When I opened my email this morning I saw a link to a CNN video about Queens College music professor Salman Ahmad and Peter Gabriel. Apparently the two have collaborated on a song that is meant to raise awareness about the flood in Pakistan. You can watch the video here.
Just seeing a Queens College professor in the news fills me with an odd sense of pride, but I’m pretty impressed that he’s collaborating with Peter Gabriel. Granted, I only know who Peter Gabriel is from a song by Vampire Weekend, but hey, he’s in a song by Vampire Weekend. I just like that this is reflecting a larger cultural divide being brought together by music. In many ways this form of collaboration reminds me of our discussion of Bright Shen. This idea of music reflecting a unique culture and style and yet also transcending that style into something universal. In the 92nd Street Y talk, David Levitin mentioned that certain sounds translate into “sad” to the Western ear, like Klezmer, but is intended to be “upbeat” in the culture it comes from.
In that way, the Pakistani inspired influence that Salman Ahmad brings to the piece combined with Peter Gabriel’s distinctly Western sound, I think is a great way to garner global attention to the devastating flood in Pakistan.
Yes! I think there IS a connection between the discussion from the Y and the unique blend of cultures on this recording. What was once a “universal” truth about Major and Minor modes in music, is really only true of Western European models.
Peter Gabriel, by the way, was the lead singer for Genesis. Gabriel left the band in the late 70’s and the drummer took over singing. The drummer was Phil Collins who much later wrote and sang the music for Disney’s “Tarzan.” One of Gabriel’s “recent” hits was “Sledgehammer,” from 2003. It is pretty cool that Salman Ahmad works with these A-list musicians.