Keke
sending/
transcendence
My sister and I sang a lot when we were small. The music that touched us came mostly off the MTV. I remember I was blown away by Tina Turner’s power. I remember I fell in love with Aretha Franklin, the emotions that she could express.
I remember my mom listening to quite different music on CD’s. Its importance appeared to me only later. I rediscovered much of African music through her.
Once, my mom was away traveling in the US. I still know, I happened to be listening to Nelly Fortado’s Turn off the Light and this song suddenly made me feel as if I was close to my mom. I say that music transcends me, this is what I mean by it. It sends me to the place of my emotions.
Since a long time I listen to all kinds of music, and sing a lot of which my mom listened to. I sing with a lot of that which just happen to come my way. The choir gives me just that. Our culture and music emerged from within the constraints of slavery and oppression, from displacement and dispossession. We sang songs of one another, in languages we didn’t know, from Africa, from East India. When I say music transcends me, this is also what I mean.
