What does resilience sound like? One couple searches the world to find out.
Ian Brennan and Marilena Umuhoza Delli聽see the world differently than other聽record company scouts.
The married couple seeks out unconventional musical talent in parts of the globe that have experienced genocide, war, and dire poverty. Among those they have recorded: Viet Cong veterans in Vietnam and Khmer Rouge survivors in Cambodia. Debuting March 12, their latest compilation, 鈥淚鈥檝e Forgotten Now Who I Used To Be鈥� (Six Degrees Records), consists of field recordings sung by ostracized women in Ghana who鈥檝e been accused of witchcraft and have bonded together in camps.聽
鈥淢ore than danger or hostility, what we鈥檝e encountered is more often amusement,鈥� says Mr. Brennan of the people they approach: 鈥溾�榃hat are they doing here?鈥� and 鈥楾hey want to hear us?鈥欌�澛�
Why We Wrote This
One way to encourage compassion is to present the perspectives of those not usually heard from. With the music they facilitate, one cross-cultural couple hopes to amplify marginalized voices.
Although the languages on these recordings may be foreign to listeners, the emotional qualities in the songs don鈥檛 require translation. Mr. Brennan and Ms. Delli hope that the music will engender a compassionate kinship with those living in the longitudes and latitudes that are often marginalized in Western media.
鈥淲hen I first interviewed Ian, it struck me that he wasn鈥檛 interested in recording music as a commercial product,鈥� writes Marco Werman, host of the radio show 鈥淭he World,鈥� a co-production of WGBH radio and PRX, in an email. 鈥淗e wanted listeners to know about disenfranchised people around the globe for whom music is their last and only form of expression 鈥� albinos in Tanzania, inmates in Malawi, so-called witches in Ghana 鈥� meaning it transcends entertainment. And yet every one of these albums is utterly captivating.鈥�
Mr. Brennan produces the recordings. Ms. Delli photographs and films the proceedings. The couple鈥檚 first project was a 2010 documentary, 鈥淩wanda鈥� Mama,鈥� by Ms. Delli, who is Italian and Rwandan. She filmed her mother鈥檚 journey from Italy to her original home of Rwanda many years after she鈥檇 been orphaned by a genocide. That led the couple to discover The Good Ones, a music trio consisting of representatives from all three main tribes of Rwanda. For Mr. Brennan, who鈥檇 previously produced Grammy-nominated albums by American songwriters Peter Case and Ramblin鈥� Jack Elliott, recording The Good Ones sparked his desire to 鈥渄e-exoticize鈥� music from other cultures.
More than 30 albums later, he and his wife visited Ghana鈥檚 鈥渨itch camps鈥� in December 2018. 鈥淭he music becomes like a form of therapy [for the performers], especially in this project,鈥� says Ms. Delli.
The duo recorded more than 100 Ghanaian women in three locations. The songs, sung in rare dialects, feature titles such as 鈥淗atred Drove Me From My Home鈥� and 鈥淎bandoned (Forced Into A Life Of Prostitution).鈥� The short songs feature haiku-like lyrics or phrases repeated over and over in chant-like rhythms.
Many of the women have been exiled after being blamed for a natural calamity, a mishap, or an illness. The accusations often result from superstition. Ms. Delli says some women have also been labeled as witches in a cynical bid to deprive them of their land.聽
鈥淲e had the chance to meet these incredible human beings who really, truly embody resilience and strength,鈥� says Ms. Delli. 鈥淭he women have been ostracized, dehumanized, stripped of their dignity, stripped of their land, and now, through music, they were able to convey all of those experiences.鈥�
鈥淭he surest way to healing is to share your stories,鈥� says Mr. Brennan. 鈥淲e all feel better when we talk about things, when someone is receptive and empathic.鈥�
Mr. Brennan funds the recording of his mostly unprofitable album projects through his sideline business: teaching courses in nonviolence. After years of working inside psychiatric hospitals, he developed sought-after techniques for handling volatile situations. He鈥檚 also written related books such as 鈥淎nger Antidotes鈥� and 鈥淗ate-less.鈥� The producer鈥檚 interest in nonviolence often dovetails with the duo鈥檚 musical projects, many of which feature musicians who鈥檝e experienced brutality.
鈥淲hat I love about Ian and Marilena鈥檚 work is their respect of voice,鈥� writes Corin Tucker, a singer and songwriter in the indie rock band Sleater-Kinney and a guest on the couple's聽2019 recording of聽The Good Ones, via a spokesperson. 鈥淰oice in songwriting is not just the singing, but the style each artist tells their story with. With each album, I think they strive to help underrepresented artists find their unique voice and bring their songs to the world with it.鈥�
Most of the songs on聽鈥淚鈥檝e Forgotten Now Who I Used To Be鈥� are solo pieces, but several, such as 鈥淟ove,鈥� feature a joyous chorus of villagers whooping and harmonizing together. In place of percussion instruments, the album鈥檚 performers tapped rhythms on cornhusks, tin cans, and even a balloon. During one of the recording sessions, Mr. Brennan and Ms. Delli noticed another woman lingering nearby, her face full of emotion. They encouraged her to sing something.聽
鈥淲e were being pressured by the leaders of the village to get out,鈥� recalls Mr. Brennan. 鈥淭hey were interrupting as we were trying to record her. They were trying to stop us before we began: 鈥楽he can鈥檛 sing. You don鈥檛 need to hear her.鈥欌�澛�
Mr. Brennan says the woman鈥檚 song, 鈥淟eft to Live Like an Animal,鈥� is the album鈥檚 most transcendent moment. It exemplifies how he seeks to capture an intimacy in his recordings that he believes is often missing in overly rehearsed, overdubbed, and overproduced modern music.聽
鈥淚t comes from leading with love 鈥� love of music, love of people, and showing an interest,鈥� he says. 鈥淢ost people are denied intimacy even with the people that they鈥檙e supposed to be intimate with, wherever you are in the world. ... So it鈥檚 a very powerful thing to give someone sincere attention.鈥�
For the couple, the satisfaction of their work comes from shining a spotlight on places in the world that some people have never heard of. Case in point: Their next release is an album recorded in one of the world鈥檚 tiniest countries 鈥� Comoros, comprised of a group of islands in the Indian Ocean.聽The duo鈥檚 projects aren鈥檛 destined to be featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, which they say is just fine by them. They prize the musical connections they鈥檝e forged.聽
鈥淲e discovered that the Tanzania Albinism Collective continues to get together twice a week to make music just for the sake of making music with people who had never made music,鈥� says Mr. Brennan. 鈥淭hat鈥檚, to me, much greater success than for them to be 鈥榮tars.鈥欌�澛�
