Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - the voice of velvet fire

Image source

Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan,  "The Long Road"  from the film Dead Man Walking

Listening? Read on...

Source

"Part Buddha, part demon, 
part mad angel...his voice is velvet fire, simply incomparable"

 Jeff Buckley, 1997

Global cultural flows involve transnationalisation and deterritorialisation, and a chief example of this is World Music, where music from one or more traditional cultures is produced (not necessarily in country of origin) and disseminated throughout the world, far away from its original context and geo-location, and often in hybrid forms and mashups (Connell and Gibson 2004, p342).  Klein acknowledges American ‘popular interest in many forms of Asian culture’ and her definition of Hollywoodisation, albeit based on the motion picture industry, can be extrapolated to the music industry: the knitting “together through the transnationalisation of audiences, labour pools, distribution networks and production capital” as well as “material and stylistic integration” (Klein 2004, p362).

Image source

Tim Robbins’ 1996 film Dead Man Walking introduced me to the music of superlative Pakistani qawwali musician, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1948-1997), who achieved international prominence in the 1980s and ‘90s through collaborations with Western musicians, including Peter Gabriel and Eddie Vedder.  Qawwalli is sacred Muslim devotional music “derived from ancient Sufi religious poets, with accompaniment by harmonium, tabla drums and backup singers” (Bessman 2001, p22).

Khan’s rise on the global stage was assisted by performances at WOMAD festivals in the 1980s but notably it was his contributions to the Hollywood films Dead Man Walking, The Last Temptation of Jesus Christ, and Natural Born Killers that secured his place in the global cultural sphere (Jacoviello 2011, p324; Hajari 1996, p55; Hagedorn 2006, p492).

Image source

Locally in South Asia, Khan’s identity was as a religious musician rather than “qawwali star” but his participation in the World Music arena drew secular audiences that gradually endowed him with the Hollywood concept of “stardom” (Qureshi 1999, p91). Khan was an innovator amongst qawwals (qawwali singers), where songs can last up to 30 minutes and concerts (or qawwali parties) can last for hours, shortening his songs and changing the rhythmic cycle to a more western sound (Jacoviello 2011, p324).

Transnational production and distribution channels of the Western music industry such as collaboration with “consumer products companies and specialist marketing firms” along with “aggressive retail marketing programs that include listening stations and prominent displays” assisted the spread of Khan’s music to the wider world (Jeffery 1997).

While not entirely Hollywoodised (he remained a true qawwal singing the poetry of the Sufi saints in Urdu), I would claim that Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s fame was commensurate with the notion of “star”. 




References:
Bessman, Jim 2001, “Qawwali Vocalist Khan’s American/Legacy Debut Continues Uncle’s Tradition”, Billboard, 17 March 2001, Vol 113, Issue 11
http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=b9ae172d-7917-4fe4-a99b-21ecd96ea761%40sessionmgr4&vid=2&hid=7&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=bth&AN=4182572 viewed 20 September 2013

Buckley, J 1997, “Nusrat”, http://www.liquidgnome.com/JeffBuckley/nusrat.html

Connell, J and Gibson, C 2004, “World Music: deterritorializing place and identity”, Progress in Human Geography, June 2004, Vol 28, Issue 3, p342-361
http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=b3e175cc-dc22-40aa-b1ef-ac0e0874b267%40sessionmgr114&vid=2&hid=115

Jacoviello, Stefano 2011, “Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: the strange destiny of a singing mystic. When music travels…”, Semiotica, Vol March 2011, Issue 183, p319-341
http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=093c6231-bd72-47e0-836f-e30eb2948e05%40sessionmgr113&vid=3&hid=116&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=ufh&AN=59338747 viewed 20 September 2013

Jeffrey D 1997, ‘If you play it, they will buy’, Billboard, 00062510, 06/28/97, Vol. 109, Issue 26
http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=5a9cf094-a114-4068-be2b-af8a8fa10f60%40sessionmgr114&vid=4&bk=1&hid=115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=bth&AN=9707062099

Hagedorn, K 2006, “ ‘From the one song alone, I consider him to be a Holy Man’ Ecstatic Religion, Musical Affect and the Global Consumer”, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Dec 2006, Vol. 45 Issue 4, p489-496. 8p.
http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=0712502b-a6ab-48ea-ba22-2c7ed4ddd0d3%40sessionmgr104&vid=4&hid=115
viewed 21 September 2013

Hajari, Nisid 1996, Courtship of Eddie’s Fateh, Entertainment Weekly, 12 January 1996, Issue 309, p.55
http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy-f.deakin.edu.au/ehost/detail?sid=0ed71574-1d8a-4920-8b1d-720ee533a93b%40sessionmgr12&vid=2&hid=107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=9602051382
viewed 21 September 2013

Qureshi, R B 1999, “His Master’s Voice: exploring Qawwali and ‘Gramophone Culture in South Asia”, Popular Music, Vol 18, January 1999, p63-98
http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/853569.pdf?acceptTC=true&acceptTC=true&jpdConfirm=true viewed 22 September 2013

Specular economy - existential nightmare

Hell is other people (Sartre, 1944)

In discussion of the specular economy, Marshall’s (2010, p498) assertion that we are collectively ‘becoming more conscious of how we present ourselves and how others perceive us’ shot me right back to high school where I first encountered Jean Paul Sartre and existentialism in year 12 French.  Very basically (because this is a huge and complex topic way beyond me), existentialism is a philosophy of consciousness and being, and one of the main elements concerns the role of others in our own existence, whereby our existence is determined by the way that we are perceived by others.

Sound familiar?

Image source

And here we all are, carefully crafting and presenting our mediatised selves to the world on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Instagram, Wordpress and Blogger etc.  Why do we do it?  To satisfy our desire to participate, create our own identities, socialise and network with each other (Croteau, Hoynes & Milan 2012, p319).  We now have the technology to achieve self representation, not someone else’s idea of ourselves. Marshall points out that this is now 'an incredibly complex PRESENTATION of the self through screens of social media via the Internet and mobile communication" (Marshall 2010 p499).

Image source

I would consider myself a ‘lite’ social media user.  I use Facebook and Twitter, but I also have two blogs, and in each I am trying to construct a different ‘me’.  One blog is for ‘arty me’ and I am very aware of and frequently manipulate my presentation: changing backgrounds and images in an effort to communicate the essence of my aesthetic.  It’s like a conversation, the more I tweak with the mediated presentation, the more I crystallise the essence of my taste and can ‘imagine a better version’ of myself (Marshall 2010 p499).  I’ve had my ‘frisson of fame’ (Marshall 2010, p499): validation in the form of ‘likes’ and comments from strangers who share similar interests.

In this blog I am constructing my studious persona, and I have tied myself in knots reading widely and getting myself more and more bamboozled about how much I don’t know. 

Image source

Facebook is where I stay connected (and reconnect) with family and friends, that is people I know in real life, but it is also where I do my share of star stalking and my presence there is also highly mediated. 

However, issues of a private and intimate nature generally do not make it on to my Facebook page, or any of my blogs.  They stay in the real realm of the private – between me and the real people with whom I choose to share.

References: 

Croteau, D, Hoynes, W & Milan, S 2012, Media/Society: Industries, Images and Audiences, 4^th edn., Sage Publications Inc., Los Angeles

Marshall, P D 2010, ‘The Specular Economy’, Society Nov 2010, Vol. 47 Issue 6, p498-502

Sartre, J-P 1947, No Exit (Huis Clos) a pay in one act, & The Flies (Les Mouches) a play in three acts, A. A. Knopf, New York

I'm sorry, we have to get engaged before we can participate

Image source: http://www.symboliamag.com/

Joost Raessens (2005) makes a good case for digital gaming culture as THE participatory media culture, when viewed through three areas of participation: interpretation, reconfiguration and construction; and further, that it is four specific characteristics of this digital medium – multimediality, virtuality, interactivity and connectivity – that set it apart, but I don’t think it applies to all forms of media.

Take for instance, illustrated journalism digital magazine Symbolia, which provides an example of prosumption: it offers readers interaction and ‘tactile manipulation’ of stories (Polgren 2013).  Supporters can contribute story ideas, and provide financial support as well as receive, read and share the product.  Raessens’ definition of participatory culture relies on participating in culture in this ‘active and productive way’ (2005).

Image source

Increasingly, varying forms of digital media are resisting the notion of passive audience and creating ‘opportunities for individuals to create, distribute and read multi modal texts with ease and enthusiasm’ (Williams & Zenger 2012 p1).  

But there is still no access for participants to directly alter or modify the constructs of other forms of media as game hackers can. 

In an interview with Richard Adie on ABC Radio National’s The Media Report, Erin Polgreen, co-founder and publisher of Symbolia, sees illustrated or cartoon journalism as “an opportunity to bridge borders and connect people in ways that don’t really happen in long form prose journalism.”  Authentic interaction with the community is the key to audience engagement (Polgreen 2013), and interactivity offers audiences the ability to contribute and create experiences that are memorable and meaningful (Figueiredo 2011 p92).  Comics allow readers to really immerse themselves in a story (Polgreen 2013) and ‘by becoming a contributor and/or creator of the world…the audience begins to become active members of the community of knowledge' (Figueiredo 2011 p92).

Source

Scott McCloud (1994 cited in Figueiredo 2011) remarks that “when you look at a photo or realistic drawing of a face, you see it as the face of another, but when you enter the world of the cartoon you see yourself”.  Media helps us work out our identities and where we fit in the world.  It “provides us a window back into our world.” (McCloud 2005)

References

Figueiredo, S 2011, ‘Building Worlds for an Interactive Experience: Selecting, Organising, and Showing Worlds of Information Through Comics’, Journal of Visual Literacy, Spring 2011, Vol 30, Issue 1, p86-100

McCloud, S 2005, Scott McCloud: The visual magic of comics, TED.com, http://www.ted.com/talks/scott_mccloud_on_comics.html

Raessens, J and Goldstein J (eds) 2005, Handbook of Computer Game Studies, MIT Press, Cambridge Mass. USA

Williams, B and Zenger, A (eds) 2012, New Media Literacies and Participatory Popular Culture Across Borders, Routledge, New York

Polgreen, E 2013, ‘Erin Polgreen on illustrated journalism and engaging readers’, The Media Report, ABC Radio National, Thursday 5th September 2013

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/mediareport/erin-polgreen-on-illustrated-journalism/4902012 

http://www.symboliamag.com/