Coronavirus Stories - Reaching Out From Isolation

Edited BY G P Kennedy  As people start to take their first tentative steps outside, our Storytellers maintain social distancing while trying to establish a new normal.  Some governments fare better than others in terms of financial assistance and clarity of message.  The week was punctuated by a national tragedy that killed nearly 100 people in one of our Story cities. The plane crash struck close to home for…   Tassy – Karachi, Pakistan  After a pretty dull few weeks it has been a tumultuous few days. We had a national tragedy a few days ago, with a plane carrying 97 passengers from Lahore crash landing in a residential locality in Karachi two minutes before landing. As the horrendous images and news emerged we found that we knew of a few people on the ill-fated flight, including parents of my husband`s colleague from work.    The news really shook the whole nation. This tragic incident happened a day before the end of the month long period of fasting...

BY G P Kennedy  We really believe in the power of music and song to bring people together. Music has never been needed more than it is today, as we look out from lockdown on a world perhaps forever changed.  Enjoy our playlist - compiled from two choices by each of our 7 cities Storytellers, joined by our Editor, G P Kennedy. 

Edited BY G P Kennedy Espe - Perth, Australia   Dog Days are Over by Florence and the Machine is a song I use to express big opposing emotions experienced from a single situation or event.  This concept is intriguing to me but also quite natural.  During this pandemic I have experienced such emotions and find relief and comfort accepting the possibility of experiencing opposing emotions in one song (situation).   Some may think this contradiction can create confusion and is miss-matched to the expected or normal human reaction to an event but I think it intensifies the raw feelings.    I love the Yin and Yang experience with emotions throughout this song and feel free to feel any emotions that I need to express.  After listening to this song at high volume, dance to express myself and if needed release.  Then I feel pumped and ready to take on the world!  I am a strong believer in emotional expression to process experiences for optimal ...

Edited BY G P Kennedy  It's the weekend - insofar as lockdown means weekdays and weekends for many. This weekend is a holiday for some with Eid Al Fitr for observant Muslims, and memorial Day in the United states.  Whatever the day, enjoy a bonus with four songs on offer, two each from Tokyo and London. Ian and Minako – Tokyo, Japan The two tunes we picked out for the Spotify list are Nutmeg Saba Cinnamon by Robin Saville from his album Public Flowers (2013) And Joy by Rei Harakami from his album [lust] (2005)    Robin Saville is one half of ISAN, we’ve been listening to their music more than anyone else’s in recent years. The Rei Harakami track is an old favorite. Sadly, he died at the age of 40 otherwise we’re sure he would still be turning out great tunes.   We listen to a lot of instrumental electronic music with certain quality, textures and a fine balance of beauty, playfulness, subtle upbeatness and ambience that brings us joy. We love the craft and art...

Edited BY G P Kennedy  Day 4 sees us travel west from Karachi, Pakistan to Istanbul, Turkey where we meet up with Gul. She is a former journalist and arts professional recently returned to her home city after a prolonged period living in England.   In two very different song choices Gul finds meaning in lockdown through prescient lyrics and lessons from history. Concierto de Aranjuez – Joaquin Rodrigo The concerto of last wish  It was 6 th of May 1972, a political activist and student leader Deniz Gezmiş was executed along with his friends Hüseyin İnan and Yusuf Aslan. He was only 25 years old, he was our Che Guevara who has done nothing apart from shouting against the 1970’s military junta in Turkey.                                                                             ...

Edited BY G P Kennedy   Day 3 of Music Week takes us from West Africa to the normally bustling hub of Karachi, Pakistan. Here we find Tassy, our yoga expert, taking time out to contemplate love, family, and friendship, with two of her favorite songs. Tassy - Karachi, Pakistan    Rose Rouge – St Germain  This song represents friendship. In our lives before Corona, which feels like an eternity ago but was actually not so far back, every weekend an intimate circle of friends we have known for almost thirty years, and in my husband’s case since childhood, would meet.  Sometime soon after sunset around 7:30pm I would go to my living room, and set the tone and mood for the evening that would follow. Lay out the drinks, fill up nut bowls, light the candles, and put on my music.                                        My playlist invariably would start with this song...

Edited BY G P Kennedy  In our week-long listen to our hearts and heads in lockdown we opened up with Daniel in New York City. Today we feature two songs from Peace, in Lagos, Nigeria. She takes time reflect on family, love. Luther, and longing.  From NYC to Lagos, so, meanwhile on the other side of the Atlantic... Peace – Lagos, Nigeria “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” ― Plato  Coronavirus has put a lot of stop to a lot of things, but it did not stop us having the chance to listen to music, that would have probably made the whole experience unbearable. The inability to have normal human interactions was saved by our ability to run away using our imagination.    The Lockdown came with many problems. All travel plans all in the air, the planning for the 2020 edition of the Africa movie Academy awards left with uncertainty will the world be back to normal or not?  To be honest after the ...