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View From Somewhere

by Amira Kheir

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1.
Ahel Allel 05:08
Ahel Allel (Trad./ A. Kheir) O people of the night O blessings and beauty Today our good fortune has come O messenger of God O good fortune, O white dove O angels sing with me Today our good fortune has come O messenger of God The day the girls gathere They clapped their hands and ululated Today our good fortune has come O messenger of God They clapped their hands and ululated And sang 'our groom scored' Today our good fortune has come O messenger of God O people of the night O blessings and beauty Today our good fortune has come O messenger of God
2.
Mashena 04:22
Mashena (A. Kheir) We walked And we will continue to walk We walked And we will always continue to walk As musch as we fall We get back up As much as time takes away We will keep walking As much as the ages bring We will continue We walked That's enough What has happened has happened We've forgotten /we walked to the edges of the world And on our way we got lost But many things we found That we are on one journey And that from a long time ago It was known That we are the future, the present And the past Tell them it's enough - it's enough What has happened has happened For how long, for how long an we continue this way? Tell them it's enough - it's enough
3.
Allaleya 03:11
Allaleya (Trad.) Allaleya the lemon tree's watering is by night Allaleya he was young like a bird Allaleya one day they dressed him in a 'kumama' Allaleya they took him to Khashm Allgirba May he return safely to our village Allaleya the lemon tree's watering is by night Allaleya to you the Italian Allaleya and to you the German Allaleya if you hit the Sudanese Take your wealth out side it's no good here Allaleya the lemon tree's watering is by night Allaleya an airplane came flying around Allaleya it came to hit our groves Allaleya it came to hit Khartoum But it hit the donkey of Kaltoum the milk lady Allaleya the lemon tree's watering is by night
4.
View From Somewhere (A. Kheir/ I. Macleod) Streets full of brick houses All the same runk coming home Stumbles on his trail Just another day Just another picture Just another night Just another abyss There is a font of Acute perception Trying to define its vessel Stream into its channel But it all quietly comes down In the peace of this Lack of consciousness In the unfolding of this absurd In the view from somewhere In the view from somewhere There was once you Who decided it was time Time to bridge the street Bridge the street with the world With the world inside But you will know That it all quietly come down In the peace of this Lack of consciousness In the unfolding of this absurd In the view from somewhere In the view from somewhere I am high I see nobody And nobody sees me There is a truth In the view from somewhere There is a peace In the view from somewhere
5.
Shoft Alnur 06:23
Shoft Alnur (A. Kheir/ A. Wight) The breath of the soul O people Its visions that of light O people It was a thunder that split the sky From the depth of slumber it awoke The breath of the soul O people Its visions that of light O people It was a sight that shook the oceans Until today the ramnants of fire The breath of the soul O people Its visions that of light O people It was a moment that lit the darkness For the rest of nights and days The breath of the soul O people Its visions that of light O people It was a journey that lasted a lifetime It opened the doors to the heavens The breath of the soul O people Its visions that of light O people
6.
Kullu Wahid 04:41
Kullu Wahid (A. Kheir) Each one of us Will go on their way Until our day is done Until our day is done And in the end There is no wrong there is no right In the end There is no wrong there is no right But each one will find their conscience Each one will find their destiny Each one of us Will go on their way Until our day is done Until our day is done And from the beginning of time And until its end We will continue to search for truth And every time we find it We so easily lose it Every time we find it We so easily lose it Each one of us Will go on their way Until our day is done Until our day is done
7.
Disposable World (A. Kheir/ I. Macleod) Why don't you take a little time Deconstruct me Strip me down to the core You will see that I am just The same as you Why do our differences have to be Divisive when they are Really unifying, fortifying But at the core is something That is stronger It can overcome the spirals of Destruction that you impose Every moment that passes we Continue to annihilate What a sick way to live when We could use our energy to create Desire's infected our souls and now We turn on each other and our home We provide the devil's entertainment But at the core is something That is stronger It can overcome the spirals of Destruction that you impose It's stronger than you or me Or the fallacies that engulf us now Will we ever attain a state of Existence where we are free? We've poisoned our world And now it's spitting us back out What's the need for antagonism We're victims of consumerism Can't you see that we are one? Are you scared of Where you come from? Disposable people in a Disposable world Throw them away Cause it don't matter Watch them starve While you get fatter Disposable people in a Disposable world
8.
Fattish 08:01
Fattish (A. Kheir/ I. Macleod) Search for the day Search for the way There is no option but peace There is no substitute for equity We must wake up Our sleep has been long Our sleep has been so long Because we are tired of the lies Because we no longer want death For how long will they kill our possibility? For how long will they kill our possibility? If you can, search for the day If you can, search for the way Search for the day Search for the day There is no option but peace There is no substitute for equity We must wake up Our sleep has been long Our sleep has been so long Because we are tired of the lies Because we no longer want death For how long will they kill our possibility? For how long will they kill our possibility? We cannot forever endure injustice We must awaken into emancipation
9.
Transience 06:29
Transience (A. Kheir/ I. Macleod) An old friend On a bridge one day said Smile, life is only fro a little while My meandering thoughts To that moment return When forever was ours And we were always on the run Everything's in transcience And so are we The futility of this world You made me see Everything's in transcience A million possibilities Drift eventually Who are you today When that life is done? Who are you to the sun To the stars and the trees? And to all our shared memories? An abstraction, a deception Or just an old friend Washed away like the bridge And the fragile truce it held The fragile life it kept Everything's in transcience And so are we The futility of this world You made me see Everything's in transcience A million possibilities Drift eventually

about

From the very first notes of her a cappella solo that introduce this album, it's clear that Amira Kheir is not afraid to take risks. Born in Italy of Sudanese parents and now residing in London, Amira draws upon her own multicultural background to create a unique and compelling acoustic amalgam.

Inspired by traditional Sudanese singing and instrumentation, blended with elements of Jazz and Soul, Amira effortlessly switches between Arabic and English with an unabashed self-confidence that those less relaxed with their roots might find difficult. In Amira's world, such a cultural mosaic is a simple fact of life.

View From Somewhere is her debut album, but it's not happened just by chance. Rather this recording is a signpost on an ever-extending road, and since 2009 Amira has performed at the Albany for the London Jazz Festival, the Queen Elizabeth Hall for the African Music Festival, and at the Southbank for the Celebrating Sanctuary Festival.

She has also appeared online and on-air for the BBC World Service, the BBC Arabic Service, for VoxAfrica.co.uk, and featured in international print publications including the German 'Die Welt', the Pan Arab newspaper 'Alsharq Alawsat', and the 'Philips De Pury' contemporary arts magazine. With charm and elegance, Amira Kheir demands to be heard.

credits

released July 18, 2011

Amira Kheir: vocals
Iain Macleod: acoustic guitar
Nadir Ramzy: oud and backing vocals
Mauricio Velasierra: flutes and djembe
Anna Wright: piano, kora and shekere
Shin Ichiro Abe: double bass
Elizabeth Nott: percussion
Taurean Antoine Chagar: alto sax
Gill Sandell: accordion

Recorded live by Sonny at Livingstone Studios
Mixed by Les Mommsen at 4am Studios
Mastered by Mandy Parnell at Black saloon Studios
Produced by Amira Kheir and Les Mommsen

℗ & © 2011 Contro Cultura Music

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Amira Kheir London, UK

The music of Sudanese-Italian singer Amira Kheir, who has been tagged by BBC World News as the "diva of the Sudanese desert", is rooted in ancient Nubian and Niolitic melodies, and is confidently married with experimental jazz and bursts of electric desert blues. She has previously released two albums, both to critical acclaim, View From Somewhere (2011) and Alsahraa (2014). ... more

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