#artist: dan sultan

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

First Nation • Gadigal Land • Change The Date • Terror Australia • Desert Man, Desert Woman • Wind In My Head (Makarrata Version) • Uluru Statement From The Heart / Come On Down

Spotify ♪ YouTube

[lucaonthropy]

A small comic for my new OC ship I'm obsessing over

+ a doodle

[fashionbooksmilano]

Chic Clicks

Exhibition curator Ulrich Lehmann

Hatje Cantz Publ. , Berlin 2002, 150+140 pages, 23,5x30cm, ISBN 3-7757-1135-X

euro 90,00

email if you want to buy booksinprogressmilano@yahoo.it

Catalogue reads from both directions, with texts in the center of the book, with hundreds of full color photographs by a range of artists including Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Anders Edstrom, Takashi Himma, Richard Prince, Collier Schorr, Cindy Sherman, Larry Sultan, Erwin Wurm, and many others. Published on the occasion of the exhibition held first in Boston from January 23-May 5, 2002, and subsequently at Fotomuseum Winterthur from June 15-August 18, 2002. 

Chic Clicks est la première publication traitant du conflit entre la revendication artistique et la réalité commerciale dans la photographie de mode. 40 photographes de renom présentent des travaux libres et inédits ainsi que des commandes publiées dans des magazines de mode ; cinq essais traitent de la photographie de mode dans sa signification culturelle et sociale.

Chic Clicks présente à la fois des clichés privés et expérimentaux de photographes qui se sont fait un nom avec des photos de mode, et des photos de mode de photographes qui se sont d'abord fait connaître par leur travail artistique et qui, par conséquent, ont reçu des commandes de magazines de mode et d'entreprises.

Les artistes : Fred Aufray, Laetitia Benat, Anuschka Blommers & Niels Schumm, Koto Bolofo, Mark Borthwick, Jean-François Carly, Alex Cayley, Banu Cennetoglu, Donald Christie, Philippe Cometti, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Corinne Day, Horst Diekgerdes, Anders Edström, Alexei Hay, Takashi Homma, Mikael Jansson, Marcelo Krasilcic, Christophe Kutner, Tom Lingnau et Frank Schumacher, Glen Luchford, Richard Prince, Dmon Prunner, Blaise Reuterswärd, Terry Richardson, Satoshi Saikusa, Jimo Salako, Luis Sanchis, Collier Schorr, Cindy Sherman, David Sims, Antonio Spinoza, Larry Sultan, Iké Udé, Javier Vallhonrat, Jonathan de Villiers, Matthias Vriens, Erwin Wurm

10/06/24

[morebedsidebooks]

LGBTQ+ Characters in Comics from the 21st century I like

A few years back I did a post on LGBTQ+ characters in comics from the 20th Century I have a soft spot for. When it comes to the new millennium, the last two decades have seen an explosion of such comics and characters. So here is my short little follow up for the 21st century.

  Jade

Starting off the new millennium the French comic series Djinn with Belgian writer Jean Dufaux, illustrated by Spanish artist Ana Miralles would run through three arcs for 15 years. I’ll never forget the first time during a comics exhibition I saw an absolutely captivating illustration of the character at the heart of the series, Jade. A fascinating, queer, and amoral enigmatic figure, Sultan’s favorite in the last years of the Ottoman Empire spoken of as a djinn who also seems the key to an immense treasure.

  Fumi Manjôme

With little nods to Japanese girls’ literature and culture Sweet Blue Flowers by Japanese artist Takako Shimura is an enduring yuri series around high school girls and maturing. The shy lesbian Fumi and messy feelings are a major focus. Later adolescence can be an emotional time for anyone. Shimura softly explores when and how her characters mourn disappointments and disenchantment along with finding their identity.

  Kevin Keller

Archie Comics were a staple of my childhood. The quintessential US slice-of-life comic focusing on a group of teenagers goes way back to 1941. However, the 21st century saw a reinvigoration of the Archie brand. Among the successes the gay Kevin Keller created in 2010 by US comic artist Dan Parent debuted in Veronica #202 and has since enjoyed huge popularity. Eventually, I was also drawn back as an adult reader with the gang grown up in the Life with Archie series. In 2012 Life with Archie #16 saw Kevin not only following in the footsteps of his dad as a soldier in the Army but marrying Dr. Clay Walker. Despite protests from bigoted groups the installment of the series would be another sold out hit earning Kevin the designation as “most important new character in Archie history.” Further a character that has also represented fighting the epidemic of gun violence in the US going on in the series to become a State Senator on the issue.

  Richard III

Japanese artist Aya Kanno inspired by Shakespeare’s tetralogy Henry VI, Richard III and the famous 15th century War of the Roses in her series Requiem of the Rose King goes in a different direction, making her Richard intersex. Only the first of many choices in this girls’ comic which has also garnered attention from other well-respected artists. YMMV but the saga of this Richard has consistently been one of the more compelling examples over the last decade.

Lisa Williams and Ally Carter

Beginning as fetishistic illustrations and short strips by Croatian artist Stjepan Sejic (under a pseudonym) on DeviantArt, BDSM comic series Sunstone was a notable read for me in 2015. With genuine class and smart use of humour, the characters Lisa and Ally and their growing relationship are wonderfully relatable on many levels.

  Ace

If you love the movie Grease but crave something 1950’s vintage queer the webcomic Rock and Riot by Chelsey Furedi might fit the bill. The cast is as wide and beautiful as a rainbow. Among the many teenage delinquent characters is the 17-year-old agender, asexual, demiromantic Ace. And founder of their own gang the Bandits and who definitely does things their own way.

  Ionel

Another of the top titles from the 2010s I first came across the exquisite mystery webcomic Heart of Gold in the (now defunct) digital magazine Sparkler Monthly. The atmospheric ongoing series features Ionel a panromantic asexual pianist with albinism who is losing his sight and a gay priest Father Dunant who is known as a faith healer.

  Milagro Villa

I’ve seen feathers, wings, and birds stand in for representations about abuse and trauma before. In the short comic Songbird For A Vulture US artist Naomi Franquiz does exactly that. Crafting one of the most poignant examples of an abuse survivor, found family, and healing included in Power & Magic The Queer Witch Comics Anthology.

  Ed Fiedler and Lucardo von Gishaupt

Forgive me the terrible pun but I’m a sucker for vampires, especially the queer variety. Letters for Lucardo by Finnish artist Otava Heikkilä is a delightful erotic comic series with a romance between vampire Lucardo and the older Ed.

  Ryô Watari

I’ve gone on about self-actualization in fashion before. Series Boys Run the Riot by Japanese artist Keiko Gaku acutely presents a comic about trans teenager Ryô building confidence, friendships, and a street fashion brand.

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: Fortunato Durutti Marinetti

Beginning with 2020’s Desire, a self-released cassette, Toronto-based, Turin-born Daniel Colussi, has explored his “poetic jazz rock” (Colussi’s own apt coinage) across three releases under the moniker Fortunato Durutti Marinetti. The instrumentals flow and waver: now flashes of synthesizer keys or strings; now an inquisitive, lightly warped guitar line — the music floats then jumps but never rushes. His vocals — and lyrics — recall stated 1970s influences like Lou Reed or a spoken-word Robert Wyatt, but also Leonard Cohen or, more contemporarily, Destroyer’s Dan Bejar. Alex Johnson found Colussi’s latest release, Eight Waves In Search Of An Ocean, “engrossing — although not always comfortably…a record that rewards the delayering effect of multiple listens.”

Gary Zhexi Zhang — “The Tourist”

Zhang’s documentary ostensibly tells the story of Ali Sultan Issa, who led Zanzibar’s independence from Britain in 1963. Issa is a totally fascinating and complicated Zelig-like figure who seemed to be present for every revolutionary moment in the middle of the century. He hung out with Castro, Mao and also the CIA. I can’t believe how effectively and delicately Zhang is able to tell what a massive story about empire is — de-colonization, the optimism of mid-twentieth century socialist movements and the brutal 80s neoliberal response. This film also introduced me to the song “Super Snooper”by 1970s Italo disco crew La Bionda.

Annette Peacock — Unsung Heroine

A 12-minute doc on Annette Peacock circa 2000, as she recorded with a string quartet in Oslo for ECM. It’s not the most celebrated era of her career, but An Acrobat’s Heart is an interesting album of smoldering baroque torch songs. There’s great-to-see footage of her walking around Oslo in leather pants and also, it’s great to hear her speaking voice, which has that classic US drawl of an artist who’s lived through decades of chaos.

DJ Voices — Hemlock Nights @ Honcho Campout 2023

When NYC’s DJ Voices came to Toronto last summer my crew and I danced our asses off all night long. It was a good night and I’m glad it happened.

Lou Sheppard with Pamela Hart — Rights Of Passage

A beautiful, smart record that uses the metaphor of a river’s legal right to flow (riparian rights) to talk about property vs. public space, control of and access to resources and forms of enclosure. The record is also about queerness, and how queerness is or is not permitted to exist within particular defined spaces. This record is technically a sister artifact to Lou’s video/sound installation at the Art Gallery of York University, but it works totally well on its own as a gorgeous LP.

Ed Gray — Different Drummer : Elvin Jones

1979 documentary on Elvin Jones — a weird period for him. I think like most people, I know him primarily through his 1960s albums with John Coltrane. This doc has beautiful footage of Elvin hanging out with his family in the backyard as well as him in the studio describing his relationship to the cymbals in terms of different colors — chromesthesia. I also like his sleazy late 70s style — white leather loafers, a mesh shirt and a cigarette dangling as he absolutely shreds on his kit.

Elvis Presley — Unchained Melody (Rapid City June 21, 1977)

An insane document of Elvis in the very final throes of his imperial era. His banter is barely intelligible. Coca Cola cups scattered everywhere. Everyone in the band is sweaty and hairy. Wide bellbottoms all around. A middle-aged stagehand (who Elvis refers to as “son”) awkwardly holds the mic up to Elvis. Rising out of all this confusion, Elvis begins an extremely personal rendition of this Righteous Brothers song. There are pregnant pauses, as if he loses his place in the song, and there is no consistent tempo until the band kicks in, at which point all of Rapid City levitates into outer space. And two months later, Elvis was dead.

The Invisible Committee — The Coming Insurrection

In his Dusted review of my album, Alex Johnson singled out the words and language in my song “Smash Your Head Against The Wall.” When I think back to writing that song, I think of reading The Invisible Committee’s The Coming Insurrection. Their language is totally polemic and fiery and outrageous, but purposely and with intent. Oftentimes they’re playing with that caricatured idea of “the radical left.” Not everyone appreciates this approach: apparently it freaked out US neocon broadcaster Glenn Beck enough that he warned his followers about this book’s evil. My copy has many underlined passages that I return to again and again for guidance and inspiration.

Bruford — Back To The Beginning (Rock Goes To College, March 17th, 1979)

Annette Peacock’s second appearance on this list — too much? In this performance she casually strolls into the Bruford zone to provide some female levity to this otherwise brutally nervous and sweaty prog rock crew. There’s a strong argument that this song sucks because it suffers from that thing of prog/jazz virtuosos trying to play basic heavy rock and failing because they’re too good. But I think it’s awesome, especially when Annette lets her raincoat theatrically drop to the floor to indicate that she has officially assumed control of the proceedings.

Joni Mitchell — In France They Kiss On Main Street (Santa Barbara Bowl, 1979)

I like this era because it captures Joni just as she’s really alienating the majority of her audience by desecrating her folk-rock legacy via fully embracing smoothed out jazz fusion tones. She’s playing with a squad of absolute rippers: Metheny, Pastorius, Lyle Mays, Michael Brecker and Don Alias. Everyone is at the top of their game; everyone is in the zone. I like this ferocious live version of this song better than the studio version.

Tindersticks — The Ballad of Tindersticks (2 Meter Sessions, June 7, 1997)

For me Tindersticks are a deep well of inspiration, to which I can continually return for sustenance, guidance and nourishing refreshment. I love it all: the early baroque albums, the mid period soul albums, the soundtracks, the solo records. I think their last record was phenomenal. They are masters of subtly adjusting their songwriting as a way of unlocking vast new territories to explore. They make it all their own. I pick this particular clip because I like how the entire band is sweating profusely.

[2000s-music-tourney]

If you want some song suggestions to get up to 64, feel free to use any of these you want (I don't think you included any of these songs/artists yet)

Dream On - Aerosmith (1972) Ramblin Man - The Allman Brothers Band (1972) Bad Company - Bad Company (1974) Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits (1978) Aqualung - Jethro Tull (1971) Reelin' in the years - Steely Dan (1972) The Joker - Steve Miller Band (1973)

Just did Aerosmith and The Joker

[rapha-reads]

ON EST DANS LA MERDE ! (Mais l'épisode 9 arrive)

CETTE QUALITAY, BORDEL DE MERDE, CETTE QUALITÉ.

Bonjour French Side of Tumblr, je reviens vous parler de ma chaîne YouTube française préférée.

Aimez-vous la science-fiction ? Aimez-vous PARLER de SF DANS un univers de SF ?

A la base, le Nexus VI, ce sont des chroniques qui parlent de science-fiction (livres, films, séries, jeux vidéos) racontées par le capitaine d’un vaisseau spatial en 2294. C’est une mise en abyme, des histoires dans une histoire, c’est Shéhérazade et le sultan, mais dans l’espace et le futur.

Petit à petit, le niveau a augmenté, le format s’est allongé, la qualité est devenue phénoménale, la partie fiction est devenue une vraie série, la partie chronique culturelle a gagné en intelligence et en finesse...

Aujourd’hui, le Nexus VI est le summum de la qualité du YouTube game français. Réalisation, effets spéciaux, écriture, montage, décors, costumes, maquillage, musique, TOUT est contrôlé et perfectionné.

Ils mériteraient vraiment d’être plus connus, soutenus, partagés.

Alors si vous aimez la science-fiction, la qualité, les artistes français réellement talentueux et indépendants, foncez, vous ne le regretterez pas.

Et pour ceux qui connaissent déjà et adorent, venez patientez impatiemment avec moi la sortie de l’épisode IX !!! Raaaaaaaaah, les premières images ont l”air époustouflantes !!!

[leblogdemarinaetjeanmarie]

SAMEDI 15 JUILLET 2023 (Billet 4 / 5)

La veille du départ de Marrakech, JM a fait l’excursion d’Essaouira, une ville qu’il connaît bien pour y être allé à plusieurs reprises. Mais se souvenant du séjour que sa nièce Maïlys y avait fait au printemps, avec son mari Jérôme et leurs deux enfants, il a voulu se rafraîchir la mémoire. Marina, rebutée par les 6 heures de bus, n’a pas voulu le suivre.

Ci-dessous, un petit texte extrait de la brochure donnée par le Service Excursions du Club.

_________________________

Le « fils du pays » : c’est ainsi que les habitants ont ironiquement surnommé le vent qui, toute l’année, s’engouffre dans les ruelles de la ville. Cet alizée vaut à Essaouira la douceur de son climat : ici, le mercure atteint à peine les 25°.

Depuis sa fondation au XVIIIe siècle, la ville s’est voulue un carrefour d’influences : arabes et berbère, juives, mais aussi africaines avec les descendants des esclaves d’Afrique noire. S’y côtoient aussi religieux et artistes, marocains et occidentaux, venus confronter leurs talents dans les nombreuses galeries de la ville.

Essaouira, c’est aussi le charme de ses ruelles et de son port, ses maisons blanches, la beauté de ses remparts, une plage de sable fin longue de plusieurs kilomètres et la gentillesse spontanée des habitants. Bref, la ville la plus séduisante du littoral marocain

Cette ville historique a une riche histoire qui remonte à l'Antiquité. Elle a été fondée par les Phéniciens, puis a été occupée par les Romains, les Carthaginois. Les Portugais y érigèrent une forteresse au XVIe siècle (Mogadouro), mais la ville telle qu’on la connaît aujourd’hui doit sa création au sultan alaouite Mohammed ben Abdallah qui, en 1764, fait appel à un architecte français, Théodore Cornut. Il dessine une cité fortifiée dans la plus pure tradition de l’architecture militaire de Vauban qui rappelle beaucoup celle de Saint Malo. Dans la médina, les rues rectilignes se coupant à angle droit sont un exemple unique d’architecture planifiée au Maroc. Elles valurent à la cité, son nouveau nom : Essaouira, la « bien dessinée ».

Dans les souks on trouve de nombreux produits artisanaux tels que des tapis, des bijoux en argent et des articles en bois de thuya.

Une grande partie de la ville est classée au patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO.

________________________________

Nous avons déjeuné sur le toit terrasse de l’Hôtel « L'Heure Bleue » (« Relais & Châteaux), aménagé dans un ancien Riad, situé au cœur de la médina. Il possède une piscine sur le toit offrant une vue panoramique sur la médina et l'océan.

JM garde un souvenir très mitigé de cet Hôtel. A part le rez-de-chaussée (et encore…), le roof top est très quelconque, ce qu’il a mangé aussi. Si « L’Heure Bleue » fait partie de la chaîne très haut de gamme des « Relais & Châteaux », il connaît à Marrakech au moins 3 Riads qui mériteraient l’appellation « Relais & 5 Châteaux », quant au Riad du Club Med, ce serait « Relais & 10 Châteaux » !!! (voir le Billet suivant).

[theabominableblogger]

Inquiring minds want to know, what are your thoughts on "Quest for Camelot"?

It is very... blah.

You can tell production was troubled with the varying quality of animation. Also according to some of the animators that worked on it, the writers originally wanted the film to be PG-13 but the company wanted them to go toe to toe with the success of the Disney Renaissance so dialing down everything was an executive order.

For more concept art, check out this link HERE because you can tell this was taken care of by a lot of talented artists.

The best animated characters in terms of technique and utilizing the primary principles of animation were Ruber, the Griffin (who had tHE BEST VOICE), and the two headed dragon. Shout out to animators Alexander Williams, Bob Tyler, and Dan Wagner respectively. And another shout out the effects animators that did the smoke (especially during Ruber's number). You can tell they spent the time making sure they looked right. There were a couple moments with Ruber's physicality that made him almost too cartoonish (EX: eyebrows that wiggle like radio waves and no you will never NOT see it the same) and going back to the rushed production timeline, some of the male characters and even Kayley are off model in longer sequences.

I'll stick with Ruber for a moment more because I wanted to point out that this was Gary Oldman's first time doing voice over for animation. You can tell- he is far better in Planet 51 and Kung Fu Panda 2. I'll give him credit though because voice acting IS hard but the best comparison I can give to describe him is the one my friend gave while we were watching: a leafblower that has a low speed or a HIGH SPEEEEEEED. When he gets intimidating, it is effective but when he goes ham, it's ham. Also his song has NO rhythm to it.

The film has some creative ideas but it never really capitalized on them. It also has horrible timing for the musical numbers sans the first one and about half of them aren't very good. Most of the details involving Ruber's plan are rushed and there's a waste of some AWESOME talent in the movie (you get SIR JOHN GIELGUD to play MERLIN and he is in it for like 3 minutes?!?)

Also unpopular opinion: the main character should have been Garrett because Kayley is [redacted] useless. Also just remove Devon and Cornwall. And the chicken thing.

P.S. It was mindblowing to find the abridged audiobook on YouTube and it's the voice of the Sultan from "Aladdin" doing half the voices.

[thetrashknightofbreath]

As promised, one Eighth Doctor 20 track playlist with none of the banned artists. I hope you like Australian indie music from the 2000s-early 2010s

Arrival of the Birds - The Cinematic Orchestra

One Way Road - The John Butler Trio

Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap

Out in the Rain - Steam Powered Giraffe

Follow the Sun - Xavier Rudd

Do You Realise? - The Flaming Lips

Time Is Running Out - Muse

Time Bomb - All Time Low

Never Let You Down - Dan Sultan

Many of Horror - Biffy Clyro

Wild at Heart - Birds of Tokyo

Glory and Gore - Lorde

Ghost Towns - Radical Face

Unstoppable - The Planet Smashers

Staring Down The Sun - Josh Pyke

Selective Memory - Eels

Man of a Thousand Faces - Regina Spektor

This Is Why We Fight - The Decemberists

Not Alone - The Indelicates

The Chariot - The Cat Empire

[sultansawansagar]

👊𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧...(@🐲𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧 𝐊𝐮𝐧𝐠-𝐟𝐮 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥)🤺🥊🥋👊Call Only for training purpose *GRANDMASTER SULTAN* Kavi : Sawansagar

(Professional martial artist. Trainer of National champions Founder, President of Dragon international Association, India🇮🇳 Chinese kung-fu, mix martial arts expert Black Belt 7th Dan institute's of China 🇨🇳)

📲 9326007786, 9545007786, 9890786712

📧 kavisawansagar@gmail.com

💌 dragoninternationalassociation@gmail.com

🌐WWW.MASTERSULTAN.COM

*YouTube Channel* : https://www.youtube.com/c/DragONInternational

[ivoire-tv5]

« Petit cochon d’Apoutchou » : Tiesco le Sultan injurie sévèrement Apoutchou National

« Petit cochon d’Apoutchou » : Tiesco le Sultan injurie sévèrement Apoutchou National

L’heure n’est pas aux sentiments paisibles entre Apoutchou et Tiesco le Sultan. Les deux artistes sont dans une sorte de querelle médiatique. Après un passage télé d’Apoutchou national, Tiesco le sultan envoie sa réplique avec virulence. Apoutchou National, présentement à Abidjan, était l’invité d’un plateau télé il y a quelques jours. De fait, il a été invité à donner son avis sur son confrère…

[lucaonthropy]

flustered and offended

[threepanelorigin]

3PO #213 The Sultan of Swat

[theartistknownaslymond]

Also this could be a request but do you have any thoughts about maybe like… we’ve talked a lot about Jerott’s nostalgia music with his dad, does he have anything with his mom? Generally Jerott + French (language/artist/etc) music would be fun :)

Yesssssssssssssssss

"You and I are not even Knights of the Order - we are renegade French, liable to lead the Sultan personally into the Grand Master's room." [Disorderly Knights]

nous sommes des renégats

1) Georges Brassens - Les philistins 2) Warda - El Baghbaghan 3) Jean Ferrat - Camarade 4) Jacques Dutronc - Le responsable 5) Dahmane El Harrachi - Ya Rayah 6) Johnny Hallyday - Dans un jardin d'amour 7) El Hachemi Guerouabi - El bareh 8) Leonard Cohen - The Partisan 9) Umm Kulthum - Al Atlaal 10) Nick Drake - Three Hours 11) Fadhéla Dziria - Mal h'bibi malou 12) Django Reinhardt & Quintette du Hot Club - Nature Boy 13) Renaud - Marche à l'ombre 14) TRUST - Antisocial 15) Cheikha Rimitti - Charak gataa 16) Sapho - Marrakech 17) Renaud - Si t'es mon pote 18) Bérurier Noir - Porcherie 19) Rachid Taha - Voilà voilà 20) Cheikha Rimitti - NOUAR

Usual deal: background information below the cut. Faceclaims: Viveik Kalra for Jerott, and Aure Atika for his mum, Kahina.

Bonus feelings about canon: Jerott Blyth is French, he’s born in Nantes, though his father’s Scottish, which is why they’re both at Solway. The quote I took the playlist title from induced unexpected Feels about his specific ‘pledged to a dead girl as opposed to pledged to the Order’ situation, where it’s implied that even inside this community he’s made himself part of, he’s always treated with suspicion by some for where he was born.

Georges Brassens - Les philistins I honestly had no idea how foul-mouthed Georges Brassens was! He was anti-establishment, anti-organised religion, generally anarchic and critical of French society. What a legend. Anyway, this is quite innocent by his standards and Kahina, having discovered him on her arrival in Paris, is smitten and probably sings it as a lullaby to baby Jerott. Get him listening to those guitar heroes early! <Philistines, grocers, while you were caressing your wives,

dreaming of litte ones that your uncouth appetites engender,

you thought "They'll be clean shaven, round bellied lawyers."

But to punish you as you deserve one day you'll seeing coming into the world

some unwanted children who will become long-haired poets.> Warda - El Baghbaghan Warda Al-Jazairia was one of Algeria's biggest stars. She started off singing at her father's cabaret - which was busted in the early days of the war for concealing weapons for the FLN. After living in Lebanon for a while with her mother's family, she returned to marry in Algeria in the 1960s and her husband forbade her from making music. Ten years later, following a request by the president of Algeria that she perform again, she and her husband divorced (she actually remarried and divorced a second time, too). Are you sensing Kahina might see her as an important role model? :') Unfortunately I had to rely on Google translate for the gist of this one, but I can again see Kahina liking to sing this one to Jerott, particularly once he starts showing an aptitude for music: <He memorizes what you say and studies it all night long You get to see him and he says it again by himself too Like a smart student who doesn't study for the exam He gets upset when I say a word that angers him in particular And he rejoices when you fix it with plant sugar He gets upset when I say a word that angers him in particular And he rejoices when you fix it with plant sugar He sings all the songs and imitates the melodies He sings all the songs and imitates the melodies I hide it and it is sweet and I will save any song Nor has he ever been rebellious, nor has he been confused in the tones Like a smart student who doesn't study for the exam> Jean Ferrat - Camarade Ferrat was a vocal Communist, but the Warsaw Pact invasion in 1969 led him to write this out of disillusionment and frustration. Kahina knows the feeling all too well. <It's a terrible name Comrade It's a terrible name to say At a time such as a masquerade It can only shudder What have you come to do Comrade What have you come to do here It was at five o'clock in Prague That the month of August was obscured Comrade Comrade

It's a cute name Comrade It's a cute name you know My heart beats like a drum roll To make it live forever The cherry and the grenade are united With a hundred May flowers> Jacques Dutronc - Le responsable Inescapable French rock #1! And it is absolutely a bop. Probably gives off vibes of how Kahina views Jawad, the responsible provider who wants to fix everything for her and Jerott: <The more worries I have, the happier I am I whip them up like cream What I like most is being sick with worry I feed on the worries every which way

But I also like catastrophes Which put my life in relief When things are going well, I am unhappy When things are going poorly, I am very happy> Dahmane El Harrachi - Ya Rayah Like some of the other Algerian singers on this playlist, he's not from a similar background to Kahina, but he ended up living in France and playing French cafés, giving Kahina a chance to introduce Jerott to châabi music, in particularly his own compositions which, like this one, tended to focus on immigrant life and a longing for the homeland. This is one of his biggest hits. If Jerott ever stops to work on his Arabic properly, these lyrics are going to be a gut punch for him: <Oh Traveler, where are you going? You'll leave, get tired and eventually come back Haven't you realised how many unwise people regretted this decision before you and I did?

How many overpopulated countries and deserted areas have you seen? How much time have you wasted and how much more are you planning on wasting? Oh stranger, you never cease to run in foreign lands Destiny and time will follow their course, yet you turn a blind eye> Johnny Hallyday - Dans un jardin d'amour Inescapable French rock #2! Come on. There has to be a bit of Johnny Hallyday in baby Jerott's life. Kahina probably has a video recording of him dancing to this from just before the divorce is finalised and kind of loves tormenting him with it later. By then he can play along with the guitar, too. El Hachemi Guerouabi - El bareh Another châabi player - maybe Kahina wanted Jerott to take up the mandole, but guitar was a good enough compromise. Notable because, out of fear of foreign influence on Algerian music, he ended up revolutionising the genre himself to keep up with the times. Another song where I had to rely on Google translate, but it seems to be about a kind of melancholic yearning for youth and possibility. Leonard Cohen - The Partisan Not as specific about who the enemy is as the original French language version, and probably all the more appealing to Kahina and Jerott for that. Umm Kulthum - Al Atlaal This is a tiny, tiny instrumental sample of the song, which is often over an hour long when performed live [Sapho, see below, recorded a version in the 2000s]. Umm Kulthum was probably inescapable for Kahina, even though she's Egyptian not Algerian, as she was the biggest Arabic-language musician around. As with many of her songs, Al Atlaal is based on poetry, in this case the poetry of Ibrahim Nagi, a writer and medical doctor. Even aside from Ibrahim's successful combination of art and career (looking at you, Jawad!) Kahina would identify with the lyrics: <Give me my freedom, let go of my hands, I gave (everything) and left nothing (to be given) Ah, your chain is bleeding my wrist, why do I keep it when it's kept nothing of me What's my keeping of promises you didn't protect, and what's the imprisonment when I have all of life> Nick Drake - Three Hours An incredible guitarist, and the drums in this track are a little reminiscent of raï drumming I think. Nick Drake barely sold in the UK, so I doubt Jerott got hold of his albums in Paris, but Kahina's music primes him to really love this when he discovers it - probably only after reading Drake's obituaries in the music press in 1975 (CW suicide references, depression, schizophrenia, drug use), when he's living in Glasgow. Drake studied in France before university and worked with Françoise Hardy, another connection that would intrigue Jerott - though not entirely for good reasons, to be honest. Inside teenage Jerott are two wolves, one of which objectively finds Hardy hot, the other of which sees her talking about 'anti-French racism' and is thoroughly grossed out. There's a reason she was never on Kahina's record player! Anyway it's a Nick Drake song Jerott drunkenly seduces Peder the OC with in Más é an ceol bia an ghrá. And of all the records he buys in Glasgow, this is one he can take to Paris and play Kahina and know she’ll like too. Fadhéla Dziria - Mal h'bibi malou Another important female singer in Algerian musical history, this time representing the Andalusian style/hawzi music. She and her sister were involved in fund-raising for the FLN (and apprently she was 'married for a short time at age 13'(!) so another example of a separated, successful woman for Kahina?). This is a big old heart-broken folk song, and it's not like Kahina stops loving Jawad when she sends him away: <Oh beloved, have some mercy You abandoned me with no reason You forgot all our sweet memories And you hurt me You wasted my time You lost me And ran after another I don't regret loving Allah knows what I feel inside He's the only one who could help me forget you And heal my wounds> Django Reinhardt & Quintette du Hot Club - Nature Boy The song is originally about the 'Wandervogel' proto-hippy movement, and was picked up and made big by Nat King Cole and covered by loads of people. It anticipates Jerott’s sannyasin calling somewhat. This is an instrumental interpretation by one of the best guitarists of the twentieth century, a Franco-Romani musician who made guitar the centre of a jazz band for the first time. BIG influence for both Jerott and Francis. This is probably one of the last albums Jerott gets for himself before moving to Glasgow. Renaud - Marche à l'ombre Outspoken leftwing rocker - he features on the Francis/Philippa pining playlist, but this is from an earlier album. It lists the kind of people a conservative barfly would hate, and touches on nearly every aspect of Jerott's personality/his family, so he's probably a fan of ironically singing along to it and showing off with the twiddly guitar part: <When this dirty hippie Got out of his Volkswagen Kombi That he parked like a rag In front of my pub I told to Bob who was playing pinball << Look at this scatterbrained that is coming You see his look ? What a pity ... >> Patchouli, Pataugas shoes A guide book in the pocket Are Krishna down to the grave Henna in the hairs Pierced ears I am sure, I can make a bet That he will beg for a hundred bucks To go to Kathmandu Or elsewhere in Nepal Before he could say a single word I took the guy by the overcoat

And I told him You, you're getting me on my nerves And you shouldn't be in my world Get outta here, you're not from my gang Get out, you stink And walk in the shade> TRUST - Antisocial Jerott's angry and lost when he moves back in with Kahina in 1980. He's probably quite happy to listen to unsophisticated angry rock music, and this song is a bit of an inheritor to Le responsable - it's about people just getting on with things for themselves and trampling others as they do, viewing people like that as cut-off from others (in an unhealthy way, not an enlightened way), wasting their lives and encouraging the contempt of others. So not really how Jerott wants to think of himself 'giving up' and getting a professional career, but. The thought is there, and he doesn't really like himself for it. (Lucky that nice Swami Geetesh is there to give him another option) Cheikha Rimitti - Charak gataa Apparently this is a song encouraging girls to get out there and lose their virginity, take ownership of their sexuality, and, to be reductive, it's basically the Algerian equivalent of rock and roll from the 1950s. It's radical and it's badass. Cheikha Rimitti was on the streets as a teenager and joined a group of travelling musicians, singing 'songs of the street' about sex, alcohol, dancing and getting on with living life. She obviously didn't go down well with Islamist revolutionaries, nor with moralising colonial powers - she was banned from performing in Algeria in the '60s and lived in France for a while, performing to ex-pats. She's from an exceedingly different background to Kahina, who, worldly as she tries to appear, is probably knocked for six by some of the lyrics when she first hears them. But the sense of being rejected by both sides in the War of Independence and Rimitti's sheer grit and passion for her art is going to make her a huge favourite of Kahina's. And Jerott appreciates rock and roll, wherever it's coming from. Sapho - Marrakech Moroccan-French singer who embraced her Arabic language heritage in the '80s on this album (Passions, passons - it's so good, really, go and listen to the whole thing!). She's very inspired by Umm Kulthum, but this track is such a great blend of New Romantic '80s pop and Arabic styles, I don't think Jerott and Kahina would be able to resist it. Renaud - Si t'es mon pote Another Renaud track, this one is here because the lyrics are just *the most* Jerott in Checkmate it is possible for a song to be. Here's a sample (all translations from lyricstranslate): <Well okay, it's late and you're a bit tired of drinking You do drink like a Polish man But you just can't get drunk You are not lucky But don't leave me there I'm blasted like a rat, turned on Okay, I don't care, get the hell outta here I'll pay for the round of drinks You fucker

But if you're my pal, you don't lemme drink alone And you don't complain if you see me crazy I pay you a drink at Ali's Café, the last one I swear If you are my pal, you're following me

Well okay, indeed she's fuckable but I don't know What she can give to you that I can't It's been weeks since you left me for this ass I just can't believe you Be careful, don't let our friendship buried by that slut Who is jealousy from the head to the feet That doesn't know me at all and hate me

But if you're my pal, admit that it's a bit shameful She's not really a nun, she's not Christine Okrent And she got a mental level rather close to the ground If you are my pal, throw her out> Bérurier Noir - Porcherie France's very own anti-fascist anthem from the late '80s! Rachid Taha - Voilà voilà It sounds very '90s because it is, but I needed to put Rachid on here. Rachid lived in Lyon and ran a club in the late 1970s where as a DJ he played a totally wild mix of Algerian and Western music. He's often called a rai artist, but his stuff went way beyond that really. Teen Jerott on a summer holiday before his final year at school would LOVE it. Allegedly Rachid's band's early music might have inspired The Clash's Rock the Casbah (which I should probably have put on this playlist too, but forgot about until I was practically done), so jot that one down. Here's a little excerpt from Rachid's Wiki page that should show why he's important to/an influence on Jerott, even though tbh their careers are happening in parallel: 'These were difficult years since record stores often refused to stock their records "because they didn't want Arabs coming into their shops". There was little money; the band performed in suburbs of Lyon. Taha took a standard patriotic French song entitled "Sweet France" (in French: Douce France) which had originally been recorded by Charles Trenet in the 1940s, kept the lyrics, but sang it with "furious irony" which irritated many French listeners, particularly coming from a "scruffy, bohemian-looking Arabic singer", to the point where Taha's version was banned from French radio.' <The lesson was not learned Remember they chose to forget Everywhere I hear what they say Foreigners you are the cause of our problems Me I thought it was all over But in fact, it was only a pause Voilà, voilà, it starts again Everywhere and in la douce France Voilà, voilà, it starts again> Cheikha Rimitti - NOUAR More Cheikha Rimitti because she was amazing, and this shows the kind of collaborations she ended up doing more recently. Plus, yes, the lyrics seem to be addressed to one 'Danny'. يا داني و داني دان داني دايني يالالة – Hey, Danny, Danny, Dan, Danny, Denny, what a machine. أﻧﺎ وﻏﺰاﻟﻲ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺠﺒﻞ نلقط ﻓﻲ اﻟﻨﻮار – Me and my deer in the mountain, catching in the light. أﻧﺎ وﻏﺰاﻟﻲ ﻫﺎ لالة – Me and my deer are a machine.

[swanlake1998]

Article: Why I Left My Classical Ballet Job to Explore My Roots in Javanese Dance

Date: February 6, 2021

By: Cat Woods

At the peak of her career, dancer Juliet Burnett left the Australian Ballet to explore her Javanese roots. Now, the Indonesian-Australian ballerina is drawing on her heritage to expand the often narrow world of performing arts.

When Juliet Burnett smiles, the full gloriousness of her high-cheekbones and angular face are both feline and balletic, not dissimilar to the finely boned, regal faces of Javanese dancers. Her facial expressions, like her body — sculpted by almost two decades of professional dance — are deliberate and refined.

It's been five years since Burnett left The Australian Ballet at the peak of her career, having been steadily promoted, over 13 years, to the role of senior artist within the Melbourne-based company.

From her family home in Sydney, where she is temporarily living while borders are closed for travel due to COVID-19, Burnett is fired up about the attitudes of classical dance. She has memories of feeling like an outsider amongst a largely middle-class, white company that espoused creative adventurism but failed to appeal to — or recruit — more than a couple of Indigenous dancers, nor to make the Asian-Australian dancers in the company feel that their cultural heritage was encouraged in the imperial values of classical ballet. "Black dancers, Asian dancers, and dancers of color aren't made to feel like their cultural provenance is celebrated," she tells Allure.

"I felt like the role of women in classical ballet is to be subservient," she says now, reflective and thoughtful in her wording, though not cautious. Burnett is not one for tip-toeing about. "Not just the roles for women, but the very system of classical ballet.”

The Australian Ballet encountered backlash in June this year after it published a black square on social media. The national ballet company was accused by its Instagram followers of being "lazy," doing the bare minimum in its response to Black Lives Matter.

In 2019, in a review of the Australian Ballet’s version of The Nutcracker for Australian arts publication Limelight Magazine, the critic viewed the production as perpetuating "racialised stereotypes of Chinese characters." The lack of diversity in the ballet industry as a whole has been brought to public conversation by numerous dancers over recent years, including Misty Copeland, who, via a  2019 Instagram post, called out dancers who were in blackface during a rehearsal for a performance for the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. (Following the post and media coverage, the New York Times reported that the general director for the Bolshoi said in a statement at the time that the ballet company "will not comment on the absurd allegation" of racism.)

A statement provided to Allure from The Australian Ballet says: "The Australian Ballet aims to reflect the diverse Australian community that we operate in and foster an inclusive environment for all. We’re continuing to learn and we are working on longer-term strategies to increase participation in dance across all communities, and provide more access to The Australian Ballet for all Australians, it may take time, but we are committed to working on the bigger picture."

The statement continues: "The Australian Ballet recruited its first Indigenous dancer [Ella Havelka] in 2012, and since then has recruited a second First Nations dancer."

While Burnett would eventually become an outspoken advocate for diversity in ballet, her experience with dance began without an agenda towards a career, nor even the intention to practice classical ballet.

"My grandmother, Raden Ayu Catherine Ismadillah Brataatmaja, was a professional Javanese dancer," she says. "As soon as I was five, my mother was curious about whether dance was in my blood too, so she enrolled me in ballet with the idea that I could follow in her footsteps. She was totally not a pushy dance mum."

Brataatmaja was the star palace dancer of the Surakarta Sultanate (Javanese monarchy in Indonesia), performing the royal court dance Bedhaya Ketawang for Indonesian royalty. Widyas Burnett, while also fully encouraging her daughter to embrace classical ballet, endeavored to make the costume for 14-year-old Juliet's first school choreographic effort, "Campursari." The final number combined classical ballet moves with Javanese dance positions, set to the soundtrack of traditional gamelan music.

Like many young dancers who are recruited to train endless hours through their pre-teen and teenage years to be auditioned for international ballet schools, her talent was spotted by her dance teachers, Valerie Jenkins and Christine Keith. Her graduation from The Australian Ballet School led to the beginnings of her career in 2003. As a dancer with The Australian Ballet, she embodied Odette in Swan Lake, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, and La Sylphide.

In 2011, Burnett was awarded the Khitercs Hirai International Scholarship, intended to allow members of The Australian Ballet companies to travel internationally. She used the scholarship to visit Indonesia to study her grandmother's art of Javanese dance and to initiate workshops for Indonesian kids — particularly those in underprivileged "slums" along the Ciliwung riverbank in Java. Burnett also trained in the theatrical, dance, and meditation techniques as pioneered by her uncle, the actor, poet, and activist, W.S. Rendra.

"When visiting my Mum's side of the family in Indonesia, we'd arrive in Jakarta and there's this big fly road that was built during Suharto's time, and you go across this modern freeway and you peer down the side and there are all these shanty towns," she recalls. At a young age, Burnett was struck by the financial inequity in such a big, prosperous city. Her parents were very open about the fact that many children didn’t have access to clean drinking water, but "then I'd go to my aunt's place and have a beautiful home-cooked meal and watch their big screen TV and everything’s clean and they’ve got their maid cooking for us." Once her dance career started taking off, she "wanted to go back and try and reconnect and bring something back to [those children]."

"Ballet dancers can live in a bubble," she says. "The level of training, rehearsal and performance becomes more than work, it's a lifestyle. I knew, from early on, that I would have to work to maintain my curiosity for other cultures, other forms of dance, to ensure I was not losing my own spirit."

There was no sudden event that resulted in Burnett's choice to leave The Australian Ballet. In fact, Burnett says she had been open with the Ballet from the beginning of her tenure about the fact that she found the hierarchical structure to be outdated and felt that it clashed with her values, and saw the system of promoting dancers destroy careers. Since leaving The Australian Ballet, Burnett has been more creative and vocal in demonstrating how dance can be a political and social statement, and provocation to limited perspectives on culture, poverty, justice, and gender. She created and shared “Injustice: a short film” on her website last year. To get the clips seen in the film, Burnett made a call out on Instagram, inviting people to submit videos of themselves following her choreographic instructions.

In pre-pandemic times, Burnett resided in Belgium, where she is a dancer for The Royal Ballet of Flanders. Burnett has also just launched her own company, A-Part. "It's purely online for now," she explains, "but obviously, once the travel restrictions allow and it is safe to do so, it will be a real-world dance company that travels and performs."

For Burnett, working with the Pina Bausch Company and alongside Akram Khan as a first soloist dancer with The Royal Ballet of Flanders allowed her to shake off the shackles of rigid, classical training and methodology in favor of the liberation, the sometimes feral and primitive nature of contemporary dance and to finally indulge her need to journey into her own Indonesian roots.

"What's wonderful about the Royal Ballet of Flanders is that it's enabled me to dance the choreography of Pina Bausch, Akram Khan, and Édouard Lock, all these contemporary choreographers who I'd never have had access to in Australia," she says. "After I left The Australian Ballet, I wanted to delve into my artistic identity."

Burnett's activism has been creative, positive, and aligned with her belief that education and collaboration are the only ways to provide inclusive, safe environments for those in the dance world. She has presented master classes in collaboration with Ballet.id (Yayasan Bina Ballet Indonesia), which is a non-profit foundation enabling partnerships between Indonesian and international dancers and academics.

In an essay for Pointe in August, writer and educator Shaté L. Hayes writes that the only meaningful response to racial insensitivity within ballet is to genuinely commit to change within ballet schools through major companies. Posting PR-approved hashtags isn’t enough.

David McAllister left his role as artistic director of the Australian Ballet last year. In the statement provided to Allure, the new artistic director, David Hallberg, says, "The future of The Australian Ballet will continue to uphold the rich repertoire of classical ballet but as well, search for new ways to communicate the spirit of dance in this country. I am absorbing the diversity that makes Australia the great country it is, full of varied voices in dance, music, and art, that will be a part of building the repertoire at The Australian Ballet."

That can't happen too soon. Burnett's bravery in speaking of her own experience of working within the ballet world as an Asian-Australian also echoes the experiences of Black, Latinx, and multiracial dancers internationally. “For those of us who were mixed race or fully Asian, Black, or a dancer of color, the ballet world can feel really homogenous, and difficult to find your place and to find a way to celebrate your cultural identity with truth and authenticity,” Burnett says. “It’s important not to be afraid to question the systems that we work in, to say things to your directors. I really hope for a day when the structures we work in don't ask dancers to be mute, subservient, and to comply all the time."