31/12/2021

Listen to The Subjectivists' Top 20'21

“Although the Lebanese singer Tania Saleh has been working on the musical path since the nineties, she has only released 4 studio albums (and 2 live albums). After her eponymous debut in 2002, Wehde (2011), A Few Images (2014) and Intersection (2017) followed after having two children. She aims to place traditional Arabic music in a modern light. She does this in a tasteful, excellent, usually melancholic way, adding both jazz and electronic music to traditional and her own compositions. With that she continues on her new CD 10 A.D., which may suggest a party because of the candles. However, it stands for “10 years after divorce” and celebrates and explores the conditions for women from different angles, especially the realities a divorcee has to deal with in a country like Lebanon. She also broadens this and also deals with the right to make decisions about one's own body, midlife crises, vanity, hyperconsumerism, social pressure, addiction to the virtual world and the injustice of the patriarchal Middle East. And it has also become a tribute to her mother. She has written all the lyrics and music, but is supported by 13 musicians on piano, programming, guitar, percussion, drums, qanûn, double bass, trumpet, violins, viola and cello. She delivers that music with a universally palpable emotion, which really gives you mountains of goosebumps. It is extremely melancholy, but also reflective and hopeful. In addition, she knows how to forge a nice weld between tradition and contemporary music, even once a kind of half-rap is heard. Fairuz, Natacha Atlas, Niyaz, Ibeyi, Sussan Deyhim, Oum Kalthoum and Mahsa Vahdat are among the references. It has become an unearthly and wonderful world record.”
Week 11: I still get goosebumps when I hear this album. Even though she sings in a language I don't understand, the content and emotions are understandable. If you can do that, you're doing something really special.

The Subjectivists