Newly announced for WDCD Live Amsterdam 2016 (30 June-1 July): musician, DJ and multimedia artist Hatim Belyamani aka officerfishdumplings, who started the project REMIX ←→ CULTURE in 2012. This beautiful project takes traditional music culture from across the globe to the current dance scene.
‘On the one hand we want to celebrate the musical traditions that have deep roots and are superrich. So we produce these videos of the unadulterated songs. And on the other hand we want to create a harmonious link between this rich past and the future,’ says Hatim Belyamani about REMIX ←→ CULTURE.
REMIX ←→ CULTURE is a non-profit artist collective creating new links between traditional music from around the world and digital remix art. The project began in Belyamani’s native Morocco, a land uniquely rich in melodies and rhythms of diverse origins and influences. Here he had traditional music groups shot and recorded with with multiple microphones and cameras. At home in San Fransisco Belyamani and other remix artists used the footage to create new remixes.
EL MAC-INA
To enable non-professionals to create such audiovisual remixes, Belyamani also created EL MAC-INA (which translates to “the machine”), a video remixing platform that is operated by pressing buttons and moving knobs and faders. All of the sounds and images contained therein are derived from traditional music recordings and footage captured during the collective’s trips. EL MAC-INA has been programmed to automatically synchronize all of its loops, even as the user changes the overall tempo, and applies effects, thus making it easy for the user to have fun and create something unique.
Classical pianist
Growing up in Morocco, Belyamani began as a classically trained pianist, winning national and international awards. As an adolescent, he focused more on jazz, improvisation, and taught himself guitar. He attended Harvard University, where he filled his electives with music courses, ranging from music theory and history to composition, jazz performance, and ethnomusicology. Since Harvard, he has produced and performed in many solo and collaborative music projects under the moniker “officerfishdumplings”, performing in numerous venues around the world, notably San Francisco, NY, Berlin, and Casablanca.
Aha Ayeh
Top video: ‘Aha Ayeh’ a remix by officerfishdumplings of traditional songs recorded and filmed by the remix ←→ culture collective in Morocco. The traditional artists sampled in this remix are:
Ferqa AHwach Agdz
Ferqat Deqat Assif ou Aqellaal men Tamegroute el Markez
Mâallem Abdelkader Amlil
Majmouâa Brahim Fadel
Majmouâa Khmaas
Mourad Belouadi
Symphonie Lahcen Idhamou
Evening concert at WDCD2016
After his talk on main stage, officerfishdumplings will join Dakka Chrafoo for a special evening concert at the Muziekgebouw Aan ‘t Ij. This performance is free for all WDCD2016 visitors! More info here.