Basque rapper Zekan Askalari’s latest track ‘Erantzun’ is directed by Yaser Akbari, an Afghan asylum-seeker from Iran. It was produced by Leah Rustomjee while volunteering for ReFocus Media Labs an NGO on the Greek island of Lesvos that trains asylum seekers in filmmaking, photography and journalism skills. ‘Erantzun’, is a rap song in the ancient European language of … Read more
Music is a language and languages are musical. My life has always been about that: an exploration of these two elements and how they are deeply connected and influenced by one another: music and languages perpetually coexisting in balance. I grew up in Milan, Italy, and as a child I remember constantly being exposed to … Read more
Rushing down the lane to the beach, I race in the direction of clarity; the compliment of sand and sea. We have all been there, a tractor to our right, sheep to the left and the walk, the walk to a fantasized destination. On occasion, the way is filled with hope. Other times there isn’t … Read more
The prize painting in the National Gallery of Ireland is, without a doubt, Caravaggio’s depiction of The Taking of Christ. The painter presents us with an iconic image of Judas in the act of betraying Christ with the sign of a kiss, as previously arranged with Roman legionaries, who are depicted in costumes from Caravaggio’s … Read more
We all see things with different eyes and it gets you nowhere hoping that one in a thousand will see things your way. J. L. Carr, A Month in the Country (1980). In his droll 1999 essay, ‘Reader’s Block’, Geoff Dyer describes suffering from what he calls a creeping condition whereby he finds himself staring … Read more
There’s a strangeness to singing in a language you don’t understand, akin, perhaps, to the sensation that comes with remembering, vividly, a person who has died. In both cases, you can almost touch the life recalled, even as the shadow glimpsed in that one word, “almost”, clouds your every sense. Whenever I hear a song, … Read more
Do you know the feeling of wanting to discover secrets that aren’t being spoken aloud? For a while I thought it was an esoteric way of preserving knowledge. I imagined there were savants to seek out, to turn to. And in search of traces, I became passionate about chasing and searching for the threads of … Read more
In our latest podcast Ben Pantrey interviews former musician of the month Bartholomew Ryan in Lisbon. They discuss his new album ‘Jabuti’ composed while on retreat in Brazil, just prior to the pandemic, as well as the creative process and the importance of loafing. We previously published the lyrics to Ryan’s song ‘Iguatu‘. 'the forests … Read more
I met Vladimir Putin once. Or, at least, I was in the same room as him, no more than thirty or forty feet away, for several hours. Not much further than Macron recently in Moscow. In August and September 2000, the last time Ireland was lobbying for a seat at the UN Security Council, I … Read more
Poems in the Manner of the Devil After Alexandar Ristović (1933-1994) If you can’t chew on oxtail, eat knuckles instead. The bounty of bedlam, Let these crumbs be your Thanksgiving, Or Last Suppers. Imitation is always the greatest form of flattery. See the world now through the light of wine. Do you have confidence in … Read more