APE feat. Layla Moallem, Jah-Zee: Sonnet 130

"Cause nothing really changed since 17 Century"

From APE Records: Growing up in a musical family, between L.A, Jaffa, and Portugal, Layla Moallem was always nurturing a love affair with music-writing songs, singing and playing, most of the time approaching music as a safe realm for free expression, alongside other forms of art which were usually more dominant. After experimenting as a teenager with visual arts-mainly illustration, performance, and video, she went on to study sound engineering and then to attend five years of Architecture school. Today she spends her days working as an architect and her nights making music and her nights making music and visual art.
Sonnet 130
The single is the outcome of a beautiful encounter between Layla and the highly acclaimed musical producer and Balkan Beat Box founding member Tamir Muskat. What started as an improvised session in Tamir's studio, in which Layla found herself rapping Shakespeare's sonnet 130 onto Tamir's beats-became a long journey of exploration, trying to understand and reinterpret the sonnet-written in the 17th century, through their own eyes today.
This chance encounter with Tamir led Layla back into the music world and after a guest appearance in Sefi Zisling's debut solo album &"Beyond the things I know" this is her first release a solo artist.
The song, "Sonnet 130" features Israeli-Ethiopian rapper and singer Jah-Zee, spitting out a verse that aims to correspond with the original sonnet, and starts with the evident question "Why are you talking Shakespeare to me".
The text written by Layla, suggests that Shakespeare's thoughts about Love, Beauty and Gender as implied from the sonnet, are still as relevant as ever.
In the sonnet, Shakespeare mocks the false comparison of a woman lover to an ideal beauty standerd-for us, this message carries an important essence we wish to spread out to every woman out there: Be yourself, Love what is and accept yourself as you are.

Music has a far more pleasing sound, sound, sound
She has a far more pleasing sound

Music has a far more pleasing sound

I grant I never saw a goddess go
Mistress when she walks treads on the ground

Snow be white, why then her breasts are dun
Grant I never saw a goddess go
Mistress when she walks treads on the ground
Snow be white, why then her breasts are dun
You know, Black wires grow on her head, seen them

Roses damasked, red and white, no such roses see I in her cheeks,
More delight, than the breath that from my mistress reeks
I love to hear her speak
Music has a far more pleasing sound
Though she has a far more pleasing sound I grant I never saw any goddess go
My mistress when she walks breaks the ground

I never saw any goddess go
She has a far more pleasing sound
Grant I never saw her go, to the road
Oh no she is going now
When she walks breaks the ground
I never saw any goddess go
She has a far more pleasing sound
Grant I never saw her go

Yo woman, why you talking Shakespeare to me
-Cause nothing really changed since 17 century,
no news under the sun, not for u and me
that which has been is that which shall be
We've advanced, conquered new lands of hope for mankind
we have science, we killed god and we know all that's behind
the soul, the heart and even your mind
There's more equality than ever, or u choose to be blind

Though she has a far more pleasing sound
I grant I never saw any goddess go
My mistress when she walks
Breaks the ground
I never saw any goddess go
She has a far more pleasing sound
Grant, I never saw her go, to the road
Oh no she is going now
When she walks breaks the ground
I never saw any goddess go
She has a far more pleasing sound
Grant I never saw her go

Roses damasked, a red and red and white, red and white
No such roses see I in her cheeks,
There more Delight

Music has a far more pleasing sound, sound, sound
She has a far more pleasing sound

AlteniusQi - Running & Running

Awesome bandcamp discovery! More AlteniusQi over here.

Will take me time, to believe that I'm alive,
to believe that I'm alright.
Working, trying, failing, bailing, running away, from you, from me.
Will take me time, to foresee all my mistakes.
Trying, trying and trying, trying and trying...

At the end I feel good, I feel good
So much love and so much fun and no regrets, they chase me down my way... Feeling free that's all I got to say.

Don't know when to stop and then I don't know when to stop and then I don't know when to stop and then I don't know when to stop and then I
stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it...

Always fool around and then I always fool around and then I always fool around and then I always fool around and then I,
fooling, fooling, fooling, falling, falling...

Bar Karti - Someone

It's November 4th and like 22 years ago there will be a rally tonight. But the one in 1995 was under the slogan "Yes to peace, no to violence", while this year's rally, organized by "Darkenu" and "Commanders for Israel's Security" in memory of Yitzhak Rabin, is under the slogan "We are all one people". While I understand the organizers' motivation to bring as many people as possible to the rally (i.e. not just Leftists), it's problematic to say 'we are all united' when we clearly aren't, especially in regards to the peace process which was halted after Rabin's assassination and Netanyahu's rise to power. With all the controversy surrounding the rally I felt I was losing touch with Rabin himself, who I am too young to remember. Here is Rabin's moving speech to the U.S Congress in 1994 after signing the peace deal with Jordan (transcript here).

I came across a lot of good music this week but nothing fit my mood until I heard this song by Bar Karti, which captures my emotions perfectly.

Spending another moment in front of the screen and the newspapers
And outside a minute of silence a square empty of people
Above us a collection of faces that just want
To rewrite history with lines of excuses

If someone saw me here searching for the way
Maybe he was thinking about almost the same thing
If someone here sees some kind of solution
Maybe hope

And it seems that every day we're only going lower
The shame has ended
Lying brazenly
For years I've been closing my eyes waiting for it to pass
I hope I didn't miss the train while I can still go back

If someone saw me here searching for the way
Maybe he was thinking about almost the same thing
If someone here sees some kind of solution
Maybe hope