Finding one another in sound: compilations for Palestine

In the face of daily violence and massacres delivered in near real-time to our phones, musical artists are finding ways to find one another and be named. Compilations in solidarity with Palestinians take on a new urgency — as a way to weave threads between people.

“We will find one another” is a phrase I’ve heard echoing in Berlin, at a time when some powerful state institutions and German press outlets have worked to silence and shame any criticism of Israel’s violence against Palestinian civilians. (That’s a topic to investigate in another piece, but … you may have heard already.) This business of compilation then becomes potent, because just being named as an artist is meaningful. No less than Laurie Anderson wound up out of a guest professorship at Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen because of signing a letter with thousands of other artists.

I know so many people in tears every day, so many people despairing by their phones. In that state, while still feeling the need to take action and not give into grief, there is only music and one another.

I don’t doubt for a second the motivations of so many people here – only a ceasefire ensures safety of civilians across the region, for return of hostages, for return of Palestinian prisoners, for any hope of working toward a solution other than this catastrophic status quo. I’m frankly personally horrified at the ongoing complicity of the government of the country where I live (Germany) and the one I hold a passport from (the USA). It’s difficult to even do my job, because my job depends on treating people like human beings first.

Whichever government you can contact, whichever institutions you can ask – please do that now, and ask for a permanent ceasefire. (I know this site has readers everywhere.) There’s not a whole lot more to discuss there; this is the consensus of every aid and human rights and relevant policy organization I can find. You can read, for instance, the SOS plea from this week from the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention.)

I hope the music at least makes our readers feel stronger, less alone, and more able to act in empathy with others, to end dehumanization and stop enabling violence.

By any means necessary

These compilations are essential as solidarity as well as emotional refuge. I mentioned it in passing, but the massive compilation RESIST COLONIAL POWER BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY with some 94 tracks is a must. It’s funny because the tracks are ordered alphabetically by artist, but there’s even a feeling of a narrative, even if it was an accident of letters.

Palestinian artists rub shoulders with international artists from all over. Some of this is itself significant – to uninformed western audiences, it may seem obvious that Lebanese and Kurdish and Iranian artists join with Palestinians, but so much of this solidarity is the work of recent generations to come together across deep rifts.

Anyway, just to needle drop – we’re celebrating the production debut of the wonderful Falyakon (here mixed and “sonically optimized” by Muqata’a, so a double Palestinian effort). She’s been prolifically mixing and sampling live lately around Berlin.

Dakn collaborates with Hiro Kone in this haunting track, which on this gray day feels like it can make our souls work again.

A case of that alphabetical genius – it’s followed by this achingly moving track by Dawuna. I have to admit I didn’t know Dawuna, but then I haven’t lived in New York since 2011 – a Maryland native, by way of Nairobi to NYC. And it’s so personal.

Or there’s this densely rhythmic, spectacular track by Rojin Sharafi, speaking of Iranian-born artists. “Coping” seems just the needed title, and it has that anxious complecity.

Go listen to the full compilation, though, please – here with an explanation of what it supports (as with all these here, I hope we can remain transparent). I hate music press that picks up big compilations and just name-drops the familiar names – yeah, being absolutely certain that sometimes I’ve been the writer doing that. Let’s find some artists we don’t know – especially at a moment when expanding webs of solidarity is so important.

Several conversations led to – how can we find other such efforts? (Rojin, I think you even asked that.)

Women* of Noise collected a number of compilations with an emphasis on fundraising, as I wrote about previously: