watch Emel's "Kaddesh" video, win tix to her Prospect Park show w/ Godspeed
Last year, Emel Mathlouthi, or simply Emel, released Ensen. It was her first album for a U.S. label (Partisan), following her 2012 debut album Kelmti Horra, which ended up birthing a Tunisian protest anthem. More recently, Emel has made a video for “Kaddesh” off Ensen, which premieres in this post. The video mostly focuses on Emel herself, as well as some slick, abstract images, and the bold, powerful vibe of the video suits the song perfectly. Says director Marion Petegnief, “‘Kaddesh,’ by the power of its lyrics, sounds like a wake up call to all humanity. The clip illustrates this cri du coeur in a subtle and symbolic form, the words being uncompromising, to delicately illustrate the violence of this exhortation, obvious and necessary.” As for the song itself, Emel says:
I started writing the song many years ago, I only had the main starting melody and “kaddesh, kaddesh, kaddesh” repeating in my head over and over, all day…I felt at a time that I didn’t know how to cope with all the struggles I was witnessing, and those weren’t even the tip of the iceberg. Suffering was happening all around – people displaced, homes destroyed, stolen land, apartheid, hatred, childhood and innocence ripped in pieces, brutality against women, boats sinking in the sea full of people trying to reach a better tomorrow. The list goes, and it’s our approval of a hypocrite system and our conscious blindness that allows the stronger and richer human evil to rule. I felt I needed to concentrate all my anger and sorrow into a song, where massive and organic beating drums and percussion would push us to ask the question, are we really so weak to let all this happen?
Watch the video below.
Emel also has tour dates coming up, including an opening slot on Godspeed You! Black Emperor‘s free BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival show in Prospect Park this Friday (8/10). Again, the show is free, but we’re giving away two VIP tickets. For a chance to win, enter via the contest widget below. A winner will be chosen at random and contacted with more details. Good luck!
Emel also plays the Fresh Grass festival in Massachusetts in September, and the rest of her upcoming dates are overseas. All are listed below.
As for Godspeed, they have a few other tour dates too, including Basilica Hudson (8/9) the day before the Prospect Park show and Asbury Park (8/12) two days later. All of their dates are listed below too.
Emel Mathlouthi — 2018 Tour Dates
Fri, AUG 10 Bric Celebrate Brooklyn Brooklyn, NY w/ Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Fri, SEP 14 Fresh Grass Festival at MASS MoCA North Adams, MA
Thu, NOV 08 Le Guess Who? Utrecht, Netherlands
Mar 14, 2019 Théâtre de la Tête Noire Saran, France
Mar 16, 2019 ESPACE MARCEL PAGNOL Monceaux-le-comte, France
Mar 17, 2019 Musée du Quai Branly Paris, France
Mar 20, 2019 Salle Claude Nougaro Vieille-toulouse, France
Mar 29, 2019 Le Safran Amiens, France
Godspeed You! Black Emperor — 2018 Tour Dates (DD/MM/YY)
08.08.18 Buffalo, NY Asbury Hall at Babeville
09.08.18 Hudson, NY Basilica Hudson
10.08.18 Brooklyn, NY Prospect Park Bandshell (BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival)
11.08.18 Baltimore, MD Baltimore Soundstage
12.08.18 Asbury Park, NJ House of Independents
