Meklit Hadero: The unexpected beauty of everyday sounds
Meklit Hadero: Den oväntade skönheten hos vardagliga ljud
Meklit Hadero is an Ethiopian-American singer-songwriter living the cultural in-between, both in her own luminous compositions and as a co-founder of the Nile Project. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
eller, som jag kallar dem,
or, as I like to call them,
och hiphop som jag växte upp med,
and hip hop that I grew up with,
på barndomens radiokanaler.
on my childhood radio stations.
there is another question:
den musik vi skapar?
influence the music that we make?
kan vara den mest oväntade inspirationen
inspiration for songwriting,
på den tanken,
a little bit more closely,
about three things:
of true silence.
a sense of a world
en känsla av en värld
as active participants,
but before we do that,
men innan vi gör det,
av en operasångare som värmer upp.
of an opera singer warming up.
of an opera singer warming up.
av en operasångare som värmer upp.
recognizes as its own.
1987 Hungarian recording
Peter Szökes ungerska inspelning 1987,
och sänker takten på deras sång
and slows down their pitches
och sedan fullt tempo)
were inspired by birdsong.
inspirerades kanske av fågelsång.
to be our musical teachers.
att fåglar är musikaliska lärare.
are considered an integral part
was born in the Empire of Aksum,
i kejsardömet Aksum,
i den antika världen.
of the ancient world.
his father died,
för att bo med en farbror som var präst
with an uncle, who was a priest
vetenskap och lärdom,
of scholarship and learning,
och studera och studera,
and study and study,
became his teachers.
blev Sankt Yared,
recognized as Saint Yared,
fem volymer av sånger och psalmer
five volumes of chants and hymns
för att komponera och skapa
to compose and to create
into what is known as kiñit,
till det som kallas kiñit,
som är väldigt levande
modal system that is very much alive
i Etiopien idag.
in Ethiopia today.
för att den är sann på flera nivåer.
it's true at multiple levels.
kan vara vår musiklärare.
can be our musical teacher.
som stämmer sina instrument
tune their instruments
i skogen omkring dem.
in the forest around them.
Bernie Krause beskriver
expert Bernie Krause describes
has animals and insects
och högfrekventa band
and high-frequency bands,
as a symphony does.
were inspired by bird and forest song.
har inspirerats av fågel- och skogssång.
can be our cultural teacher.
kan vara vår kulturella lärare.
human world of language.
säreget mänskliga språkvärlden.
mer eller mindre med tonhöjd,
with pitch to varying degrees,
ger en fonetisk stavelse
gives the same phonetic syllable
at the end of a sentence ...
amhariska eller amharinja.
of Amharic, Amhariña.
mina föräldrars språk,
the language of my parents,
att förälska sig i detta språk:
to fall in love with this language:
its double entendres,
livets visdom och dårskap.
the wisdom and follies of life.
a musicality built right in.
en inbyggd musikalitet.
emphatic language --
eller understryka
to highlight or underline
in the audience,
something like "No!"
var det mitt favoritord,
this was my very favorite word,
för att det har ett tonfall.
när det kommer ur någons mun.
as it springs from someone's mouth.
sedan stiger det igen.
when I hear that word,
när jag hör ordet,
is floating through my mind.
for "It is right" or "It is correct" --
eller "Det stämmer" -
through my mind.
what I did was I took the melody
of those words and phrases
att använda i dessa korta kompositioner.
to use in these short compositions.
så båda blev en slags basslingor.
kind of as bass lines.
of Jason Moran and others
och andras arbete,
väldigt sammanflätat,
with music and language,
jag haft i huvudet sedan jag var barn,
in my head since I was a kid,
to each other and to us.
som jag lärde mig
and from Amhariña that I learned
every sentence that we speak,
that we receive.
in the words I'm speaking even now.
avantgardistiska kompositioner:
of 20th century avant-garde composition:
och kombinationer av instrument.
or combination of instruments.
to walk onto the stage
att gå upp på scenen
av Museum of Modern Art -
by the Museum of Modern Art --
a single note written
en enda not nedskriven
när det inte finns några stråkar
when there are no strings
eller händer som slår på pianotangenter,
or hands hammering piano keys,
så finns det ändå musik,
still there is music,
som kommer från publiken:
that arises from the audience themselves:
viskningar, nysningar,
their whispers, their sneezes,
of the floors and the walls
knirrar och knarrar
creaking and groaning
and even controversial though it remains,
och hur kontroversiellt det än är,
någon sann tystnad.
such thing as true silence.
we still hear and feel the sound
hör och känner vi ljudet
with musical expression.
let's say, remixing John Cage
in front of the stove cooking lentils.
och det var dags att röra om,
and it was time to stir,
the kitchen counter next to me,
clanking against a counter)
som skramlar mot en bänk)
that cooking pan lid has."
och häftigt gung det där locket har."
of the lid, and singing)
wasn't instructing musicians
efter saker att göra musik av.
for sonic textures to turn into music.
and human hearing expert Charles Limb
och hörselexperten Charles Limb
faktiskt utvecklades till att höra musik,
actually evolved to hear music,
än det behöver vara för bara språk.
than it needs to be for language alone.
några musikaliska öknar,
as a musical desert,
hanging out at the oasis,
but it's already playing.
men det spelas redan.
och njut av utforskandet
and enjoy that exploration.
to which we all belong.
som vi alla delar.
slagverksinspiration,
percussion inspiration,
än till dina däck
as they roll over the unusual grooves
på motorvägen,
på din gasspis
vid gryning och skymning
and dusk avian orchestras
i emfatiskt språk.
of emphatic language.
and we are the composers
språket eller ljudlandskapet,
or language or soundscape,
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Meklit Hadero - Singer-songwriterMeklit Hadero is an Ethiopian-American singer-songwriter living the cultural in-between, both in her own luminous compositions and as a co-founder of the Nile Project.
Why you should listen
Meklit Hadero's music is imbued with poetry and multiplicity, from hybridized sounds of Tizita (haunting and nostalgic music) drawing from her Ethiopian heritage, to the annals of jazz, folk songs and rock & roll. Hadero describes her music as emanating from “in-between spaces,” and the result is a smoky, evocative world peopled by strong bass, world instruments and her soothing voice.
In the Nile Project, founded along with Egyptian ethnomusicologist Mina Girgis, Hadero set out to explore the music of the Nile basin, pulling influences from countries along the river, from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, and finally to Egypt. The project brings together hip-hop, traditional and contemporary music, with instruments and traditions old and new. As she says, "My work on a lot of levels is about multiplicity." Their new record is Aswan.
About her own music, here's what people say:
“Soulful, tremulous and strangely cinematic, Meklit’s voice will implant scenes in your mind — a softly lit supperclub, a Brooklyn stoop, a sun-baked road. Close your eyes, listen and dream." -- Seattle Times
"Meklit… combines N.Y. jazz with West Coast folk and African flourishes, all bound together by her beguiling voice, which is part sunshine and part cloudy day.” -- Filter Magazine
Meklit Hadero | Speaker | TED.com