31 August 2010

Review


HAMMANA, Lebanon: It says something about a party when, even if there were nothing at the end of it, you realize that merely the bus ride there would be enough to satisfy you.

The mood for the Beirut Groove Collective’s first year anniversary was set from the beginning of night, with the boisterous bus journey – lights flashing, horns blaring – up into mountainous Hammana.

Arriving at an amusement park nestled in the rocky heights, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, we were met by the somehow incongruous sound of artists MC-ing under the bandstand, framed by the flickering projection of in-synch animations by VJ Nadim Saouma.

DJ Sotusura of Amman, Jordan, began the program with an underground hip hop set, aided by contributions from several local MCs, each taking turns to freestyle, beat box and rap.

The close-knit crowd of 300-odd souls were drawn to the performance like iron filings to a magnet. As the evening continued, the atmosphere, although laid back, seemed to intensify as the mountain air cooled further.

Brother Jackson, an Armenian-American from Los Angeles followed DJ Sotusura with another highly charged set. Although a power cut occurred in the midst of his set, the night’s spirit wasn’t dampened.

The momentary outage provided the opportunity for an impromptu capoeira performance. It was so good that, for all the audience knew, the blackout might have been an intentional gesture on the organizers’ part.

The night progressed in the same vein, with a fusion of local and international artists providing the beats to keep the crowd gyrating beneath the blood-red harvest moon. Funk was supplied by Beirut DJ Heavy G. Sweden’s Tommy Montana spun some upbeat disco Headliner DJ El Tedo, a member of Denmark’s Black School, then powered-up some highly symphonic strains.

Beirut’s own DJ Ernesto, accompanied by jamming trombonist Tom Young, topped off the evening.

In Young’s own words, the duet created “music about what it feels like to live here.”

Beirut’s scene, at least the one showcased by the Beirut Groove Collective, seems something of a reactionary movement, a sentiment which Young echoes.

“Given Lebanon’s past and all of the political differences here, the message – to leave your self-consciousness at door and just come and have a good time – is particularly relevant.”

Now in its seventh incarnation, the Beirut Groove Collective’s one-year anniversary party grew out of rigorous planning by a committed group of area DJs.

Ernesto Chahoud and Rami Obeid, DJs with more than 20 years experience between them, were the original brains behind the Collective, which they founded after recognizing a niche in Beirut’s music scene.

“There’s a very big scene here,” observed Obeid, “but we felt there was something missing. There’s proof of this kind of music – funk, soul, rare blues – in the old vinyl records in shops which exist in Beirut, but we felt somebody had to bring it back.”

The Collective’s efforts have been greeted by a particularly receptive audience. Amid the bright lights of the carousels, the mood Saturday evening was one of almost childlike freedom. Buoying up this sense of liberty was the slight but palpable sense that the revellers were party to a grassroots movement that could only continue to grow.

Copyright The Daily Star 2010.