring it back to the fore fronts of the people in our churches. It has to start with us. And we will not have what we do not ask for (James 4:2). What we truly believe will be revealed in our actions. It is well and good to talk about peace and love but these things are action verbs, not nouns. It is ironic that peace will abound through fighting for it and the weapons of our warfare are actions of love drawn out of courage that stands in the gap of fear. A man already dead has no fear of death. What are you willing to fight for today? It WILL cost you. But we know that in the cost reveals the treasure. We fight under the wings of a big God.
Posted July 29, 2009 at 9:41am
