Week after week, Georgia is still, still in the streets. Composer Natalie Beridze has transformed recordings of Tbilisi in November and December into a powerful, haunting, full-length wash of sound for Street Life – as the protests continue.
Georgia is now joined by mass demonstrations in Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia… to name three. (This week, that prompted the resignation of Serbian PM Vucevic.) I know for a fact this is relevant to the music crowd, as I’ve personally seen folks I’ve written about and whose music I’ve followed over the years (sometimes even programmed) posting photos of demos in Tbilisi, Belgrade, and Bratislava, at least.
The question many artists are asking now is what music should mean, what it should sound like, and whether it makes sense even to keep making music. That’s a political question, true, though all kinds of changes can raise that kind of reflection – personal loss, injury, disease, or any change. (Sometimes, those questions seem to spring out of nowhere.) If you give it time, though, you can often find something creative. (I guess you could say, “do not let these doubts restrain or trouble you … find your strength in the sound.“)
Street Life comes in a sweeping wave of memory, blurring together weeks of time, like the ringing in your ears after a demo. It’s gorgeous, with a sense of some powerful collective voice thundering behind it.
ნატალი ბერიძის მუსიკალირი ალბომი “ქუჩის ცხოვრება” შექმნილია 2024 წლის ნოემბერი-დეკემბერის თბილისის ქუჩის საპროტესტო ჩანაწერებიდან, ქართველ ხალხთან თანამშრომლობით.
დამატებითი ინსტრუმენტები/ელექტრონიკა არ არის გამოყენებული. გარდა (6. სიმბოლო შიგნით)
რეალობის ხმის შეცვლით თქვენ ცვლით თავად რეალობას.
ეძღვნება დევიდ ლინჩს
“Street life” by NATALIE BERIDZE was composed exceptionally from the Nov-Dec 2024 Tbilisi street protest recordings, in collaboration with Georgian people.
No additional instruments/electronics have been used. except (6. Symbol inside)
By altering the voice of reality, you alter reality itself.
dedicated to David Lynch
There is also a live event coming on Saturday Feb. 1 in Tbilisi, evocatively dubbed “Ancient Pain. Modern Love.” featuring the artist and moderation by music journalist and Diaci Community co-founder Gvantsa Uturashvili. [Instagram link to event details]
Beridze has been a prolific producer of rich, time-smeared ambient, brimming with feeling. For instance these two gorgeous cuts (one from the fall):
There’s also this excellent album:
Here’s the update for January 30 back in Tbilisi, counted as day 63:
Urgently, there’s a call for international support for journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, on a hunger strike and in worsening health – this comes via journalist/editor Anna Gvarishvili, who I’ve followed for some time:
If all this makes you long for a slightly less ambient expression of defiance, the Metal Disco / Keren Batok track fits – with lyrics – Keren is also out in the streets:
Speaking of this artist – these same folks came together on the Women of Noise compilation, organized from Torun, Poland, to express solidarity with Palestine. It’s a reminder that we don’t have to divide our solidarity or limit our empathy. (I’m also reminded of the protests that erupted in Beirut back in 2019 – the so-called 17 October Revolution – and Lebanese artist friends who told me they believed it would be a sign of things to come. I won’t digress into a journey through the complexities of Lebanese politics and society since then, but at the same time, they weren’t wrong.)
It’s not that compilations necessarily shift anything (obviously). But even just standing up to be counted together shows that causes can’t be easily divided. It’s also a wonderful compilation, and a handy set of calling cards for when you’re doing music digging.
And Tbilisi, yes, some of us are still watching.
Previously: