Plague Songs
The Book of Exodus provides the starting point for this inspired collection of ten songs based on the plagues sent to bother the Old Testament Egyptians. Commissioned by the British art facilitators Artangel – part of a larger event based in the dilapidated seaside town of Margate that explores issues around identity, migration and even retribution – Plague Songs gathers a luminary cast. Brian Eno and Robert Wyatt, in the latest manifestation of their long working relationship, deliver up a truly revolting plague of flies; Laurie Anderson’s sombre tones present a mournful take on the fifth plague’s cattle slaughter, and Stephin Merritt’s ‘Meaning of Lice’ is a black and itchy pop song, rather like those produced while in his Gothic Archies guise.
The beauty of this audacious project is that songs and their very different soundworlds provide their own narration of journey and difference. It avoids the overly dramatic and Scott Walker’s startling call and response ‘Darkness’ is as histrionic as Plague Songs gets. The surprises come from Imogen Heap’s locust-laden ‘Glittering Crowd’ and the Tiger Lillies’ offering, ‘Hailstones’, a song worthy of Nick Cave’s statuesque desolation. Come to think of it, why isn’t Cave on this?
- Product information
- by Various Artists
- Star rating
- Product link
- http://www.margateexodus.org.uk
- Product number
- 4AD CAD 2616 CD
Join over 10,000 people just like you. Get e-mail updates about new content, issue alerts, contests, and more!
Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
New Internationalist (NI) workers' co-operative exists to report on issues of world poverty and inequality; to focus attention on the unjust relationship between the powerful and the powerless worldwide; to debate and campaign for the radical changes necessary to meet the basic needs of all; and to bring to life the people, the ideas and the action in the fight for global justice.
Except where otherwise noted, images on this site are copyright of the photographer/illustrator or representative agency.Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
