In the face of violence and erasure, give some attention to people who stay loud and give something back. High Hats Community’s new compilation is a guide to breaks, breakcore, and experimental underground music from Lebanon. But it’s also a window into broad community kitchen efforts in Lebanon, bringing together migrants from Sri Lanka to Sudan. So, please — help spread the music and spread the word.
The music
High Hats Community is self-described as “the sewers of the musical spectrum.” You’re treated to a full range of bass music, breaks and breakcore and DnB, and experimental takes from a who’s who of those segments in club music in Lebanon, plus some international allies. Think of this as a kind of club answer to the more experimental/concert-oriented Tunefork – Beirut Synthesizer Center compilation I wrote about recently. (There’s still overlap of people and causes, of course!)
Lebanon Fundraiser VA by High Hats Community
In crises, I know a lot of folks stop producing or even releasing music. But I think artists still deserve to be heard — even as most of the mainstream of the electronic scene has the luxury of worrying only about whether a Dubai or Doha flight connection was canceled. HHC represents deep underground music that has always warranted more attention. And a country like Lebanon has gotten proportionally less coverage; Lebanese artists don’t have the freedom of movement or attention that comes from big Western European capitals. So you’ve been missing out, in other words. (Yes, yes, some media in the region has helped — but often those reports don’t get out of the region, and that’s a shame.)
And from HHC, Chiri Shoukair, aka Cherry Chills, has been uniquely active in organizing for Em Mohammed’s community kitchen in Karantina (northeastern Beirut) — see below.
Chiri’s music is dreamy and extraordinary, and her career and voice say something about music as more than just empty calories. It’s not all breaks; this one was a favorite:
And she’s been mixing, too, as for Palestine-based Radio Alhara:
Please go ahead and buy the compilation if you can. (The next Bandcamp Friday isn’t until May, so don’t wait…) That also helps it spread.
But if you don’t have the cash, it can also make such a difference to share, even person-to-person. (We did used to do this before social media platforms.) And much as I enjoy being in a leading position of covering this scene, I’m only one person, and I would feel even better if I started to see this story show up in other media outlets. If you’re reading this, please steal my stories. I mean it.
And then, you can support the kitchens.
The kitchens and relief efforts
The Shoukhair family is actively collecting “to help us provide Lebanese families with much-needed food, blankets, hygiene products, and other necessities.”
If you’re outside Lebanon, this is the best way to give right now. (Image above from fundraiser)
Help forcefully displaced families in Lebanon – Donorbox
The fundraiser for HHC, via Shoukhair family, includes supporting Em Mohammed and her kitchen. Al Rawiya covers that story. As with Nation Station, which I wrote about before, this is another community kitchen effort that began after the Beirut port blast and has been reactivated in the Israeli attacks and forced displacements.
But back up — what’s mouneh, as mentioned in the story? It’s a traditional way of preserving food. And unfortunately for too much of the diaspora, even, it’s become reduced to “that sad-looking pickle that came with your shawarma.” So let’s take a brief side trip to the south of Lebanon and Bint Jbeil — exactly the area Israel now threatens with occupation and obliteration. This says everything about what’s at stake, the core of whether we care for one another as humans.
That’s only in Arabic, but we can follow along here with English subtitles.
In Beirut’s community kitchens, though, you might also spot this enormous pot of Nigerian jollof rice — or Sri Lankan chefs working with Sudanese women to make curry chicken.
So if your friends aren’t into breaks but are into eating, you can send them this story, reported by Jasmin Lilian Diab and Sonia Caballero Pradas. Photo from the article by Sonia Caballero Pradas. And maybe while you’re on the site, you’ll learn to make mansaf; that’s great.
Taste as Protest: The Subtle Power of Migrant Kitchens in Lebanon [Al Rawiya]
I always felt we should put food and music together more; I’m not clear why we ever broke them up. But crucially, Al Rawiya has tirelessly covered Lebanese and migrant efforts, as well as compiled the largest database of current relief efforts.
More action
Music isn’t enough. Relief really isn’t enough. I’m not going to say anything that hasn’t been said or convince anyone who needs convincing (I think I already just scared them away from the site and — honestly, fine).
For readers who vote in the USA, it’s worth noting that Detroit native, Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rep. Rashida Tlaib has added new resolutions, even as other Congressional actions have failed. (Rep. Tlaib has, by the way, also been the biggest advocate for supporting musicians, alongside the city of Detroit!) From Friday:
Common Dreams notes that these efforts could get bipartisan support, so don’t assume your representative’s position.
‘We Must Act Now’: Tlaib Introduces Pair of Bills to Block US Support For Israel’s Lebanon Invasion
For the UK/Europe, contacting media is a good place to start. See Newscord’s Bias Tracker and, here in Germany, de.press.media.
And let me just repeat the top fundraising call for this story, if you want to give directly in addition to the compilation(!)
Help forcefully displaced families in Lebanon – Donorbox
Previously: