I composed 'THE ARAB FRED ASTAIRE' to look at the DAZZLE of CLASSIC AMERICAN DANCERS with a SYNTHESIS with ARABIC COMEDY CINEMA plus a twist of INDIA'S FILM DREAMS of YESTERYEAR. A SECONDARY INTRIGUE of having KHAARTOUM as 'THE ARAB FRED ASTAIRE' is looking at the various amusing COMEDY of MANNERS and SOCIAL MASKS of the MIDDLE EAST, USA and UK in the UNORTHADOX MIDDLE EASTERN [Christian, or Muslim] BALLROOM DANCER as he GLIDES ACROSS the GENTEEL FLOOR...Yet BEHIND the MASKS are the GROSS CORRUPT PUPPET MIDDLE EASTERN MONARCHIES ratcheting along with the 'STATE OF NEVER ENDING WAR' of USA, UK and ISRAEL, like the PROXY WAR on YEMEN via SAUDI ARABIA...'PEACE IS TOO EXPENSIVE in a BANKRUPT WORLD'...So ENDLESS WAR POURS SPADES of MONEY to the ELITE via ARMS COMPANIES turning the STOCK MARKET exiting BILLIONS into BRITISH TAX HAVENS like CAYMEN ISLANDS...The name for this ENTITY is 'THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX'... But the MASKS of 'CIVILISATION', 'AFTERNOON TEA' and 'THE QUICK STEP', 'HOLLYWOOD' and 'DYING OF DECENCY' of all of the 'PLAYERS' whilst A-LOOTING and A-MURDERING are TOO HILARIOUS to not...TAKE THE FLOOR, JOIN THE FARCE, TONGUE-IN-CHEEK with KHAARTOUM as 'THE ARAB FRED ASTAIRE'
COMPOSITIONALLY, the CURIOUS and SIMPLE BEATS and MUSIC of these EUROPEAN SOCIAL DANCES are interesting. The SNARE and CYMBAL DRUMMING is such a THIN TEXTURE. The SIMPLE PHRASES fit ACROSS fills of UNACCOMPANIED DRUMMING like SONGS of URDU CINEMA of LAHORE in the 1970s CABARET SONGS which I find FASCINATING to REPLICATE in COMPOSITIONS.
I 'ENGINEERED' the CHORDS to make them DELIBERATELY 'WRONG' in APPROACH that EASTERN MUSICIANS make to this UNFAMILIAR GENRE of MUSIC created for CINEMA, for example. So the CHORDS follow a 'TANG' of ORIENTAL MUSIC COLOUR in a LINEAR way. I ASCERBICALLY avoided WESTERN idea of TEDIOUS PREDICTABLE SWEET 'CHORD SEQUENCES' I wanted to assemble ENSEMBLE FORCES that were, as ETHNOMUSICOLOGIST: MARTIN STOKES identified in TURKISH ARABESK in his book 'THE ARABESK DEBATE': “Turkish music, like Turkish life, has strict organisation that shows in certain instruments and conventions expected in Turk compostions and performances. Arabesk represents 'chaos'. The musical forces combine random instruments in layering. The scales are not the expected 'makams'. Arabesk = Chaos.”
So, my 'AIM/ was that 'CHAOS'[!] of UNCONVENTONAL CHORDS, THIN TEXTURE, UNPREDICTABLE FORM, USE of VOCAL SATIRE and LINGUISTICS but all wrapped up in a 'PSUEDO-BALLROOM' that is just 'WRONG' [by PALESTRINA'S RULES, or his DEAR FOLLOWERS in our UNIVERSITY MUSIC DEPARTMENT, for example!].
The SONG FORM:
- MUSIC INTRO
- VERSE with DRUMMING/DANCE GAPS in SHORT PHRASES
- CHORUS with LONG LOUD DYNAMIC INTENSE HOOK LINE
- BRIDGE with DRUMMING for RELIEF
- BRIDGE TWO an ARABIC COMIC DIALOGUE with the NARRATOR
- CODA END SECTION repeating the MAIN CHORUS with VIRTUOSIC ARENA
The VOCAL, I was partially INSPIRED by the OTTOMAN SONG: 'GECELER' ['NIGHTS']. The SONG is a kind of 'SHOWCASE' for TURKISH SINGERS in TERMS of its COMPACT but MEANDERING ORIENTAL MICRO-TONES on a HARD STRAIGHT TONE with DELIBERATE VIRTUOSIC DECORATIONS. The 'PIES DE RESISTENCE' being the CHORUS DECLAMATION of “GECELER!”[“NIGHTS!”] which must be HELD on a DEAD STRAIGHT INTENSE TONE over a LONG INSTRUMENTAL of INSTRUMENTS PLAYING a SCALE DOWN under the STRAIGHT NOTE. The END of the DECLAMATION is the SINGER showing controlled ORIENTAL FLOURISHES to DECORATE the END of the PHRASE! So, I SANG 'The Arab Fred Astaire' on these HARD TONES and LONG STRAIGHT INSTENSE TONE with END DECORATIONS.
Several versions of 'GECELER' by TURKISH SINGERS ... look out for the LONG 'GECELER'!!!
Safiye Soyman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcMEP...
Yılmaz Morgül
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EICim...
Bülent Ersoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRdq7...
The LYRICS of the SONG were as ABSURD and RIDICULOUS as POSSIBLE to SLIDE ALONG with the GAME OF MASKS...GENERATING this DIVINE and DELIGHTFUL WORLD of ESCAPISM and 'DECENCY'...In terms of the VIDEO...I went BACK to BACK with FRED ASTAIRE and his LEADING LADIES' FANTASTIC SHOTS with SIMILAR SORTS of STILLS of KHAARTOUM in there! The BRIDGE had a WONDERFUL SHOT of NARGIS and RAJ KAPOOR in 'AWARA' from 1951 which itself is INFLUENCED by HOLLYWOOD but with LOVELY TOUCHES of INDIA. The CONTRAST of 'OUM OKAL', or 'MOTHER OKAL' from the 2004 EGYPTIAN CINEMA COMEDY: 'OKAL' sees another 'SLUM COMEDY' of CAIRO with a FLAME of REVOLUTION to BRING DOWN the PRESIDENT...MOHAMMED SA'AD plays the WONDERFUL 'MOTHER OKAL'...Who I chose as KHAARTOUM'S COMPANION to CHAT to about his 'CREDENTIALS' on the BALLROOM SCENE ... Just to add some SURREAL and MULTICULTURAL TOUCHES... KHAARTOUM is 'SNAPPED' with THE QUEEN, both in their 'SHADES'... In amongst ABSURD SHOTS of BRITISH 'ETIQUETTE' for HIGH TEA with HERMAN MUNSTER, from THE MUNSTERS eating his..."Toast and jam and tea like The Queen" for a bit of OFF THE WALL-NESS!
