Tag: Defne Cetin
-
Will the same-sex marriage ruin everyone’s life and put Ireland into chaos?
No. No it won’t. Your life will be pretty much be the same as it was before, except that you will be able to marry whoever you love, without worrying about what is between his or her legs. And that’s great.
A referendum to chose between equality and inequality.
Ireland will hold a referendum on May 22nd. Voters will decide if the Constitution should be modified in order to grant access to civil marriage for same-sex couples.
“Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex.”
This small modification to Article 41 is very important as same-sex couples will finally have access to the same protection that the Constitution gives to families composed of heterosexual couples. Everyone should be able to marry the person he or she loves. It is all about equality.
https://twitter.com/Mrs_OC/status/587889244284289024
Encouraging, but yet tricky polls.
Ipsos MRBI did a survey for The Irish Times, in order to figure out the voters’ intentions. Even if the results seem very encouraging – estimating 74% of the voters will choose YES whereas only 26% will choose NO – the survey only included voters who were sure about their decision. In other words, undecided voters were left aside. Nothing is done yet: organisations still have to fight for equality.
The way to same-sex marriage is never simple.
In Europe, only twelve countries have voted for same-sex marriage. (Click on the map to see the date when it came or will come into effect.)
In France, for instance, the question of same-sex marriage resulted in several demonstrations from both sides of the cause. But frankly, nothing changed for the lives of the ‘Pro No’ campaign, because the law does not force you to marry someone from the same-sex. It just enables you to do so. People are just afraid of change, unreasonably afraid of change.
The case of France.
Same-sex marriage was one of François Hollande’s promises during his presidential campaign in 2012. A law was then presented to the members of the government on November 7th, 2012. On May 17th, 2013, the law was voted and finally applied the next day. The first same-sex marriage took place on May 29th, making Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau France’s first same-sex married couple.
I was in Paris when all the talks and demonstrations were going on about same-sex marriage. Demonstrations were made by both sides, and organised as if they were answering to each other’s. When the pros did one, you could be sure that the contras would organise a demonstration a week or two later, and vice-versa.
Marriage Pour Tous, Photo by Pierre-Selim on Flickr I remember being in the pro same-sex marriage demonstration. It was a very colourful crowd, people were waving rainbow flags, dancing, singing and holding funny signs to express their point of view. The crowd was composed of various types of people, young and old, male and female, homosexual and heterosexual, from all ethnicities and religions. Those people were supporting and fighting for equality.
The only thing I remember about the other side is seeing families in the subway, with their flags saying “La Manif’ Pour Tous” ; which can be translated as “The demonstration for all”. Their colour code was blue and pink. I guess that blue was supposed to represent the idea of masculinity and that the pink was supposed to represent that of femininity. Sweet clichés.
Photo by Nils HamerlinckOne of their arguments was that a family had to be composed of a mother and father, and that legalising same-sex marriage and adoption might cause great damage to kids. Those kinds of arguments were used by a man who decided to put children in front of the riot police so that they would not push them, during one of the demonstration.
Those kinds of incidents shocked me, but I was even more shocked that those people were basically protesting against more rights for the community. In my opinion, protests should be used if individuals need their rights to be considered – not in order to prevent part of the population from finally having access to equal rights.
Defné Cetin
-
The Fantastic Story Of Studio Aardman
What is studio Aardman, you might ask. Aardman is a studio which is responsible for a whole lot of very creative animated movies. Ever heard of Chicken Run, Wallace and Gromit, or more recently, Shaun The Sheep? Well, all those movies were made by Aardman’s studio.
How it all started
Studio Aardman’s story started in 1966, when Peter Lord and David Sproxton were 12 years old. Those two kids, who were truly passionate about cartoons, decided to create their own little animated cartoon. David’s father, who was working as a producer at the BBC, lent them a roll film and a camera and that was the beginning of it all.
They experienced several techniques and met Patrick Dowling, who was producing a kid’s TV show on BBC 1. He became interested in one of their cartoon about a super-hero called … Aardman. Dawlin decided to buy it for fifteen pounds, David and Peter opened their first bank account at the name of Aardman Animations.
On the Road to Success
In 1976, Peter and David got their first proper studio in Bristol. From then on, they never stopped creating animated videos and movies. They started with Morph, a small character able to change its shape.
They began to do some commissioned works to earn a bit of money, in order to be able to experiment more and more. Peter and David worked in the advertising sector as well as for musicians, creating their video clips.
In 1990, they created Creature Comforts with Nick Park. That’s when Studio Aardman won its first Oscar. Creature Comfort is a movie in which animals in a zoo are talking about the problems that they encounter.
The successful work with Park has continued for more than two decades now: Wallace and Gromit (1991), Chicken Run (2000), Wallace & Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) and Shaun the Sheep (2015), just to name a few.
A distinct way to create animated movies
Studio Aardman uses claymation. All their characters are made out of clay, and they use stop-motion in order to bring them to life. It can take an entire day to create a one-second movement.
The character is a solid object. The artists behind this clay-modelling process came out with the idea that it would be way easier to create puppets. They managed to put some mechanical parts under the clay so that it will be easier to make them move.
Where to see some of their works?
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!
Chicken Run – Concept Drawing
Wallace & Gromit – Concept Drawing
Wallace & Gromit
Chicken Run – Concept Drawing
Wallace & Gromit
Aardman’s Most Famous Characters
Shaun The Sheep – ( For Paris Exhibition )Their innovative works can be seen in Paris until August 30th at Art Ludique, Le Musée. This rather small museum is located along the Seine, in between a design & fashion school and a trendy nightclub.
As soon as you get in the museum, a big statue of Shaun the Sheep welcomes you. Rooms are filled with the drawings used to create the characters, clay characters, weird inventions and original sets, taken from the movies.
On the amazingly detailed drawings, you will be able to read notes, and some of them are rather funny. It is very amusing to see all the details on every single thing that is shown in this exhibition. Several annotations are made around the characters, such as “red bow tie”or “should look less ‘lady of the night’”.
If you plan to visit the museum, you have to pay attention to all the details. Even on a big boat that is placed in the middle of a room. The embarkation is more than two meters high, but a very special attention is given to tiny details.
This exhibition will amuse kids as well as adults. During the visit, children are going to be attracted by all the original sets, which are indeed very colourful and beautiful as well as by the short movies that are projected. Parents are going to become kids again, or will enjoy seeing the technical part of such creations.
It is indeed a very well-made exhibition, in which you can not get bored. If you are planning to visit Paris during the summer, give it a try!
PS Remember to let your kids play with clay, who knows what they might create?
Defné Cetin
-
Harassment in The Parisian Subway
Photo taken by Defné Cetin “The Métro is Paris.”
The métro is a huge system of public transportation. You can be lost in the middle of Paris and there will still be a station waiting for you somewhere, at a maximum of 500m from where you are desperately trying to go.
It is used by 1.5 billion commuters per year (Source RATP), and by 48 people per second.
The Parisian métropolitain has never been a place in which you would spend your whole afternoon with your friends, chatting about how nice this place is and how the wonderful fragrance that tickles your nose is reminding you of your holidays in Greece. It has never been a place where you would stay for a long time anyway. Except if the RATP is experiencing some troubles with the railway, or if you have to commute from one side to the other side of Paris. In that case, good luck.
But more than wishing luck to you all, we should also wish some courage to the women and young girls who need to use this transportation system.
The Joys Of Being a Woman in the Métropolitain.
According to a survey made in July 2014, 94 per cent of the women have experienced sexist violence. The term “sexist violence” is grouping several types of violent acts that, in this case, women faced while taking the subway.
In the graphic below, the feminist organisation Osez Le Féminisme established a rather frightening graphic which enables us to see what most of the women have already faced during their commute.
94% women already faced sexist violence The most widespread kind of violence is about the unappropriated looks that someone gives you. 72 per cent of the women participating in the survey have experienced it. Some people might say that looking is not something violent, but they clearly have not experienced it. It is as if you were judged from head to toes, every single part of your body is being analysed by disgusting eyes.
You have to keep in mind that you are underground, in a closed wagon that only opens when arriving to a station. You have to keep in mind that this wagon can be packed, and that you can not really move. You feel trapped. The person watching you knows it, and takes a kind of perverted pleasure to watch you struggle. This person wants you to feel ill-at-ease.
You are stuck, and there is not much to do about it. You have to try to ignore it. But note down that you might experience this several times per week, and your daily journey in the métropolitain will be a stressful part of your day.
But that is not all. The survey also shows that 57 per cent of the women have already been followed in the subway, that 36 per cent already had to face exhibitionist and men masturbating in front of them and that 34 per cent of the women already experienced sexual aggression.
Female Commuters, This Doesn’t Mean That You Have to Stay at Home.
Being a woman born in Paris, I used to take the métro on a daily basis. And those things are happening, it’s a fact. I have already been followed. I have already been a victim of what we call the “frotteurs”, those guys who are rubbing their parts against you when the wagon is packed. And I’ve been shocked.
But I never stopped taking the subway to go from a point A to a point B. The métro allows you to move from one side of the town to the other, and women should not stop using it. Authorities have to take this problem more seriously. And it would deprive me from the freedom to move.
I won’t stop using it, because I am not the one responsible for what is happening.
… Or Am I ?
Let’s make it clear. Women are not responsible for what’s happening concerning the sexual harassment in the Parisian subway. Yet some people are thinking that because she wore this or she wore that, she deserved it. Campaigns have been made by organisations such as Terre des Femmes in order to fight against this type of prejudice.
Campaign made by Terre Des Femmes If you want to wear a dress, wear a dress. If you want to wear a mini skirt, wear one. No one should tell you how to dress, and you shouldn’t have to dress in a special way to avoid being raped. No one should have an “anti-rape outfit” in their cupboard. The way you dress should not be the thing that people should be concerned about. People should be concerned about how to stop those people to act in such an inhuman way.
Yet, according to the survey made by Osez Le Féminisme, three out of four women are adapting their outfits and behaviours when they are taking the métro. Because they fear what might happen to them. And this is not normal.
75% Women are adapting their behaviours when taking public transportation.
So once more, no. If you are wearing a skirt, you’re not responsible for what the others might do to you. You feel better when you wear a dress? Go for it.It’s Time to Fight Back.
Several organisations are fighting for the rights of women. As seen above, Terre Des Femmes did some powerful visuals to fight against the idea that a woman’s outfit might make her responsible for what is happening to her.
Osez Le Féminisme decided to fight back with some humour. By using the visual codes already used by the RATP – French public transportation company – they started to put up some stickers in the métro in order to raise awareness on this horrific problem.
Reaction found on twitter to Osez Le Féminisme ‘s campaign. On Tumblr, several illustrators started to take their pens and start illustrating what women are confronted to in the streets … and in the subway. The Tumblr “Projet Crocodile” – from which the illustration below is taken – is receiving several e-mails from witnesses and victims of sexist violences.
“Ok. I’m going to throw up.” Taken from the Tumblr Projet Crocodile Via drawings and events organised by such persons, the awareness is brought on this issue. And if things are not going to change immediately, those actions are surely going to help.
Defné Cetin
-
Peace at Whelan’s, that’s where Happy People were.
Peace @ Whelan’s – Photo By Defné Cetin
Peace @ Whelan’s – Photo By Defné CetinWhat is it about the Whelan’s? How comes all the cool Indie bands are playing in this venue? No one knows, but once more, here I am standing in the queue. A queue? Here in Dublin for a small Indie band? It was quite surprising.
Happy People is the second album released by the band from Birmingham. They have been on their UK tour, been to Belfast and took some time to come down to Dublin. It is not that often that small or mid-famous bands are coming to Ireland’s capital city.
Anyway, they were here and I was queuing. Let’s analyse what is to be found as part of Peace’s audience. First of all, I am glad to see that the gig is a strictly over 18’s. It means that young groupies won’t be around the stage, screaming and throwing their bras on stage. Good point. Very good point. That’s probably a concept that I should export to Paris.
It is even more a good point since Peace is one of those cool British bands that is very popular amongst the “cool kids”. You know, those “I’m-just-being-cool-so-what-if-I-get-drunk-I’m-already-15-Mom” kind of people. Thank God they are not the only ones to like Peace.
Time to get in. Some girls were stopped at the entrance. It’s strictly over 18’s and the bouncers aren’t making any exceptions. Is that a smile on my face? Maybe.
But the smile did not stay for long. As we entered the venue with my friend, we saw what we feared. The first rows were occupied by really young women. I forgot that over 18’s meant that 18 and 19 years old were allowed to be in here. Damn it.
Some of them have already started to scream things at anyone who crosses the stage and they are taking a ridiculous amount of selfies, dropping their phone from time to time as a result of the one and only drink that they ordered. Someone please help us.
And that’s when Princess arrived. Princess is the name of the supporting band, they’re from Dublin and I must admit that they did a good job. Generally speaking, supporting bands aren’t anything special. They are doing a kind of “musique d’ascenseur” – the music which is played in some fancy elevators, it’s not bad, but no one gives a damn.
Surprisingly, it was not like this for Princess. They had catchy tunes, and even if some giggles were heard from time to time, most of the audience were captivated by the band. The sound of the drums was again too loud, but that’s part of the Whelan’s way of doing things, I guess. Nonetheless, they managed to entertain the crowd. It was a very pleasant introduction to the second part of the evening.
As they finished their set, I turned around. Teenage girls everywhere. Yes, I’m kind of obsessed by their presence. They freak me out.
I decided that I would stay a bit in the front to wait for the band, take a few pictures and then… retreat. Hurry! Before they push you against the stage. They might appear like tiny creatures, but they do have strength.
Peace’s members started to arrive on stage, I took few photos and escaped, leaving my friend on the first row alone. I found shelter in the back of the room, where I noticed that the venue was separated in two. Young girls in the front, women and men in the back. Clever adults.
Peace started their set with ‘Bloodshake’ ( From their 2012 EP – Delicious ), one of the songs that made them famous. The effect is immediate. When you’re listening to ‘Bloodshake’, you could easily imagine yourself on a Caribbean beach, with some traditional music, drinking a cocktail made out of several exotic fruit.
Unfortunately, the band encountered several sound problems. The drums were too loud, the guitar wasn’t well adjusted and the mic wasn’t working properly. The guys seemed quite pissed off, but kept on playing their setlist. In a different order than the one that was initially planned.
As a matter of fact, what was supposed to be a setlist aimed at reaching a musical intensity pick was a bit ruined by the sound problems. ‘California Daze’ (From their 2013 debut album – In Love), one of their softest and dreamiest tracks came in too early. I don’t deny that the song is brilliant, but the timing was not good. I won’t put the blame on them, they had to play it so that the adjustments could be made for ‘Money’ ( From their 2015 second album – Happy People).
As soon as they started ‘Money’, the audience started to jump up and down. The problems encountered by the band did not seem to have any effect on half of the audience. Good for them.
They kept on going with ‘Lovesick’ and ‘Wraith’ ( Both from In Love ), and people looked rather happy. Girls were screaming things that no one could really understand. One was pointing at the bassist, screaming that he was the one doing the show. “You’re THE boy tonight, go for it!”
Then it was the encore time, where they decided to end up with ‘World Pleasure’ (From their last album). This was a good choice, the song lasts for about 6 minutes and is pretty catchy. A young girl climbed on the side stage, pretending to rap and showing off her rapper dance moves. She was soon asked to get off the stage by a staff member, went down … and climbed up again. I told you that teenagers are strong. And strong-willed. A bouncer eventually came to bring her down and the show ended. How glad I was to be in the back of the room.
I turned to my neighbour, a friendly man all suited up and asked him what he was doing here, since I thought that this kind of band was only praised by teenager girls. He chuckled. “Oh, my friend had a spare ticket, so it was either being alone at home on a Friday night, or being here at Whelan’s. And I must say that I quite enjoyed the gig.”
If I had to sum up, I’d say that :
- The concert was pleasant, but nothing amazing happened.
- Peace managed to play despite the fact that a lot of technical problems occurred, so I salute them for that.
- I had a good time.
- Damn teenagers.
By Defne Cetin
-
Will Madonna be the super-hero fighting against the Front National?
– Super Madonna, tearing apart one poster from the Front National – Illustration by Defné Cetin Madonna was invited on a French TV Show a few days ago and shared her point of view concerning the Front National. For those of you who have never heard of the Front National, they are an extreme-right party which bases their political agenda on extreme-nationalism, on the fears of the population, on racism etc … But without doing it in too obvious a way. They are carefully choosing the words they use in order to gain more and more popularity without people being too suspicious. And if you are honest, you might admit they are kind of succeeding.
And for those of you who live under a rock and have not heard of Madonna, she is an old Pop Icon who somehow manages to keep her popularity in the music industry.
In 2012, Madonna gave a performance in which a picture of Marine Le Pen (Head of the Front National) appeared with a swastika drawn on her forehead. Yet, when she was invited to talk to Le Grand Journal, she stated that she would like to have a drink with Marine Le Pen in order to listen to what she would have to say about human rights. Madonna also explained that quite often, when she was talking to people, she managed to change their point of view on things. How nice!
If the solution to end such hateful political parties was to send them Madonna, why did associations not think about it earlier? We can not deny that Madonna has good intentions, but they somehow appear to be deeply unrealistic.
The Front National is a political party that was created in 1972 by Jean-Marie Le Pen, which is now chaired by his daughter, Marine Le Pen. When Jean-Marie Le Pen was at the head of the party, there was no doubt for the population that the Front National was an extreme right political party. Jean-Marie Le Pen was well known for making shocking statements about nearly everything.
“I am not saying that the gas chambers did not exist. I couldn’t see them myself. I did not specifically study the topic. But I think that it is only a detail of World War II ‘s history.”
(Jean-Marie Le Pen on the 13th September 1987)
“Homosexuality is not a crime, but it is a biological & social anomaly.”
(Jean-Marie Le Pen on the 13th February 1984)
The statements made by the creator of the Front National left no space open for any doubt about the political party’s main preoccupations. It is a party of intolerance, racism and homophobia. But since his daughter arrived at the head of the party, she managed to clean up the image given by her father. In France, we talk about the Dé-diabolisation of the Front National. Which means that the party is being de-diabolised. Marine Le Pen worked on a vast campaign to rehabilitate the name of the party. And since she arrived, it worked.
According to a survey made by the Huffington Post in the end of November 2014, Marine Le Pen managed to gain 300% of adherents. Augmenting the number from 22,000 adherents in January 2011 to 83,000 in November 2014.
Marine Le Pen managed to polish the image of the Front National, and people seem to believe that the party really changed its views on the society.
According to a survey released today in Le Parisien, concerning the departmental elections, – France is separated into several areas called départements – 33% of the voters will chose the Front National, in front of the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (27%, right party) and the Parti Socialiste (19%, left party).
Some French people are worried about their future and do not see the differences between the main political parties that are the Parti Socialiste (left, current president François Hollande) and the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (right, previous president Nicolas Sarkozy). They want some change and think that the Front National might not be that bad.
But did the foundations of the political party really change? When checking Twitter statuses from Front National politicians, one will notice that nothing really changed. Many candidates to be elected representatives of the Front National are repeating the same kind of atrocities than Jean-Marie Le Pen.
“Marriage=A man and a woman. Those gays always want more.”
Roger Dohen, candidate FN in the Pas-De-Calais, 23rd September 2012
No, the Front National did not change that much. Yes, the roots of the Front National are still the same as 40 years ago, they are just well hidden under the ground.
Even if this morning, Marine Le Pen accepted Madonna’s offer, I highly doubt that this meeting would have a successful ending. Or maybe she should bring a spade to destroy the roots.
By Defné Cetin
-
The nightmare continues in Madagascar
Since the beginning of January, Antananarivo has faced massive floods. According to the BNGRC (office in charge of dealing with natural risks & disasters), there are 60,000 disaster victims counted and 19 people were found dead after the disastrous floods.
Due to unusually heavy rains, rivers and lakes overflowed on to roads, reaching habitations and ruining a large amount of paddy fields. While the authorities are trying to evacuate the victims of the areas affected, some people refuse to leave.
People are afraid to leave their shelter because thieves may advantage of the situation. If no one is there to look after their goods, who will prevent them from stealing?
But that’s not what Malagasy fear the most. Rice is one of the most important elements in Madagascar’s society. It is at the base of their alimentation, each inhabitant consumes approximatively 200 Kg of rice per year.
Rice plays a huge role in the country’s economy. “Here, [growing rice] represents about 90% of our professional activity. We’re farmers.” stated Marcellin Andriaherisetra, one of the numerous victims in an interview for TV5 MONDE (Francophone Media)
Moreover, if we take into account that 65% of Malagasy households are farmers, there is a lot to fear for the population. People will face a lack of food and it will be complicated for them to earn enough money in order to feed their family.
If the paddy fields are ruined, it means that farmers will not be able to use their production to feed their household. If there is no rice, it also means that farmers will not be able to earn enough money to buy food. Moreover, as Madagascar is an island, buying imported food would be way too expensive for the vast majority of the locals.
The floods will certainly have a huge impact on the country’s economy and will diminish drastically their food resources.
By Defné Cetin
-
Pond, Live at Whelan’s
Nick Allbrook – Photo By Defné CetinRemember Pond? In one of The City’s previous articles, I told you that their gig in Dublin was a must-go-to. We talked about the psychedelic dimension of the band, but here in Dublin, on the 19th of February 2015, their gig at Whelan’s was more than psychedelic: it was electrifying!
Being accustomed to musical events in Paris, my friend and I made sure to arrive at the venue at least thirty minutes before the doors were supposed to open. We were excited. We soon realised that no one was actually queuing. In Paris, you would find the audience queuing one or two hours before the show, depending on the band’s popularity. Outside it was freezing and we were happy when the doors finally opened, even if it was thirty minutes late.
Hurray! We’re in the front row. Hurray! It’s not packed. Wait… There is actually no one around the stage. People decided to form some kind of semi-circle in the back of the room, as if some kind of toxic smoke was emanating from the stage. A bunch of young lads soon arrived on stage, the supporting band whose name I did not catch. They appeared friendly and seemed to enjoy playing in front of a small audience. There was nothing special about them. The drum was too loud, as well as the bass, covering the singer’s voice. Meh.
The venue started to get more and more crowded, the supporting band left, we were all waiting for Pond.
Lights down. Audience gathering around the stage. Photographers getting ready to shoot. First musician arriving on stage. People shouting. Whelan’s WAS packed and ready to give its best. Brace yourself, Pond is going to perform. And it’s going to be mental.
I was clearly expecting to be hypnotised by their melodies. But their live performance had more to do with the power of rock. The band started slowly with ‘Waiting Around For Grace’, which is also the first song that appears on their record Man It Feels Like Space Again. The song was immediately welcomed by the audience, and worked as an introductory song to Pond’s world.
Nick Allbrook (guitar and vocals) already seemed to come from another planet. His eyes were struggling to remain open and his movements on stage were quite random. This is also what we like with a band like Pond: they sometimes act as if they do not know what they are about to do with their own bodies. But they actually manage to get the audience on their side. It is part of the show.
The audience was rather enthusiastic, people started to jump around & to dance. Pond, in one song, created an immediate atmosphere of happiness through the entire venue. Their next song on the set list was ‘Elvis’ Flaming Star’ (from Man It Feels Like Space Again). It’s one of their catchiest songs, in which the rhythm gives you a kind of happiness that you can only express with your most fabulous dance moves. The gig went on and on, reaching its climax when they started ‘Giant Tortoise’ (from Hobo Rocket, 2013).
On ‘Giant Tortoise’, the audience started to go crazy. They started to push each other around, two guys started moshing and one got up on another’s shoulders in order to rip off his own T-shirt. Madness. What appeared to be a bunch of friendly hipsters were actually crazy beasts who had nothing on the audiences at punk gigs. The next songs were slower, certainly, to calm down the audience a bit before letting everyone out.
They ended the concert with ‘Midnight Mass’ (Hobo Rocket), and what a good way to end! Indeed, on record the song lasts 6.14 minutes and is divided in two parts. Until the middle of the song, you can hear vocals. But the rest remains instrumental. Which leaves the audience face to face with the music.
Everyone was smiling and people started to applaud as the music got lower and lower. For the people lucky enough to be there, it certainly was a good night.
By Defné Cetin
-
Bands To Discover – Issue # 1
– Le Monde Möö, Moodoïd’s album – While it is more than common to find international bands on French radio programmes, English speaking countries are not very likely to air French bands on their radios. I will try to introduce you to several French bands. Some of them sing in English, others sing in French. Lyrics are not the only thing to take into account when listening to a song. If you focus more on the instrumental parts and the actual sounds that you hear as another way to apprehend a track, the language is not that much of a barrier.
As I was walking around Dublin, I saw a Chinese ribbon ceremony with a few dancers and a small multi-coloured dragon. One thought lead to another, and I remembered a French band who did a song inspired by the sonorities of Chinese music. So I had to talk about Moodoïd.
Moodoïd was created in November 2010 by Pablo Padovani and is comprised of five members. Moodoïd released their first album, Le Monde Möö, on the 18th of August 2014. They clearly took the path of psychedelic pop music, with the use of several music instruments coming from all around the world (such as a saz, an ud and a duduk) and more classical instruments (such as drums, guitars … etc). The entire mashup creates a dreamy, yet festive atmosphere. Pablo Padovani directed the videos that are coming along with some of the tracks, adding an interesting visual dimension to the songs
In De Folie Pure, we can see that bold colours are used thus establishing a link between the festival and festive aspect of the music with its video. They also decided to film the scene in the biggest Chinese shopping mall in Paris, Chinagora. The place matches the sonorities used in the song. From the musical to the visual aspects of the band, everything is logical, clean and under control.
La Lune, another track off their album, is less festive. The tempo is slower than in the previous song I introduced you to. Voices are lower and they are stretching the word’s pronounciation, it’s all about taking their time and staying calm. The effect brought by those tricks is that of a hypnotising song. It is as if Moodoïd was trying to sneak into your mind, just like Sir Hiss in Robin Hood, the only difference being that you can actually trust Moodoïd. Once again, the video fits to the song. The fact that the same images are used several times and that the animation is made to be quite slow, result in a nice hypnotising video.
Moodoïd is composed of young people, but they surely know what they are doing.
By Defné Cetin
-
One of the world’s most famous Pop Rock bands is about to release a new album!
– The Magic Whip; Blur’s next album –
– The Magic Whip, Track List –Since this morning, rumours escalated about the comeback of a mysterious yet very popular band. The rumour is that this band who released their last album during the previous Year of the Sheep – Chinese Year – in 2003, are back with another album twelve years later!
On the internet, people started to wonder who was the band. Music journalists as well as music lovers highly bet on the return of a famous British band: Blur. Their last album, Think Tank, was released in 2003. The photograph used on the album is featuring Chinese symbols and it was known that Blur’s members were using a studio in Hong Kong. It had to be Blur.
And they were actually right! This morning, Blur announced on social medias that they were soon to release their next album, The Magic Whip.
“Finally, we can confirm that we will be releasing an album, ‘The Magic Whip’ on April 27th, our first as a four-piece in 16 years!”
Along with this surprising revelation, the band published the tracklist to be found on the album, and will headline at the British Summer Time Festival in Hyde Park, on the 20th of June.
This sure is good news for Blur lovers.
By Defné Cetin
You must be logged in to post a comment.