Tatler article 11 june 2015
1
NEWS Tatler Thursday June 11 2015 15 OM\11\09710120 We offer special discounts for the elderly and non-medical aid patients! NB! All Edcon Group, Debit and credit cards accepted! Services: • Cleaning • Rootcanal treatment • Polishing • Extractions • Repair (filling) • Dentures • Crowns & Bridges • X-Rays PRACTICE HOURS: Mon - Friday 9h00 - 01h00 and 15h00 - 18h00 Cnr Kromboom & 3rd Ave • Rondebosch East 021 696 4238 • 021 696 8571/5 OPEN EVERY DAY EXCEPT PUBLIC HOLIDAYS! Dr Jawahirah Inglis would like to introduce Dr Kezia Dunn to our Rondebosch practice WILLOWMEAD DENTAL CENTRE CONSCIOUS SEDATION: A safe and painless solution for the nervous patient. om/05/09518242 [ A ] Melomed Gatesville Private Hospital - Cape Town [ T ] 021 637 8100 [ A ] Century Medical Suites - Park Lane - Century City - Cape Town [ T ] 021 555 0396 [ M ] +27 83 883 8261 [ E ] [email protected] HPCSA - CH0005282 | PR NO. 48576813 PODIATRIST BTech Podiatry (UJ) BHAVEER MITHA Om/17/10038876 EXPERT FOOT ASSESSMENT & TREATMENT • SPORT INJURIES • DIABETICS • RELIEF FOR FOOT PAIN MBChB, FC Derm (SA) Dermatologist Life Vincent Pallotti Hospital Suite 2034 Tel: (021) 531 1107 Dr Kesiree Naidoo om\04\009509426 Email: [email protected] KAREN KOTZE L ynne Holmes and Yusuf Ganief speak fluidly about freedom, the divinity of nature, and alchemy. They are centred and gentle – with incandescent intelligence. They are, together, the heart of the group Desert Rose, and their music is where the alchemy they allude to, pools. Theirs is a growing genre, one that reflects a turn in the tide of consciousness: they create what is called sacred music, otherwise known as universal world music. And they do that from Rondebosch East, in Cape Town. These love songs to the earth and ancient knowl- edge are sung in languages from long ago. Ancient Aramaic and Sumerian, along with instruments rarely heard on today’s airwaves, like the ney and Egyptian fiddle. The ney, which is possibly the old- est pitched instrument known to man, is an oblique rim-blown reed flute, with a range of two and half octaves. Unusual for a classically trained musician, but not out of the ordinary for Lynne, who has always tread a softer path, nor for Yusuf who was raised in the Sufi tradition and is able to hear Rumi poems in everyday conversation. The result of their combined talent is melded musical and vocal magic. Yusuf describes the music as a bit of a short-cut for people who battle to med- itate. “It's sometimes difficult for us to still our minds and go inward for the inspiration we need, but with the right music, you can be taken right into that still- ness.” Lynne says: “We want to contribute towards a society of healing rather than a society of breaking down, we want to use the power of music, to bene- fit others.” Their work encapsulates what Lynne describes as an urgent call to wake up. “We have an urgent responsibility to wake up,” she says. Lynne (music composer, director, pianist, and keyboard/harp player) has dedicated her life to the study of communication through music. Not just learning the notes of the music, which is a language in its own right, nor learning the original languages, but also through studying music therapy, and the effects of music on us. She says: “We have the potential to move into destruction: or with all our knowledge and where we are at, from an evolutionary point of view, we have the potential to take all this wisdom and knowl- edge... and turn it into a creative golden age... we are aspiring to usher that in, through music.” Lynne’s relationship with music started when she was six years old. Years later, after marrying and hav- ing children, she returned to music, but not in the classical genre. She created three CDs in universal world music and was signed to a London record company when she met Yusuf, then the CEO of the Cape Town Festival. “When I heard him sing,” she says, shaking her head slowly, “I had been looking for that ancient indigenous voice, that he has. His voice encapsulates those ancient scales which come from his slave ancestry from Indonesia, and which have powerful impact on the listener.” Their first CD composed together, Spirit of Africa, became CD of the year locally. They travelled to Turkey, blossomed, and were asked to start per- forming. Then, in 2009, came the fatwa, an Islamic legal pronouncement, edict or decree. “One person took umbrage to the fact that we had placed the Christian Lord’s Prayer alongside a Muslim prayer, which is an almost identical prayer. We were performing it for an international peace conference, and this person got up from the audi- ence and tried to stop the performance. He was sub- sequently thrown out of the conference for his bad behaviour, and then went on a vendetta to have our music irreversibly banned through the fatwa,” Lynne says. “He was only one person, but I think he reflected a sentiment or potential in the mindset, because he couldn’t have achieved what he did, without sup- port,” she says. The fatwa forced them into an entirely new direc- tion and made them even more passionate about their work. “We realised how important it is to break down the mindset and boundaries and illusions about our separateness. What it did, was effectively catapult our career into broadening our work, which has subsequently gained international recog- nition ...and we have been all over the world.. as ambassadors for peace,” Lynne says. Yusuf (manager and lead vocalist) was raised in the Sufi tradition in the age of apartheid. “I learnt lessons, the greatest of these was about the labelling of people and clinging to pseudo- identities. Inside in the core of us, we all want the same. We all want hap- piness joy, peace, security, freedom of expression/creativity... this is why I became CEO of the Cape Town Festival, to promote cultural diver- sity,” he says. “When I met Lynne, I realised the power music as an international lan- guage for peace. We are peace ambassadors through music. Lynne has grown as a composer to be able to intertwine different languages into seamless orchestration that can tap into everyone’s psyche and remind us of where we came from. “The music,” he says, “will take you back to the origins of who we are.” Lynne says the original state of the soul is one of peace and love, and we can tap into it. “This is our true first nature and we are simply conditioned out of it.” The couple comment on what they call the growing collective awareness today that the systems we are living in, are not working. “There’s more misery and sorrow than there’s ever been in the history of mankind so something has to hap- pen – these systems are enslaving us – unless you can see or experience something else. Our music is allow- ing the listener to go into their own inner world. Music is the catalyst to open hearts and move people,” Yusuf says. He says there was an understand- ing with indigenous people. “They understood the language of plants and animals and would enhance what was there. Today we break down what there is, instead of mak- ing it a paradise.” Lynne says indigenous cultures who have had no contact with each other have created identical music. “They could do this because they are reflecting the natural order in nature. When you go back to ancient languages it’s the same thing, the languages are reflecting the har- monic and mathematical perfection and divine per- fection in nature,” she says. This is why she is singing in ancient languages, like Aramaic, and has recently started writing in Sumerian, creating a whole new body of work, in the language of the first culture. She says the key to accessing profound wisdom is meditation. “Through this you access your inner gar- den, your archetypes, all aspects of your multi-dimen- sional soul. This beauty becomes a natural progres- sion into the outer world: whether it is through art or music or advanced architecture or technology or city planning.” She smiles at me. “Don’t listen to your mind, your critical conditioning... just go quiet. It’s that simple. It’s not attached to any culture or religion or condi- tioning, just go quiet for a little bit every day, and amazing things will happen.” Yusuf says people confuse pleasure with happiness. He brings our meeting to an end with a Rumi quote: “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” The couple’s CD Om Namah Shivaya is my first immersion in their music and it is honeyed bliss. Somehow the last two tracks have mesmerised me and I’ve not given the rest of the CD a chance. Yet. But I know every note of Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu and the title track. And I recognise alchemy in music when I hear it. ■ The voice and heart of Desert Rose are Lynne Holmes and Yusuf Ganief. The flowering of Desert Rose’s music
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Transcript of Tatler article 11 june 2015
NEWSTatler Thursday June 11 2015 15
OM\11\09710120
We offer special discounts for the elderly and non-medical aid patients!
NB! All Edcon Group, Debit and credit cards accepted!
Services:• Cleaning• Rootcanal treatment• Polishing• Extractions• Repair (filling)• Dentures• Crowns & Bridges• X-Rays
PRACTICE HOURS:
Mon - Friday 9h00 - 01h00 and 15h00 - 18h00
Cnr Kromboom & 3rd Ave • Rondebosch East
021 696 4238 • 021 696 8571/5
OPEN
EVERY DAY
EXCEPT PUBLIC
HOLIDAYS!
Dr Jawahirah Inglis would like to introduce Dr Kezia Dunn to our Rondebosch practice
WILLOWMEAD
DENTAL CENTRE
CONSCIOUS SEDATION:A safe and painless solution for the nervous patient.
om/05/09518242
[ A ] Melomed Gatesville Private Hospital - Cape Town [ T ] 021 637 8100
[ A ] Century Medical Suites - Park Lane - Century City - Cape Town [ T ] 021 555 0396
[ M ] +27 83 883 8261 [ E ] [email protected]
HPCSA - CH0005282 | PR NO. 48576813
PODIATRIST
BTech Podiatry (UJ)
BHAVEER MITHA
Om/17/10038876
EXPERT FOOT ASSESSMENT & TREATMENT• SPORT INJURIES
• DIABETICS• RELIEF FOR FOOT PAIN
MBChB, FC Derm (SA)
DermatologistLife Vincent Pallotti HospitalSuite 2034Tel: (021) 531 1107
Dr Kesiree Naidoo
om\04\009509426
Email: [email protected]
KAREN KOTZE
Lynne Holmes and Yusuf Ganief speak fluidlyabout freedom, the divinity of nature, andalchemy.
They are centred and gentle – with incandescentintelligence. They are, together, the heart of thegroup Desert Rose, and their music is where thealchemy they allude to, pools.
Theirs is a growing genre, one that reflects a turnin the tide of consciousness: they create what iscalled sacred music, otherwise known as universalworld music. And they do that from RondeboschEast, in Cape Town.
These love songs to the earth and ancient knowl-edge are sung in languages from long ago. AncientAramaic and Sumerian, along with instrumentsrarely heard on today’s airwaves, like the ney andEgyptian fiddle. The ney, which is possibly the old-est pitched instrument known to man, is an obliquerim-blown reed flute, with a range of two and halfoctaves.
Unusual for a classically trained musician, butnot out of the ordinary for Lynne, who has alwaystread a softer path, nor for Yusuf who was raised inthe Sufi tradition and is able to hear Rumi poemsin everyday conversation.
The result of their combined talent is meldedmusical and vocal magic. Yusuf describes the musicas a bit of a short-cut for people who battle to med-itate. “It's sometimes difficult for us to still our mindsand go inward for the inspiration we need, but withthe right music, you can be taken right into that still-ness.”
Lynne says: “We want to contribute towards asociety of healing rather than a society of breakingdown, we want to use the power of music, to bene-fit others.”
Their work encapsulates what Lynne describes asan urgent call to wake up. “We have an urgentresponsibility to wake up,” she says.
Lynne (music composer, director, pianist, andkeyboard/harp player) has dedicated her life to thestudy of communication through music. Not justlearning the notes of the music, which is a languagein its own right, nor learning the original languages,but also through studying music therapy, and theeffects of music on us.
She says: “We have the potential to move intodestruction: or with all our knowledge and where weare at, from an evolutionary point of view, we havethe potential to take all this wisdom and knowl-edge... and turn it into a creative golden age... weare aspiring to usher that in, through music.”
Lynne’s relationship with music started when shewas six years old. Years later, after marrying and hav-ing children, she returned to music, but not in theclassical genre. She created three CDs in universalworld music and was signed to a London recordcompany when she met Yusuf, then the CEO of theCape Town Festival.
“When I heard him sing,” she says, shaking herhead slowly, “I had been looking for that ancientindigenous voice, that he has. His voice encapsulatesthose ancient scales which come from his slaveancestry from Indonesia, and which have powerfulimpact on the listener.”
Their first CD composed together, Spirit ofAfrica, became CD of the year locally. They travelledto Turkey, blossomed, and were asked to start per-forming.
Then, in 2009, came the fatwa, an Islamic legalpronouncement, edict or decree.
“One person took umbrage to the fact that wehad placed the Christian Lord’s Prayer alongside aMuslim prayer, which is an almost identical prayer.We were performing it for an international peaceconference, and this person got up from the audi-ence and tried to stop the performance. He was sub-sequently thrown out of the conference for his badbehaviour, and then went on a vendetta to have ourmusic irreversibly banned through the fatwa,”Lynne says.
“He was only one person, but I think he reflecteda sentiment or potential in the mindset, because hecouldn’t have achieved what he did, without sup-port,” she says.
The fatwa forced them into an entirely new direc-tion and made them even more passionate abouttheir work. “We realised how important it is to breakdown the mindset and boundaries and illusionsabout our separateness. What it did, was effectivelycatapult our career into broadening our work,which has subsequently gained international recog-nition ...and we have been all over the world.. asambassadors for peace,” Lynne says.
Yusuf (manager and lead vocalist) was raised inthe Sufi tradition in the age of apartheid. “I learntlessons, the greatest of these was about the labelling
of people and clinging to pseudo-identities. Inside in the core of us, weall want the same. We all want hap-piness joy, peace, security, freedomof expression/creativity... this is whyI became CEO of the Cape TownFestival, to promote cultural diver-sity,” he says.
“When I met Lynne, I realised thepower music as an international lan-guage for peace. We are peaceambassadors through music. Lynnehas grown as a composer to be ableto intertwine different languagesinto seamless orchestration that cantap into everyone’s psyche andremind us of where we came from.
“The music,” he says, “will takeyou back to the origins of who weare.”
Lynne says the original state ofthe soul is one of peace and love,and we can tap into it. “This is ourtrue first nature and we are simplyconditioned out of it.”
The couple comment on whatthey call the growing collective
awareness today that the systems weare living in, are not working.
“There’s more misery and sorrowthan there’s ever been in the historyof mankind so something has to hap-pen – these systems are enslaving us– unless you can see or experiencesomething else. Our music is allow-ing the listener to go into their owninner world. Music is the catalyst toopen hearts and move people,”Yusuf says.
He says there was an understand-ing with indigenous people. “Theyunderstood the language of plantsand animals and would enhancewhat was there. Today we breakdown what there is, instead of mak-ing it a paradise.”
Lynne says indigenous cultureswho have had no contact with eachother have created identical music.
“They could do this because theyare reflecting the natural order innature. When you go back to ancientlanguages it’s the same thing, thelanguages are reflecting the har-
monic and mathematical perfection and divine per-fection in nature,” she says. This is why she is singingin ancient languages, like Aramaic, and has recentlystarted writing in Sumerian, creating a whole newbody of work, in the language of the first culture.
She says the key to accessing profound wisdom ismeditation. “Through this you access your inner gar-den, your archetypes, all aspects of your multi-dimen-sional soul. This beauty becomes a natural progres-sion into the outer world: whether it is through art ormusic or advanced architecture or technology or cityplanning.”
She smiles at me. “Don’t listen to your mind, yourcritical conditioning... just go quiet. It’s that simple.It’s not attached to any culture or religion or condi-tioning, just go quiet for a little bit every day, andamazing things will happen.”
Yusuf says people confuse pleasure with happiness.He brings our meeting to an end with a Rumi quote:“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change theworld. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
The couple’s CD Om Namah Shivaya is my firstimmersion in their music and it is honeyed bliss.Somehow the last two tracks have mesmerised me andI’ve not given the rest of the CD a chance. Yet. But Iknow every note of Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantuand the title track.
And I recognise alchemy in music when I hear it.
■ The voice and heart of Desert Rose are Lynne Holmes and Yusuf Ganief.
The flowering of Desert Rose’s music
