When you step into the hueniverse hiding behind our grand neon sign, a home-away-from-home feeling awaits. Think: Hair spa meets your best friend’s living room. A fountain of you. A cutting-edge oasis for anyone with hair on their heads.
NeoBerlin is a top-rated hair salon in Prenzlauer Berg. A planet-affirming, hairy heaven for anyone looking to get their manes tamed, unleashed or wholly reinvented. It’s where the city’s most skilled stylists pull off not just head-turning looks—but a place to feel good.
I had the delight of voicing NeoBerlin’s unique personality with:
A good haircut starts with scissors. A great haircut starts with chemistry.
About us When we say a great haircut starts with chemistry—we’re not talking lab coats. Sure, there’s the nifty behind the scenes mixology we do to unlock your perfect hue. But most of all, it’s about the spark between you and your stylist. The formula? Simple. We alchemize your personality with our creativity and skill to envision a standout ready-to-wear look. One that graces your individuality and embraces your lifestyle. Whether you’d like to have the best shape of your hair’s natural movement revealed or are looking for a bold new style—We Neo You.
Sample: Salon
NeoBerlin is where the city’s most skilled stylists pull off not just head-turning looks but a place to feel good.
Opposite the swooping arches of U Eberswalder Straße, NeoBerlin swung open its doors in February 2007. Here, the vibrant veins of Prenzlauer Berg meet to form the art district’s striking heart. A hotbed of inspiration—where to this day we create individual hairstyles to match the ever-changing faces of Berlin. Bending the norms of what hairdressing should be, NeoBerlin is a top-rated hair salon where your transformation and haircare rituals feel safe, sumptuous and laid-back. The place you leave shining brighter than our neon sign. The place that gets you aah’s and ooh’s. The place where treating you isn’t a transaction, but an open encounter.
We welcome ALL hair types and excel in balayage, progressive and ready-to-wear hairstyles, highlights, grey blending, creative coloration, hair rejuvenation & repair and more.
Sample: Team
Sculptors, illusionists, alchemists, defiers of gravity, hairdressers – call us as you wish. Your team at Neo is all of it and more.
Here at NeoBerlin, you’re in the capable hands of a motley bunch of wildly unique, thoroughly skilled stylists and colorists with each their own tales and talents. We make sure that our salon is a joyous place where personalities and imagination are free to shine. Ours and yours. As a team, we cross-inspire and challenge each other every day and—as you’ll notice—love to goof around. So be prepared. We just might make you smile. A lot.
We speak English, Deutsch, عربي, ελληνικά, русский and французька.
Eterno cares. With modern, preventive healthcare, top-qualified medical experts and nature-inspired spaces designed for healing.
Eterno Health is a pioneering healthcare provider with locations across Germany. With a highly modern, patient-centered vision for holistic care, Eterno is reshaping healthcare and empowering healthcare practitioners to focus on what matters most: caring for their patients.
I put Eterno’s concept into words for both their target audiences: patients & healthcare professionals. After crafting their brand voice and conducting keyword research, I created all original texts for:
the English & German website (homepage, concept, departments, hubs, professionals, about us)
17 German SEO texts describing Eterno’s full medical offering
Website | Cornerstone content
Modern Healthcare
Your doctor’s visits: modern, digitalized and 100% tailored to your health needs. Experience exceptional modern medicine from your GP appointment to specialist treatment – whether you have public or private health insurance.
Moderne Gesundheit
Deine Arztbesuche: Zeitgemäß, digitalisiert und mit Weitblick auf deine ganzheitliche Gesundheit. Erlebe außergewöhnliche moderne Medizin vom Hausarzttermin bis zur fachärztlichen Behandlung – egal, ob du gesetzlich oder privat versichert bist.
From Berlin with Mindfulness.7Mind expands minds every day—with great impact. The app invites people to engage in a meditation practice, helping them relax and sleep more soundly, while leading companies use 7Mind to boost the happiness and health of their employees.
7Mind offers 7-minute single meditations as well as courses, including certified prevention courses such as “Mindfulness-Based Stress Management”, “Resilience in Dealing with Stress” and “Progressive Muscle Relaxation,” which are covered by German public health insurance.
I supported 7Mind with translating their meditation content and marketing assets from German into English, including:
Does this situation sound familiar? You’re jumping from meeting to meeting, your inbox is overflowing and your to-do list just keeps getting longer? And yet, at the end of the day, you still feel like you haven’t made any progress. We reveal how mindfulness rituals can help you lower your stress levels and increase your productivity, so you can end your workday feeling fulfilled.
Taking breaks in the form of mindfulness exercises helps you work more productively: they can improve memory and reduce stress. In this article, we show you three simple exercises you can do on the job to restore your energy and boost your productivity.
Do you ever find yourself rushing from one meeting to the next and losing sight of the task at hand? Take a break with our ‘Before a Meeting’ meditation and realign your focus before your next meeting.
Sample: 7Mind Guided meditations
Team | Asking for help (from: B2B Meditations)
Intro
Asking someone at work for help or a favour can feel intimidating or embarrassing – maybe even impossible. That’s because we often think we have to manage everything on our own, and as a result: we hit dead ends. Trying to solve things on your own has its limitations and holds back the great power of working together; it separates rather than unites individual potential. People who learn to ask for things, on the other hand, automatically connect with others – and that is ultimately the basis for good teamwork. How about you try it out?
GONG
Start by finding a comfortable, upright seated posture and straighten your back and upper body as much as feels comfortable to you. Slightly tuck in your chin towards the neck so you can really align your spine. Relax your shoulders and neck, letting go of any tension there, and rest your arms along your sides, placing your hands gently on your thighs.
…
Now, breathe in and out slowly a couple of times to find stillness, arriving in your body, and anchoring the mind in this present moment.
Breathe in – arriving…
Breathe out – finding stillness…
In – and out.
…
In – and out.
…
In – and out.
…
See if you can really become aware of your body, sitting right here, right now – and allow yourself to relax as much as possible.
Breathe in – being in the body…
Breathe out – letting go…
In – and out.
…
In – and out.
…
In – and out.
…
Now think about how you connect with your co-workers, with all the people at work. See if you can recall any encounters where you told others what you needed from them and try to remember the way you usually express your wishes.
[. . .]
Balance | Motivation (from: B2B Meditations)
Intro
Being motivated at work is often thought of in terms of being committed, of performing well and getting our tasks done. Yet this kind of drive usually follows from an external necessity – and that is only one side of the coin. What is it that really moves you? What is the most important inner drive in your life? Finding an answer to such questions can release unimagined amounts of energy – both at work and in all other areas of your life.
GONG
As always, settle into your meditation posture, finding a comfortable seat and lengthening your upper body… You can circle your shoulders and neck to loosen up a little if you like… Perhaps gently shake out your arms, wrists and hands, before letting them come to rest at your sides, with your hands relaxed on your thighs…
Notice how your buttocks are supported by the floor or the chair, how your body finds support… and breathe in and out calmly.
In – and out.
…
In – and out.
…
Now observe your body as a whole, perhaps swiftly scanning it from head to feet…
(10 sec)
Then start to follow your breathing, noticing how it creates space for your inner vitality, your aliveness…
Breathing in – being with the body…
Breathing out – noticing the space within you…
In – and out.
…
In – and out.
…
Let your attention follow your breathing…
On your inhale – see if you can feel the breath moving your lower abdomen…
And on your exhale – follow the warm air as it leaves your body again…
In – and out… (5 sec)
Perhaps you can feel a growing sense of aliveness with each breath in, how you feel ever more present and in tune with yourself by simply following your breathing…
Breathing in aliveness…
Breathing out – being fully present with yourself…
In – and out…
Now explore what moves you – deep inside, in your innermost being. What is it that makes your heart beat faster? What gives you the feeling of being entirely connected to your inner aliveness, your intrinsic drive?…
(10 sec)
Breathe in and out calmly – and observe what comes up with curiosity.
GOKOS is an indie makeup brand from Nuremberg that revolutionizes beauty in everyday life with high-quality cosmetic pens. Quick to apply, versatile and sustainably beautiful—that’s GOKOS, cosmetics to go.
The brand has its roots in the renowned Gutberlet company, which began manufacturing pens back in 1960 and has been developing color cosmetics for prominent labels such as Lancôme, Guerlain, Babor, ARTDECO and others since 1987.
I filled their website with upbeat, spirited copy in German and English, interviewed GOKOS founder Christiana De La Rosa, and contributed the texts for a press kit accompanying their first official press event.
2020, spring. The world was closing in. In the midst of a numbing pandemic sprang: A need to feel and speak. A desire for radical tenderness and generous creativity. A space to share.
It was the beginning of Phyll Magazine, an independently published online magazine.
In May 2021, we released our Issue 0 :: COURAGE. In it, FLINTA* reclaim their vulnerabilities, voices and bodies on their own terms. “Courage” gets dissected and refracted through different lenses and stories in three parts: BODY, CHOICE & MEDIUM.
TW: PHYLL Magazine ISSUE 0 features text and images related to chronic illness, fertility issues, eating disorders, racism, death threats, sexual violence, abuse and nudity.
WHO WE ARE
Phyll was founded by Verena Meyer, Sophia Volk and Mirthe van Popering: three women who united to create a place of virtual exchange. A creative space for self-expression and a safe space for people facing discrimination based on their identities.
We locate ourselves in (queer) feminism and aim to create a format that develops both the artistic and political vigor to capture intersectional nuances of feminist issues. A medium that speaks to the heart and connects; a pause and an anchor point.
Welcome to the world as we don’t know it. Welcome to Hypertopia.
STATE STUDIO • HYPERTOPIA
As part of STATE Studio Berlin‘s exhibition HYPERTOPIA, I was asked to create a spoken word piece. Inspired by the video work we are opposite like that by writer, poet and internationally exhibited artist Himali Singh Soin, I voiced questions of self- & humanhood, roots, borders, binaries, deep time and the power of storytelling.
Absolutes Gänsehautfeeling.
– Christina Hooge, Curator of HYPERTOPIA
My work was presented in video format as part of the exhibition’s Field Explorations program. The video can be accessed here. An art publication including the full piece in print is forthcoming.
HYPERTOPIA EXHIBITION
23 October – 6 December 2020 I 52° 29′ 24.482″ N 13° 21′ 34.603″ E
Now that we’re here, where are we? Still on the same planet, for sure. But forces are shifting. How did we get here? What stance should we take? What actions? And where are we heading?
“Hypertopia bridges between today and tomorrow. Powered by the vision of a collective change in consciousness, the interdisciplinary program and exhibition anticipates a post-crisis future to explore approaches for a meaningful present. With a selection of artistic positions, propositions and exploratory projects that incorporate scientific methods as well as speculative modes of thought, Hypertopia challenges hierarchies, probes ideas, and imagines scenarios for a new planetary optimism.”
“Hypertopia is neither an island nor a cloud-based never-never land. It is right where we are, in a state of suspense: a transit zone, a time-warp, a thinking space, a borderless territory of transdisciplinary inquiry into planetary futures, new forms of interspecies coexistence, and conscious collectiveness.”
FIELD EXPLORATIONS
When was the last time you saw the city as a playground to be be explored?
Hypertopia is a borderless territory. Hence, the exhibition was accompanied by a decentralized framework program. Self-guided Field Explorations took the exhibition from the gallery space into open terrain. Starting from the exhibited artworks, visitors were given basic instructions and sent out onto Berlin’s streets to gather clues for fresh momentum.
STATE Studio’s Hypertopia has closed, but the strings of narrative curated within and beyond the exhibition continue to unfurl. The exhibition as well as the accompanying Field Explorations are still accessible online: HYPERTOPIA online exhibition.
“Wir haben uns das Video mit dem gesamten STATE Team angeschaut und waren begeistert. Es ist wunder, wunderschön! Ganz toller text, schöne Stimme und absolutes Gänsehautfeeling. DANKE, DANKE, DANKE.”
– Christina Hooge, Curator and Cultural Producer at STATE Studio Berlin
Top image credit: Himali Singh Soin / Mirthe van Popering
GEIST (former: Memorado) offers a leading brain training and mindfulness program with over 10 million members worldwide. Over the course of one year, I wrote weekly meditation exercises, audio stories and talks to help listeners all around the globe unwind and take a break from daily routines, improve their sleep, and live happier, healthier lives.
Science-backed talks on meditation, mindfulness and sleep
Guided meditations and meditation exercises
Relaxing bedtime stories
I unreservedly recommend Mirthe to anyone looking for a skilled, responsive and reliable writer who goes the extra mile to deliver high quality work.
— Jana Intan Brincker, Neuroscientist and Product Manager at Geist
GEIST Sample: Meditation
Creativity meditation
(intro jingle)
Welcome to today’s session!
(3 sec pause)
We all feel stuck in a rut and uninspired from time to time. When this happens, it’s usually an energy-related problem. We direct too much energy into unhelpful thought patterns or other things that aren’t worth it, and have none left for our channels of creativity.
(3 sec pause)
In this case, cultivating an open, non-judgmental mindset with this 10 minute meditation might help you out.
(3 sec pause)
Sometimes, the best way to find inspiration is to stop looking for it; that is the paradox of creativity. It’s the moments when we go “off track”, allowing our mind to freely roam and unravel, that we experience that stroke of brilliance we were hoping for and come up with a great idea.
(3 sec pause)
It’s when we let go that things come to us.
(4 sec pause)
So, please get yourself ready by finding a cozy spot in an environment where you feel at ease.
(4 sec pause)
It doesn’t have to be completely silent, as long as you can find some peace there.
(3 sec pause)
You can choose whatever position feels comfortable for you right now; just make sure you’re well-supported.
(4 sec pause)
Before you close your eyes, please take a moment to monitor your surroundings, especially noticing any blue objects in it…
(8 sec pause)
Good. Try to keep them in mind.
(3 sec pause)
Now take a few deep breaths, in through your nose, filling your lungs with air…
(4 sec pause)
…and out through the mouth, exhaling completely.
(5 sec pause)
Let’s do that two more times… Breathing in fresh oxygen…
(4 sec pause)
and out, letting go…
(5 sec pause)
And the last time, breathing in…
(4 sec pause)
And on your next breath out, gently close your eyes.
(6 sec pause)
Now try to picture the objects in your surroundings that were red.
(6 sec pause)
How are you supposed to remember any of the red objects if you were consciously looking for blue ones before? Well, that’s the point exactly.
(3 sec pause)
As soon as we’re putting our energy into looking for something, it might very well happen that we close our eyes to everything other than the thing we expect to find.
(4 sec pause)
This often results in our finding nothing; a creative idea or brilliant solution lies in the unexpected.
(5 sec pause)
We can set the optimal conditions for our creative practice, but “being creative” isn’t something we can control.
(5 sec pause)
More than anything, creativity is a mindset.
(5 sec pause)
It’s the art of being open to what is; observing, noticing, attending to our thoughts and surroundings without judgment, without analysis. It’s unrestricted, un-opinionated attention.
(6 sec pause)
Instead of a determined hunt for inspiration, it’s a joyful, flexible and relaxed kind of wandering of the mind.
(6 sec pause)
So let’s stop looking for anything in particular, and instead expand our thinking to all the available material. Let’s train the mind to be open.
(5 sec pause)
This meditation is about noticing: bodily sensations, mood, emotions, memories, thoughts… as well as sensory phenomena like sights, sounds, smells and touch.
(3 sec pause)
It’s also about letting go of restrictive thoughts, like how difficult it is to create or come up with a solution, or doubting your abilities.
(3 sec pause)
There’s no need to get it “right”… forget the concept of perfection! Don’t judge, don’t expect, forget what you know. Just be open and notice what’s there, allowing whatever naturally arises to arise.
[. . .]
GEIST Sample: Story
The River Om
(sleep jingle)
Welcome! In this sleep session, you’ll board an old ferry that takes you over a broad river, whose ancient waters hold deep secrets.
(4 sec pause)
While crossing from one bank to the other, listening to the river’s sounds, you’ll be able to clear your mind and let the calm flow of crystalline water guide you into a pure and pleasant state of deep inner peace.
(4 sec pause)
Before we begin, please make sure your surroundings are free from distractions, so you can fully enjoy this moment of calm.
(6 sec pause)
Gently close your eyes… and allow yourself… to relax…
(6 sec pause)
Ease the tension from your muscles, and enjoy the weight of your body on the surface supporting you.
(8 sec pause)
It’s okay to let go of the past hours and days, and of past feelings and experiences now.
(4 sec pause)
The same goes for the future…
(4 sec pause)
Leave thoughts about bygone moments and thoughts about those yet to come for another time…
(3 sec pause)
Now is the time to simply… breathe…
(4 sec pause)
Now is the time to rest.
(10 sec pause)
(jungle sounds)
You’re in a lush jungle-like forest, where trees rise up high into the sky, and bird song fills the air.
(5 sec pause)
It’s late in the morning, the sun has only just risen, and between the trees, shrouds of mist hang like giant cobwebs.
(6 sec pause)
Different scents of fragrant flowers envelop you. It’s almost as if the thick, misty air has captured the forest’s sweetest scents, and is now offering them to you as a welcoming gift.
(6 sec pause)
Grateful, you take a deep breath in… (breathe in audibly with listener for 2 secs then resume speech) …inviting the lovely fragrance of the blossoms into your nostrils, your throat, your lungs, chest, and belly…
(breathe out with listener for 2 secs then resume speech) …and out…
Again, you inhale the sweet scents… (breathe in audibly with listener for 4 secs)
And exhale… (breathe out with listener for 4 secs then resume speech) …thanking the forest as you do.
(5 sec pause)
You start walking at a slow pace…
(add muffled footsteps)
(5 sec pause)
…following smells of vanilla, but with an added citrusy note…
(6 sec pause)
Then the scent of lilies, delicate, yet with a greater intensity than you’ve ever smelled them before.
(8 sec pause)
Now and again, you catch the scent of wood, and the sweet smell of raindrops…
(8 sec pause)
…of ripe fruits that some of the trees are laden with…
(8 sec pause)
and now, a hint of jasmine…
(6 sec pause)
and a peppery kind of lavender…
(6 sec pause)
You’re walking in no particular direction, simply following your senses and letting the forest’s exquisite perfumes act as your guide…
(10 sec pause)
Every now and then, you halt to listen to a bird’s song, or to touch the velvety leaves of a flower…
(fade melodious calls of a bird in and out)
(10 sec pause)
…and slowly, you wind your way along the rainforest’s natural pathways.
(15 sec pause)
After a long time of walking, you begin to notice that the light is changing.
(4 sec pause)
Through the thick canopy of leaves, thin rays of sun draw bright stripes in the humid air between the trees, and specks of light dance around your feet on the forest floor.
(4 sec pause)
Low-hanging leaves covered in dewdrops glisten in the afternoon sun, and the forest begins to sparkle all around you. It’s a truly magnificent sight.
(10 sec pause)
You come to a halt, so that you can fully savor the enchanting scene: looking around and up, you watch the moving flecks of sunlight…
(4 sec pause)
….the soft beams that filter through the canopy of leaves…
(4 sec pause)
…the different shades of green under the shimmering dew…
(5 sec pause)
Then you close your eyes and smell, once more and even more intensely, the fresh and flowery forest scents surrounding you…
(6 sec pause)
…and the fragrance of fruits, a smell so sweet that you can almost taste them…
(6 sec pause)
You focus on your sense of touch, and feel how the thick humid air coats your skin, and how an almost unnoticeably soft sigh of wind draws warm air past your cheeks…
(6 sec pause)
And you feel how the forest floor steadily presses against the soles of your feet, while you let yourself be carried away by these sensations…
(6 sec pause)
Then, you listen…
(4 sec pause)
You listen to the sounds of birds and other animals…
(5 sec pause)
…to the soft creaking of the trees…
(6 sec pause)
…to the rustling of leaves high above, and dewdrops slipping from one leaf, and falling on another underneath…
(6 sec pause)
and then you notice a different kind of sound, almost inaudibly mingling with that of leaves in the wind…
(6 sec pause)
(add very soft, distant sound of flowing water to jungle sounds)
[. . .]
GEIST Sample: Talk
The proven benefits of meditation
(intro jingle)
Hi there! You’ve probably heard this before: meditation is good for you. It’s been proven to reduce stress and improve sleep, boost day-to-day performance and mood, and empower us to live healthier, happier lives.
(2 sec pause)
If you’d like to learn more about the astounding scientifically-proven benefits of meditation, then keep listening—especially if you could do with some extra motivation to begin or keep up your meditation practice.
(3 sec pause)
In this session, I’ll talk about 7 major topics: the way meditation reduces stress and improves sleep, how it boosts your performance, its effects on mood and happiness, how it promotes lifelong health as well as fulfilling relationships, and how it makes you not just smarter, but wiser too. I’ll even share with you the secret of staying young while living longer!
(3 sec pause)
So let’s get into the details. What is meditation good for?
(3 sec pause)
(sound effect)
Less stress.
(3 sec pause)
In today’s busy and fast-paced society, a lot of people experience stress. It’s actually one of the most common reasons people try meditation.
(3 sec pause)
Stress isn’t just unpleasant: it’s bad for our mental and physical health, and a life full of stress is mostly a shorter life too.
(2 sec pause)
The good news is that a huge body of research has demonstrated immediate and long-term positive effects of meditation on our stress levels. It’s almost like an antidote to the stress of modern life—so it’s really no wonder that meditation has become so popular these days.
(3 sec pause)
One of the pleasant effects of meditation is that it helps us relax. Already in the 1970s, Dr. Herbert Benson, a Harvard physician, described what he called the “relaxation response” after studying people who meditate.
[. . .]
“Mirthe is excellent to work with – she created meditation and sleep audio sessions over the course of a year for our app, Memorado. Not only was her research into these topics consistently thorough and meticulous, she also delivered well-rounded and polished English texts on time, sometimes at a pace that many writers would have found challenging. Communication with her (in English and German, which she speaks equally fluently) was very easy, and we were quickly on the same page (as it were) about the tone and feel of the desired texts. I unreservedly recommend her to anyone looking for a skilled, responsive and reliable writer who goes the extra mile to deliver high quality work.”
Thinking of Timbuktu, an ancient city tucked between the sands of the Sahara and the Niger River, one might envision dusty roads and silent desert dunes. However, there is a distinctive sound that emanates from the Malian desert; proud and gripping, and surprisingly familiar. It is argued that Timbuktu is the birthplace of the Blues. Moreover, up until recently, the nearby town of Essakane was the site of the world-famous Festival au Désert, or‘Woodstock of the Sahara’, where nomadic communities would gather to celebrate with song, dance and poetry. Everything was to change in early 2012, as separatists seeking autonomy for Northern Mali seized control of the country’s largest northern cities, effectively splitting the nation in two. The rebels began to clash with the Islamist extremist group that initially backed their move for independence, culminating in a trail of destruction, terror and death. Violent forces envenomed every aspect of life, including music, which was buried alive and banned, in keeping with strict Shariah law.
Silencing Mali’s music meant more than killing bare sound, it meant the silencing of histories, denying the voices and lifeblood of the community. Musicians received death threats, their instruments were burned, and the majority of them fled – along with 350.000 refugees – to government controlled areas in southern Mali and to neighbouring countries. In a strange twist of fate, it was a path not dissimilar to this that would lead to the inception of the now globally acclaimed Malian band Songhoy Blues. Three of the band’s four members fled from Timbuktu to Bamako, Mali’s southern capital. They met whilst playing traditional Songhay music in a refugee camp, preserving and sharing their stories in exile and bringing the people of the torn-apart nation back together. A Bamako-based drummer joined the collective and Songhoy Blues soon hit Bamako’s clubs, gathering a large and diverse following. Today, their narrative sounds throughout the world. We spoke with lead singer Aliou Touré about the band’s formation in the midst of exile and insecurity, the unifying power of their music, and sharing their story against all odds.
“When you take music away you take the soul of the country away,” Aliou explains, over the phone. It’s why he refused to be silenced. Whilst international military forces pushed back the extremists, Songhoy Blues and fellow Malian musicians used songs as their ‘weapons’ of resistance. “We bring the music, the culture, the good energy, and we talk about the history and what’s going on,” he says. Raising their voice through music, the members of Songhoy Blues continue the legacy of the ‘griots’; traditional Songhay storytellers who transmitted history through music and poetry, and created cohesion between the Malian people. “Our story is much more important than the music we’re doing, because our music is basically coming from that story”, Aliou says, “and that story is coming from a situation we have to think about and try to make better.” Despite the tragic circumstances that led to their formation, it is the twist of fate that Aliou has chosen to focus on: “Everything happens for a reason, maybe Songhoy Blues was born just to [be able to] talk about that situation around the world.”
Their message is, above all, one of reconciliation: “After all of that bullshit happened – war, shooting – we were just wondering: what about telling people how important it is to live together, even if you are from different religions, even if you have different skin colours, even if you are from different cultures?” For the band, cultural diversity is a cause for celebration: “Every single thing in this world has been mixed by something else,” Aliou says. “Its like the curry you eat, the taste of different flavours, of spices, put together to make a better sauce – that’s how everyone needs to get together.” The band’s emphasis on unity and inclusiveness is also reflected in the rich mélange of musical influences that have gone into creating their unique sound. Their Spotify playlist of the songs that inspired their album Résistance capturessome of these flavours:fromIggy Pop – with whom Songhoy Blues collaborated on their track ‘Sahara’ – to renowned Songhay musician Toumani Diabeté, the Alabama Shakes, Fatoumata Diawara, and even Daft Punk. “We don’t have a specific influence,” Aliou explains. “It’s so mixed; a kind of cocktail. You can hear everything from rock ’n roll and blues to reggae and hip hop. That’s the way we want to make music: our music is for everybody, and through it we want to speak to all.”
Music is a crucial tool that enables them to write and share their own narrative, in all its complexity. Whether it be moving between joy and grief – or going through both at the same time – the absurdity of war, or the ability to carry on with life as normal, their music holds space for the intricacy of contrasting experience. “When people listen to our music, it seems like happy music. When they read the lyrics and [learn about] the background, it’s like, ‘Oh, this is about something sad’ – but it’s full of energy,” says Aliou. “That’s the paradox, because after everything people said about Mali, about the situation, people in Mali still have that good energy and that joy for life.” Whereas media representations of Mali maintain the image of violent and intolerable conditions, Aliou says this is far from the truth. “When you land in Bamako right now you will see that all the clubs and bars are full all the time. Everyone is partying, everyone is enjoying life like in Berlin, like anywhere in the world.” It’s like the African proverb, he adds, “One tree falling down makes more noise than the growing forest.” Instead of continual emphasis on acts of terror and division, it is the coming together of people that is needed: “The things the media talk about are not right, it’s not the real face of the country.You will see all the ethnicities – the Tuareg, Bambara, Songhay – everybody together around the music. That’s the real picture of Mali.”
It is this picture of Mali that Songhoy Blues will continue to share with unabated passion as they tour the world, dissolving cultural borders on their journey of unification. Theirs is a story of human connection and joy for life in a world threatened by violent extremism. It is a story born from the sudden silence of a desert city, that speaks to the freedom that all humans deserve. “When you are touring around the world you see problems everywhere, not just in Mali. There are terrorist attacks all over the world: London, Paris, Berlin… everywhere.” The struggle against radicalism is not a distant problem, it’s at our doorstep, and as Aliou would attest, the best way to resist is to bring people together. Wherever you are in the world, and however divisive the politics may be, people will always find a way to gather around music and around art, and to celebrate life together in peace. Today something is happening in northern Mali: a far sound is slowly rising again from the desert dust, growing louder as it travels home at last. Slowly but surely, as music returns to Timbuktu, a reborn city resumes its heartbeat.
PANTA was an independent magazine published from 2009 to 2013 that celebrated global creative culture and artivism. It featured the work of emerging artists and writers whose creative endeavors have the power to address social, political, cultural and environmental issues. Issue 13 includes interviews with queer scene photographer Pepper Levain and Aliou Touré, lead singer of Malian resistance band Songhoy Blues; a feature on the PangeaSeed Foundation, which gives voice to the ocean through art; and The Bomb, an immersive art installation that guides viewers through the strange reality of nuclear weapons today.
Mirthe van Popering 