The call to prayer, for those who struggle, need looking after and whose hands are stained with the blood of innocents.
F>UNT have released a three song cycle of mash-ups featuring Islamic calls to prayer and the music of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. The cycle follows from attendance at Nick Cave’s recent performance in London at the O2 Arena. In contemplating Nick Cave’s position in society and the current state of Middle East geopolitics, F>UNT were moved to try and make a statement, a call for change, as set out in the songs. While they may be seen as Mash Up’s they are also meant to be seen in terms of the traditional Welsh musical form in which two pieces of music are performed simultaneously – each enhancing the other.
The first track ‘for all who struggle’ features an inverted picture of Nick Cave with the image of the Prophet’s Seal, which appears on the ISIS flag. This beautiful inscription, called Khatam an-Nabiyyin, translated as Seal of the Prophets, is a title used in the Qur’an to designate the prophet Muhammad. It is generally regarded to mean that Muhammad was the last of the prophets sent by God. While this may be a belief held by Muslims it is here contrasted to the belief that we will be blessed with more Prophets in the future and they may come from any cultural quarter, including the secular. The image of Nick is inverted, symbolising this idea as counter-cultural, but also referring to Nick’s origins in the Southern Hemisphere.
The works are not meant to be offensive to anyone. They are meant to remind us that we are all part of the same humanity, that our interests are best served by recognising the benefit of our mutual aid. The current situation seems untenable and artists need to step in to support politicians and anyone who struggles, to seek a solution through mutual respect. The song features some hyper-naive statements about what we can do to address the situation ‘lets all make cupcakes, keep each other company, laugh at ourselves, together’, in order to draw attention to the absurdity of the situation, where instead of helping one another, we are fighting.
The second track combines music from the soundtrack by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis for the movie ‘Wind River’ with an Azan by Muadin Hafiz Özcan. This features an image of ISIS members throwing a gay couple from the roof of a building in Iraq. Following the words ‘God isis Great’ the video notes that ‘he’ watches over us – as an image of Nick Cave appears from the street and horizon. Nick’s features take on the image of the streets including a telegraph pole which appears like a cross under his left eye. In this track, the only one that features Nick singing, the image of the atrocity is gently displaced by Nick as he sings the words ‘far from your loving eyes, in a place where winter never comes’. The background image reappears as he sings ‘I close my eyes again’ and both images fade to nothing.
In the final track, the simplest of the three, the image of the Prophet’s Seal is imposed on the neck/head of an actual seal. This is meant to symbolise the necessity of humanity’s joint responsibilty for the environment – physical, natural and social – on which we all depend. The music is an Adhan by Edris Aslami playing over Nick Cave’s song ‘Red Right Hand’. The red hand being a symbol of our collective guilt, both in committing the kind of atrocious acts depicted in the previous picture (or allowing them to be committed), but also failing to address the underlying problem (injustice and inequity) and enduring the cost of being unable to achieve what we could achieve, jointly, if only a more positive approach was taken by all
God is Great. We can be Great too.