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Shams Asma is a project of Asma Ghanem, a Ramallah-based experimental sound musician and artist born and raised in Damascus. For Asma, experimental music is an ideal medium with which to express the unpredictability and contradictions of occupation in her homeland of Palestine. Summarizing her project she writes, “I began working on an experimental music project called Shams Asma, meaning both ‘Asma’s Sun’, and ‘Highest Sun’ in Arabic. I began recording different sounds – the sounds of machines, daily movements, silence, musical instruments, electronic sounds, etc, with an aim to criticize the transformation of lifestyles and the phenomenon of construction in Palestinian cities, focusing on the questions that arise around the audio-visual transformation of ugly, yet beautiful, independent yet occupied cities, as well as other contradictions.” The experience of living in Palestine during the intifada allowed Asma to draw a connection between the surprising, anxiety-producing nature of experimental sound and the uncertainty and dis-ease of occupation. “A space such as Palestine is full of influences that make one think about the very meaning of sound itself. Sound in Palestine is affected by instantaneous elements. During the Intifada, the sonic experience was terrifying. A tank moving on a street would produce the feeling of an earthquake. The sounds made by these instruments of war relied heavily on momentary experiences, which gave a feeling of unpredictability as to what would happen next. I find the state of being in Palestine very similar to experimental sound production, as the latter is not independent, but rather unstable, broken, volatile, disturbing, and quite cacophonous, not unlike the sounds of war.” What initially drew Asma to sound art was her inability to pursue musical education as a child: “My family’s inability to provide such luxuries [as music education] was a turning point for me, which prompted me to begin thinking about the production of music and its commercial aspects. It was also at that time that I started developing an interest in experimental music, and questioned not only music, but also sound in general. Full of questions and yearning to create, I soon asked myself, who is eligible to produce music? Afterwards, I began recording different sounds in my surroundings, which I found ripe for experimentation.” Asma was recently awarded a grant from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture to produce her new EP, which she describes as “an experimental music album about my own philosophy and analysis of sound and space, particularly in a space like occupied Palestine. Text is an important aspect to understanding the whole process of experimental music and the reasons behind composing music in such a way. Sound in Palestine is affected by instantaneous elements very similar to experimental sound production, as the latter is not independent, but rather unstable, broken, volatile, disturbing, and quite cacophonous, not unlike the sounds of war. My album will be a conceptual and imaginary work.”
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