Girl band in burka
In Afghanistan girls aren't supposed to play music or sing songs. But 25-year-old Nargiz didn't care. She started the Burka Band, the first Afghan girl band ever.
By Michael Lund and Signe Daugbjerg
- Blueee, burka blue, sings the lead singer on the tv, while another woman plays the drums and a third the guitar.
The three girls make small dancesteps and swing the microphone as you would in any other girl band. But there is one big difference. The three girls all wear the Afghan burka, the blue dress that covers a woman from head to toe.
25-year-old Nargiz laughs when she shows us the video in Kabul , the capital of Afghanistan . She is one of the three girls who started the Burka Band two years ago.
- It was a lot of fun, but also very scary. Afghanistan is still a very dangerous place for modern women, and when we shot the video we had to do it very discreetely because no one could know that we were playing music, says Nargiz.
Hidden recording
Nargiz started the Burka Band when she met a German music producer in Kabul in late 2002. The producer was teaching Afghans to play modern music, and Nargiz learned to play the drums. One day she wondered why all the burkas in Kabul were blue, and together with two friends she wrote the song "Burka Blue" which is about burkas and the way you feel when you wear them. The song was recorded in Kabul with help from the German producers. The band would rehearse behind locked doors, so nobody would find out that the women were playing music. The burka also helped hide who the bandmembers really were.
- Of course it was a joke to sing in the burkas, but it was also necessary to wear them. If people in Afghanistan knew who the members of the Burka Band were, we could be attacked or killed because there are still a lot of religious fanatics here, says Nargiz, who hasn't told any of her friends that she has played in the Burka Band.
In 2003 the German record label Ata Tak released the song in Germany and the song became a hit in German clubs after it had been remixed by a german DJ. The Burka Band even performed at a big concert in Köln during a trip to Germany . Unfortunately, Nargiz couldn't join the band in Köln because she had to work, but she followed all the hype from her home in Kabul .
Too dangerous to sing
- At first I didn't believe it, when the German producer told me the song was a hit in Germany . It was fantastic, but at the same time, we also worried that somebody in Afghanistan would find out who we were because of all the attention, remembers Nargiz, who estimates that only 10 people in Afghanistan actually know who the faces behind the burkas in the band belong to.
The Burka Band has never performed in Afghanistan and at the moment the band is not active. During the Taliban regime music was totally forbidden, and women were not allowed to work. To sing in public could carry a death sentence. Today the country is still very conservative, and there is no market in Afghanistan for the Burka Band's music. The band members have to wait for a European or American record label to help them if they are to make a whole album one day.
- I'd like to play again, but right now it is not possible. Last year there was a big bomb at a concert here in Kabul , and lots of people are still against female singers because the religous leaders condemn it. It will probably take 10 years before we will have real girl bands here in Afghanistan , says Nargiz, who now works in an international organisation in Kabul .
The lead singer of the Burka Band has gone to Pakistan because she can't sing in Afghanistan , and the guitarist has a regular job.
Today the only place to see the Burka Band is on the video. On the screen the first and only Afghan girl band plays on with their headphones on the burka-covered heads and the drumsticks swinging. The lyrics go:
- My mother wears a burka, I must wear a burka too. We all wear a burka, we don't know who is who. Blueee, burka blue.
Nargiz's name has been changed to secure her anonymity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpH83Vi7b9E&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK7CVNyBALo&feature=player_embedded
Burka Blue lyrics
My mother wears a burqa,
my father wears it too.
I have to wear a burqa,
the burqa it is blue.
When you wear a burqa
you don't know who is who,
if you want to meet your sister,
it can be your uncle too.
You give me all your love,
you give me all your kisses and then
you touch my burqa and do not know who is it.
The internet is abuzz with talk about an all new rock band, The Accolade. Nothing special, you would think, until you realize that not only are the members all women, but all Saudi women.
The band is made up of four college students: 21-year-old Dina (the guitarist) and her 19-year-old sister Dareen (bass guitarist), along with Lamia (vocals) and Amjad (keyboard).
Samples of their music here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-AccoLade/34431383715?ref=ts#!/pages/The-AccoLade/34431383715?v=app_6452028673
Brit
forget about DaRuDe, here we've adey in Afghan's wedding parody ;)
&feature=fvw
totally against the ***** article,if someone dont know about religion or the country,so i think he/she shouldn't speak or discuss on this type of issues. I too believe it's fake:(
To B-urqa or not to B-urqa..
This video raises a lot of questions including ..
Why is DaRuDe ... I mean that gentleman ignoring the pretty girls and following goats instead ?
adey, U'll not feel left alone ;)
@ rawda,you need professional help...i suggest you get some before your brain implodes...
Absolutely brilliant.... Now i realise how i developed the foot fetish :O)
By the way.. As per concensus .... This is not a Burqa...
Keeping this thread alive
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QkVl_7N-m3I
TFS.... I think I'm in love ..... :O)
ROFL
one more supporter on the way to withdraw his support ;)
Women should not be involved in music.
Well, not this looney:
&feature=player_embedded
Keeeeeelllll her! For crimes against dancing!!
:P
nice one , lol
wow, these girls have some guts! i hope they can safely play in the open in the near future..
as for some of the replies to this post, i appreciate the enlightenment. i did not know that music (and pork) is that bad as to be categorized it along with alcohol, cigarettes and drugs. it's probably the reason why i developed a cyst somewhere in my body. lol...
It's their biggest dream to perform live in concert but they doubt Bahrain is ready for two girls jamming and playing rock and heavy metal on stage.
So at night, 30-year-old "Emz" and 23-year-old "Dyaz", who make up the duo of the Bahraini band Scarlet Tear, bring out the guitar and jam in secret at home.
The next morning, the nose piercings come off and jeans and casual T-shirts are exchanged for slick corporate wear and BlackBerries at work.
Step by step they hope to become Bahrain's first recognized all-female rock band, fighting the taboo and stigma surrounding their music genre and non-mainstream female musicians in their country.
"We want to prove to people that if girls want to do something they can, especially if they put their mind into it. We want to be the first out there and influence others to do the same. If you like something, go along with it and do it," Emz told Babylon & Beyond over the phone from Bahrain. She says that there are no non-mainstream female musicians in Bahrain who publicly announce that they play music.
Scarlet Tear started off in 2009 with Dyaz on vocals and Emz on guitar (neither of them wanted to have their real names published). Their songs range from the darker side of hardcore heavy metal, captured in the song "Scarlet Tears," to softer grunge and rock tunes echoed in the track "Shades of Trees."
Read more at:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/08/bahrain-.html
Hear 2 tracks here:
http://www.myspace.com/scarlettearbh
After reading RAWDA's thought on MUSIC above, it means that i should be declared SICK long back.
I am fond of any kind of MUSIC and even has this habit to listen any of my fav.songs with large volume..:D
chatter, it seems you can't live without me...
Grow up u old bugger..Sometimes too much obsession is injurious for health as well..lolz
Do not create topics or posts that criticise, bully or insult other Qatar Living members, and do not flame (e.g. provoke other Qatar Living member into arguments) or impersonate other people.
Read more: http://qatarliving.com/guidelines#ixzz14tNVftxQ
ROFL
chatter-box
we have many more experts with crocodile tears, just search them on QL ;)
for sure, i'll need some script writer as well english translators. video editors will be highly appreciated :P
for her blah blah
just buzz me if u need script writer :)
i'm fed up with Qatar life, seriously planning to go back and start business of video's and story writing. Can't believe we've have a potential market, where nutters blindly believe on everything.
Ahhhhh I don't want to go to hell for listening to QBS! ... oh wait...listening to QBS is Hell!
Music is so harmful, everyone who has ever heard any kind of music will end up in Hell for sure..
Damn Heaven will be totally vacant then :(
ROFLMAO at all these responses. Way to bring out the nutters Adey. Can't believe I missed this thread.
I can be turned on by listening to classical music but I am turned off by the likes of Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake (sic) and there ilk and I hope they are banned. They are not musicians or talented and should be banned by us all. However, that is me being an old fart!
Nobody (including me) can ever say that any genre of music is right or wrong it is so personal.
If any religion thinks they can ban music they are truly nuts. Islam has music, it was never banned by Mohammed (PBUH), this is a made up rule by control freaks.
As for women covering; if the woman wants to cover that is fine. If she forced to cover because of a man that is wrong.
Islam/Muslims do really need to get their house in order. It confuses them so no wonder it confuses us.
Music has always been used to convey messages whether political, religious or other and long may it so do..
Never did me any harm....!
Only the lack of the above three....
@Chulbul:
You yourself are so confused that you actually wasted your energy & time (and others'as well) communicating across your views, which appeared utter non-sense, off-topic.
------
There is 4th girl in the band and she works behind the scene working upon promotion etc; She was in Mumbai (India) on a secret meeting last year seeking some guidance from big-wigs within huge Indian Music Industry.
Stiff Little Fingers
Wasted Life lyrics
I could be a soldier
Go out there and fight to save this land
Be a people's soldier
Paramilitary gun in hand
I won't be a soldier
I won't take no orders from no-one
Stuff their phucking armies
Killing isn't my idea of fun
They wanna waste my life
They wanna waste my time
They wanna waste my life
And they've stolen it away
I could be a hero
Live and die for their 'Important' cause
A united nation
Or an independent state with laws
And rules and regulations
That merely cause disturbances and wars
That is what I've got now
All thanks to the freedom-seeking hordes
They wanna waste my life
They wanna waste my time
They wanna waste my life
And they've stolen it away
I'm not gonna be taken in
They said if I don't join I just can't win
I've heard that story many times before
And every time I threw it out the door
Still they come up to me
With a different name but same old face
I can see the connection
With another time and a different place
They ain't blonde-haired or blue-eyed
But they think that they're the master race
They're nothing but blind fascists
Brought up to hate and given lives to waste
They wanna waste my life
They wanna waste my time
They wanna waste my life
And they've stolen it away
Heavy Metal in Baghdad is a feature film documentary that follows the Iraqi heavy metal band Acrassicauda from the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 to the present day.
Playing heavy metal in a Muslim country has
always been a difficult (if not impossible) proposition but after Saddam’s regime was toppled, there was a brief moment for the band in which real freedom seemed possible. That hope was quickly dashed as their country fell into a bloody insurgency. From 2003-2006, Iraq
disintegrated around them while Acrassicauda struggled to stay together and stay alive, always refusing to let their heavy metal dreams die.
Their story echoes the unspoken hopes of an entire generation of young Iraqis.
http://documentaryheaven.com/heavy-metal-in-baghdad/
True but are they matured enough to handle it? haha
on the issue (as well as is making music again). It's interesting to read the way he puts it: that he was told things which upon scrutiny did not hold up to what is in the Koran. I wish more people would seek information instead of just repeat whatever they have been told without thinking about it.
Look at the ignorant remarks being made by a teacher in this thread: music is as detrimental as alcohol and cigarettes?! So much for logic and scientific proof.
rawda_k some songs might contain vulgarities, sex, illegal matters, drugs, and... the list goes on but it's message might be different depending on how an artist use words as a metaphor for something else or depending how an individual interpret a certain song. Using strong words to express strong emotion shows no hypocrisy though music should not be for all ages because kids might not understand the message of a song and take it literally.
rawda said "dear tinkerbell music is as harmfull as alchohol and pork or illegal sex, only that its effect is less noticeable...................................WOW! Unbelievable, totally speechless.
so many wrong things happening all over the world, are we really bothered about all of them???
please tell us why? What are your thoughts?
Traditions, religious or not, can be moved aside if an individual wishes. These women wish to. You don't have to like it, but what right does anyone have to stop them?
Threads about religion should be posted only in the Religious Teachings group, where all are welcome to further others understanding and have discussions.
Read more: http://qatarliving.com/guidelines#ixzz14tN4aK00
a craped article, might have some fun for specific people, starting with lie.
Bring the author of this article to Afghan's wedding and to see with his open eyes and open mind, who the hell told him that women in Afghanistan can't sing.
Yes, they are never encouraged to sing in front of men, but this is traditional as well religious issue.
Music is music no matter how we define it, We will always come to one conclusion which is freedom of expression. Of course when listening to a certain beat our emotion will be affected and that's how our body would react. If it's fast we'll feel hyper, depending on what type of music we hear. I don't know who wrote their song but In my interpretation, I guess they're main goal is to express individuality with the twist at the end about their husband to be not knowing them before touching them or something though I not into they're type of music I like their lyrics for me it's deep.
dear xena
singing is not prohibited at all
rather it is encouraged
a good melodious voice is an asset in islam
but singing which contains vulgarities, sex, illegal matters, drugs, and.....
the list goes on is haram
even a non religious atheist man will not allow his children to listen to such content for obvious reasons
so it is not a surprise that God Almighty prohibits us from harmful things
Excellent.. I preferred the guitarist to the drummer.. :O)
What have I started?
A jackpot of craziness, that's what!
Run, run for your lives.....the musicians are here!!
ROLFPML
now will she be beheaded or stoned to death...? :(
xena...have u ever seen people who smoke cig are dying,r people who take alchohol die in street,,no???y??still docters say injurious to health n all..silly docter rite xena?????
I read some of the articles you pm'ed me. Very interesting and thought provoking. Some I agreed with, some I found illogical. However, such is the nature of religion (To an outsider)
We may not agree with certain aspects of another's religion, but at the end of the day , It is a matter of faith for him/her.
Let's say that in a religion, it is stated that women should not sing in front of men.
For example, the voice of a woman is considered to be sexually exciting and therefore she should not sing in front of men unknown to her..
Now you and I may find it strange, but to the follower of that religion, it is something to be adhered to.
So please, let us not make fun of each other's faith..
You would love them to be fake.....but unfortunately they are not.
The Burqa Band (or the Blue Burqa Band) is an all-female indie rock band from Kabul, Afghanistan. They perform anonymously, all of the members wearing burqas in an apparent protest against the Taliban's rules regarding Islamic dress. They released a single, "Burqa Blue" and a self-titled album in 2002. The group has gained some popularity in Europe in the 2000s, and have toured in Germany, where a song of theirs was remixed by DJ Barbara Morgenstern.[1][2] A YouTube video of a performance of theirs has circulated widely.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burqa_Band
The Burka Band experienced their height of media attention in the summer of 2003 where they appeared in the online edition of Spiegel, Charlotte Roche’s ‘Fast Forward’ (on Viva TV) and Yahoo’s opening page. The TV channel SAT 1 broadcasted extensive coverage of the band in its evening news. The BBC and AFP, along with a host of different European daily newspapers, also published articles about the group. In addition, the world’s most distributed US music publication, Spin Magazine, also gave the Burka Band some press.
http://www.freemuse.org/sw10902.asp
Tracks:
1. Burka Band - Burka Blue
2. Burka Band - No Burka!
3. Barbara Morgenstern - Burka Blue Remix
4. a certain frank - No Burka! Remix
Well done Adey:-)
This time you did it.... now we have to defend the rights of people listening to music.... hmmmm... anyone ever seen or heard of GCC weddings? Men dance and sing and so do women.... not sure if I have ever notice any of them dropping down dead while doing it;-)
What a girl band indeed,if they are wearing burka..:))
also i would like to re post chulbul
chulbul said
TINKER ....even cigrette ...
TINKER ....even cigrette smoking is injurious to health & every one knows that inspite of that they smoke...some people hardly accept the truth,
dear tinkerbell music is as harmfull as alchohol and pork or illegal sex,
only that its effect is less noticable
may be u should google search with the caption "music and its harmfull efects"
plz before having some ideas research on the topic.
this way u can lead others to near correctness at least
publicity stunt!
from the sub-continent? I can almost always guess the nationality of QL posters because they are so predictable.
hmm princess sarah lucky
out of the closet :)
GEe! I never thought there such a rule like this in afghanistan..Such a brave lady..LOL.:))
i waz not knowing al these about music....:(
TINKER ....even cigrette smoking is injurious to health & every one knows that inspite of that they smoke...some people hardly accept the truth,
when a certain thing is declared unlawfull,
it is for the betterment of the human being
it is humanitarian to declare harmfull things unlawfull
whereas letting people have alchohol and pork and women without marriage and drugs, for sympathy is not at all HUMANITARIAN.
whether in religion or science or logic a thing is declared and indeed found to be harmfull, it is a wise measure to prohibit it and warn people against it.
that is humanitarian
when a certain thing is declared unlawfull,
it is for the betterment of the human being
it is humanitarian to declare harmfull things unlawfull
whereas letting people have alchohol and pork and women without marriage and drugs, for sympathy is not at all HUMANITARIAN.
whether in religion or science or logic a thing is declared and indeed found to be harmfull, it is a wise measure to prohibit it and warn people against it.
that is humanitarian
hi how r u?
u think that
..its about some girls who are int in music and not able to enjoy it or perform because of the sick rules in the country which restrict women from having any kind of freedom....
well take this...
MUSIC AFFECTS THE BODY RYTHEM
Many revealing scientific experiments, studies, and research projects have been performed to try and discover the extent of the power of music. Up until 1970, most of the research done on music had to do with studying the effects of the beat of the music. It was found that slow music could slow the heartbeat and the breathing rate as well as bring down blood pressure. Faster music was found to speed up these same body measurements.
Another key to the order in music is the music being the same and different. The brain works by looking at different pieces of information and deciding if they are different or the same. This is done in music of the baroque and classical periods by playing a theme and then repeating or changing the theme. The repetition is only done once. More than one repetition causes the music to become displeasing, and also causes a person to either enter a state of sub-conscious thinking or a state of anger. Dr. Ballam goes on to say that, "The human mind shuts down after three or four repetitions of a rhythm, or a melody, or a harmonic progression." Furthermore, excessive repetition causes people to release control of their thoughts. Rhythmic repetition is used by people who are trying to push certain ethics in their music.
....todays music is just as it is discribed above
An Australian physician and psychiatrist, Dr. John Diamond, found a direct link between muscle strength/weakness and music. He discovered that all of the muscles in the entire body go weak when subjected to the "stopped anapestic beat" of music from hard rock musicians, including Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, Queen, The Doors, Janis Joplin, Bachman - Turner Overdrive, and The Band. Dr. Diamond found another effect of the anapestic beat. He called it a "switching" of the brain. Dr. Diamond said this switching occurs when the actual symmetry between both of the cerebral hemispheres is destroyed causing alarm in the body along with lessened work performance, learning and behavior problems in children, and a "general malaise in adults."
In addition to harmful, irregular beats in rock music, shrill frequencies prove to also be harmful to the body. Bob Larson, a Christian minister and former rock musician, remembers that in the 70's teens would bring raw eggs to a rock concert and put them on the front of the stage. The eggs would be hard boiled by the music before the end of the concert and could be eaten. Dr. Earl W. Flosdorf and Dr. Leslie A. Chambers showed that proteins in a liquid medium were coagulated when subjected to piercing high-pitched sounds
although the research finds some benefits in music, the disadvantages are too fatal to permit music in general.
...just like alchohol, good in some ways but fatal for human consumption in general
dear tinker..may that country rule is worst r watever..as far as youtube link is concern..any1 can edit any videos n uploads...so can b fake..i dont think that girl is belong to Afgan.becoz Afgan girl cant imagine that..
Threads about religion should be posted only in the Religious Teachings group, where all are welcome to further others understanding and have discussions.
how much do you know about Afghan culture before declaring it a 'crazy' country. how long have you lived there? Million of indian women choose to wear burka. Is india a crazy country too?
there are many muslims womens who dont wear burqas in the world nothing new...in Afgan man cant go against islamic law ,there is no question of women to go against,fake news
there are many muslims womens who dont wear burqas in the world nothing new...in Afgan man cant go against islamic law ,there is no question of women to go against,fake news
Snared a fundie in the first reply.