Gilad Atzmon
- Exile
"I
understand Zionists, I think that they are
the biggest threat to world peace, I argue
that they are war criminals, I fight them
and I try to bring them down. I write about
them, I compose music against them..."
- Gilad Atzmon.
Raised as
a secular Israeli Jew in Jerusalem, Gilad
Atzmon witnessed the daily sufferings of
Palestinians and spent 20 years trying to
resolve for himself the tensions of his
background. Finally disillusioned, he moved
to England to study philosophy, and founded
the Orient House Ensemble.
On his new
album, "Exile," he and his colleagues
tell the story of Palestine. Asking himself
how the Jewish people – who themselves
have suffered so much for so long –
can inflict so much pain on the Other, Atzmon
takes up Israeli traditional and nationalistic
melodies and turns them around deliberately.
For instance, "Al-Quds" is an
Arabic interpretation of an Israeli tune
that became the anthem of the ’67 War.
A cross cultural statement with a political
twist!
Winner
: Jazz Album of the Year, BBC Music Awards
2003
Related
Links:
Gilad
Atzmon's website
The
Guardian interviews Gilad Atzmon |
