Les 1G6 publient des articles à propos de la conférence musicale Mélomanes proposée par Zebrock sur le thème "Le corps dans tous ses états".

Les élèves ont notamment interviewé les deux interprètes Singe et Mystic Gordon

- Nolan. Jeanne, Gabriel, Uma

ZebRock and their conference

Hello today, we are going to tell you about a musical conference that we were able to attend.
The Zebrock association came to present us with 12 songs on the theme of the body in all states.
When we met, 2 singers from the association were present : Singe and Mystic Gordon. This association is part of a musical cultural project : Melomanes ! , which aims to bring together high school students from Île-de-France in an original way by appropriating iconic and strong songs in an original way.

Outstanding choices :

So we chose two songs from the one we were able to listen to during the concert : first "send it loud- i’m black and i’m proud" by James Brown, it is the anthem of the pride of African Americans in the midst of racial segregation. It is therefore extremely meaningful and represents a large community. Then we chose "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse. This song tells about the singer’s refusal to treat herself in the face of her drug addictions, she is also very meaningful and carries a deep message. That’s why we chose these songs : they are both songs with a strong message claiming a cause, a choice, something really important.

Questions to Singe and Mystic :

– When did you start music ?
As far as making a job out of it, you can check question 5.
I really got into it in high school. I remember really working on my guitar chops during the summer between Premiere and Terminale. At some point, I would play ten hours a day, barely stopping for earting ! I wish I had that kind of time now...
– What do you prefer between rap and classical music ?
No preference, they’re not incompatible and even less antithetical. They’re both tiny words for completely different musics : Bach doesn’t sound at all like Mozart who doesn’t sound like Debussy ; Grandmaster Flash doesn’t sound at all like Eminem who doesn’t sound like Kendrick Lamar. There are things I like and dislike in each genre.

– Are you looking for Eminem fame ?
« Looking » for it is deceiving, I think. There are things you have power on, and with wit and work I think you can achieve having a little following, doing lot of shows and having means to do satisfying music. But whether the planets are going to be aligned one day for you to become a cultural phenomenon is not in your hands, so I don’t think it’s a question. But if I have to answer it, I’d say that knowing it has its part of challenges, I’m ready for it, because my goal is to connect to the most people I can =)

Personal opinion :
We appreciated the music because each of them related to the physical and moral aspect of the human being, in other words to their qualities and faults.
We prefer the music from the beginning of the 21st century because it is more recent music that is related to today’s news.
The conference was pleasant with good music and the artists are very eloquent as they know how to explain perfectly well history to young people through music.

- Joana, Coline, Damien, Johan

Thursday, we attended a conferance organized by a project Melomanes. It’s a musical project that proposes a musical experience for all high school students in Ile-de-France.

Last Thursday two artists from ZebRock, named Singe and Mystic covered several songs at the request of the association dating from the 60s to the 2000s. They explained the story behind the music after their interpretation. For their show, they used theclassical guitar, electric guitar, and their voices. The conference was focused on one main theme.

Indeed, the theme was "the body in all its states". We learned the body is linked with music and sound because heartbeats are the first sound a child hears, Since the beginning of humanity, their singing music to convey an emotion through music, tell a story or celebrate an event.

Each song was either covered by Singe or Mystic.
At the beginning, the song was concentrated on the violence against Afro-American people. Actually it was about racial discrimination, segregation and with the most dangerous associations of people such as the Klux Klux Klan. But, fortunately the famous, Martin Luther King struggled against segregation. But many other singers like Nina Simone who was a descendant of slaves wrote a song in 1966 « Four Women » about oppression suffered by Afro-American women.

Then, they spoke about work competition, or what society expected from some women or men with « Vogue » written by a famous artist, like Madonna or « Rehab » by Amy Winehouse.
Finally they performed a poignant song written by Yseult, in 2019 which is about self-acceptance in dark times due to terrorist attacks, Brexit etc.

Now let’s interview Singe and Mystic Gordon :

– When did you start this job as a musician, singer and producer ? What does it mean to be a musician to you ?
As a musician, there’s rarely an on/off switch as far as making a living goes. That’s how it went for me, at least. It was maybe in 2015 or 2016 that I really started playing outside of my bedroom : first for free at open mics in bars in Paris, or in the subway (by the way, you need an authorization, otherwise you’ll get fined, like I did haha), then organizing little shows in bars for just a few euros or even for free ; and then at some points you start to get better-paid opportunities, and getting them more often. I’ve been able to support myself as a musician from 2019 I think.

– Do you only play the guitar, the electric guitar or can you play other instruments ? What is your favorite one(s) ?
Singing and guitar are my main instruments. I can make a sound out of pretty much anything else, but that doesn’t mean I could work as a player of those instruments in a professional context. But what’s cool about art is that it’s all about being creative : and when I produce a track, I can have fun making sounds with stuff even if it’s not the standard way of playing it.

– Singe, when did you start producing songs ? What does it mean to you to sing in front of everyone or for everyone ?
It came pretty late in my musical development, in 2021. It’s a really different process from playing on stage, even though you can link them by thinking about how it’s gonna do on stage while producing or thinking about what you wanted to achieve at the production stage when you tackle the live arrangement.
Singing on the stage : it’s my calling in life, the only place I really feel I belong. It’s a magical time and space that can bring every single individualities in the room to feel lighter and happier for a few moments.

- Zoe, Lena, Dylan, Nahel

ZebRock : Le corps dans tous ses « états »

ZebRock and their conference
ZebRock is part of “Mélomanes”, a musical cultural project which aims to invite students of île-de-France high schools to discover new songs in their historical, social and cultural dimension. This project also aims to introduce students a professional sector where they can learn how to listen and express their sensibilities in order to develop their critical mind and their creativity. This year Mélomanes proposed“Le corps dans tous ses états” (the body in all its states) that has something to do with the seniority of music.
Thousands of years ago, humanity sang, played instruments to express their emotions, to tell stories, to pace work, for weddings or even burial. Music was (and still is !) also a way to free the body and mind without carrying of what the society thinks about you.

Amy Winehouse :
“I don’t think I will become famous. I don’t think I could bear it. I would probably go crazy. You understand ? I would go crazy.”
Declared Amy Whinehouse on the release of her first album, in 2003.
Born in 1983, Amy Winehouse is a soul and rock star, known for her strong voice. The londonner is initiated to jazz by her grand-mother who used to be a cabaret singer. In 2003, only 20 years old, Amy Whinehouse released her first album called “Frank”, a surprising mix between soul and rap with the hiphop producer Salaam Remi. The album
was well acclaimed and had a really positive review in the United Kingdom.
Three years later ; in 2006, she worked on her second album with the American producer Mark Ronson. “Back to Black” became a hit, a best-seller worldwide in the first quarter of 2008 that allowed her to win 4 Grammy Awards.
But the explosive nature of the diva, her punk look with multiples tattoos and her outrageous make-up made her a perfect target for the English tabloids who bluntly evoked her addictions. Her tumultuous love life plunged her into crises, bulimia, alcoholism and substance addiction that would weaken her health.
Amy Winehouse is now at the top of her glory. The young lady multiplies concerts all around the world and starts a new european tour in june 2011 even if she doesn’t have the strength to sing. The talented woman will finally die from an overdose on the 23th of July 2011.

Nina Simone :
A true icon of black American music, Nina Simone, whose real name was Eunice Waymon, was born in 1933 in North Carolina. Coming from a descendant family of slaves, the one who would become one of the greatest voices in jazz dreamed of becoming the first black classical pianist in history. His dream was shattered by racism and segregation at work in the United States. Because of her black skin, she was denied access to the Curtis Institute in
Philadelphia, a prestigious music conservatory. The piano, she would now play in bars and clubs where she tried, successfully, singing. She never stopped singing to denounce violence and racism and became involved in the fight for civil rights in 1963. She died in 2003, in France.

Interviewing the artists…Singe and Mystic Gordon

Why did you choose these nicknames ?
I feel like I haven’t chose the name, it chose me. It’s not merely a stagename, it’s actually become my name, that’s how people call me. It’s my identity. I guess it came at a time in my life when I was lost, and it’s all about a spiritual quest of finding and embracing my true self.

How was your band created ?
The Zebrock association has this yearly project of half-lecture, half-show tour of Île-de-France high schools. They work on the structure of the project, choose the songs, and then get musicians together. Mystic has been part of the project for a while, and it’s my first year. I guess we make a pretty nice pair !

During your presentation you covered many songs from differents artists, do you also make your own songs ?
Yeah, we both do, separately. Mystic produces records for others and has his own project (Super Chaton). As far as I’m concerned, writing songs and playing them on stage is my main occupation : spreading the Monkey Word !

Our assessment :
First of, we think that the Mélomanes project is a really good initiative that will help students and young people to discover new perspectives of music and the world. This project will help young generations to express themselves better and to enlarge

- Noah, Arthur, Lisa,Lily

Zebrock : The body in all its « states »

Zebrock is an association whose aim is to convey the values of music to young people. Indeed this association allows to discover musical diversity, in particular the conference is a project of musical culture aiming at the appropriation of the songs and music genres of our everyday life. Here the theme of the conference is "the body in all these states". Two artists were present, Mystic and Singe. They showed us how music could convey emotions, make us sad or happy. So we could feel very strong the desire to move with the different rhythms, the desire to express our feelings (positive or negative) or the desire to know more about the origins of music.

Your choices of music are interesting and well chosen, all of them show a differrent criticism of society, for example, « Four women » by Nina Simone in 1966 denounces the oppression suffered by women in the United States, or « Les nageuses » by Gisèle Pape in 2021 which has particulary affected us by its strong rhythm evoking the athletes of the women’s swimming team of Germany in the 70’s. This song is a good example of the power of music that can in this case go as far as to give us the goosebumps.

Here is our interview of Singe and Mystic Gordon, the two performers :
– What kind of music did you prefer to perform and why ?
I personally prefer the songs rooted in Black American music : they’re really interesting to play with the instruments, and vocally they offer an amazing playground to express yourself, because these cultures were created by people oppressed by society but not giving up and screaming their worth and their humanity in their music.

– What was the message that you wanted to convey and why did you choose to perform to high school students ?
We want to stress how beautiful music is and the power it has. Some people think it’s not for them, and they’re wrong : anybody can express itself through music and find confort in it. Also, we realize a lot of high school students have never seen a show in their life and we want to encourage them to go out to see concerts. A lot of concert rooms are funded by public money but are unknown from the public !

We enjoyed this performance, first, because the songs were interesting and well chosen, each of them expressed themselvesin a different way. Secondly, the fact that they took the time between each music to explain to us the fight of each song. They also explained to us by which means these songs conveyed their message thanks to their rhythm. So this taught us precisely the role of music. And finally, Singe and Mystic were cool and energetic, they set a good mood and we had a good time.
Thanks for everything Zebrock and see you soon.

- Camille, Félicie, Ely, Alexandre

ZEBROCK MUSICAL CONFERENCE

– How many concerts have you performed since the beginning of your career ?
I lost count at some point, but maybe 600 ? It’s interesting to think about the difference between all those shows. Some have been in front of 2 (or zero) people, some in front of 1000. Sometimes backstage was the garbage room, sometimes I was in a Zenith...

– Why did you choose this theme dealing with the ‘body’ ?
Without body, no music, because music is born from movement. Without body, no emotion too ! Our body should not be cut off our minds, they’re actually the same thing.
It’s also interesting to question how hatred can use bodies to draw lines between people. That’s why we talk so much about racism and misogyny.

– Why did you choose these artists to represent your theme ?
Zebrock did, not us, but we think it’s perfect : there’s a good balance between American and French, old and new ! There are no artists from other parts of the world like South America, West Indies, Africa, Asia, sadly, but at some point you have to make a choice – and you also have to be able as a musician to play the songs right and that wouldn’t have been easy with these kind of music.

Friday 13th of January, we had the chance to attend the musical conference by ZebRock. It’s an association offering several musical and cultural projects like Mélomanes ! which invites high school students of Island of France to appropriate songs and other music of everyday in their historical, aesthetical, socials and cultural dimensions, all within in an original way and through meetings, workshops, conferences,…

Méomanes proposes a full musical experience theme renewed each year. This year, the subject focuses on « The body in all its states ». In fact,
music always had an important place in our lives, it is rhythmic by the heartbeats since our birth, that’s why music and body are linked. Mystic Gordon and Singe, two musicians committed in the association Zebrock, presented us this topic through songs dealing with exhaustion, suffering, effort, struggle, but also pride and acceptance of the body.

For instance, the song « Four Women » written in 1966 by Nina Simone, a jazz black American singer, report on the
oppression and racism suffered by 4 Afro-Americans women (Aunt Sarah, Saffronia, Sweet Things, Peaches) in the United-States during the segregation. In these 4 different personalities, she creates a genealogy of black women through slavery to the present. Throught these four characters who embody stereotypes, she describes her physical traits and the way she is seen and treated in society.

On the contrary, in the song Madonna, from 1990, an iconicAmerican singer in the 1980/90s, celebrates confidence, sexiness and pride of the body namely through voguing, a dance performed in New York’s gay nightlife since the 1970s, itself inspired by the poses of the models in the famous fashion magazine of the same name.

As far as I’m concerned, I enjoyed this conference because having outside speakers brings something new and different from what we are used to do in class. Thus we were able to discover songs, artists and an important theme to address in our society. I believe we are lucky to be part of this project and we look forward to continuing it.

INTERVIEW : Q&A WITH SINGE AND MYSTIC GORDON

– How many concerts have you performed since the beginning of your career ?
I lost count at some point, but maybe 600 ? It’s interesting to think about the difference between all those shows. Some have been in front of 2 (or zero) people, some in front of 1000. Sometimes backstage was the garbage room, sometimes I was in a Zenith...

– Why did you choose this theme dealing with the ‘body’ ?
Without body, no music, because music is born from movement. Without body, no emotion too ! Our body should not be cut off our minds, they’re actually the same thing.
It’s also interesting to question how hatred can use bodies to draw lines between people. That’s why we talk so much about racism and misogyny.

– Why did you choose these artists to represent your theme ?
Zebrock did, not us, but we think it’s perfect : there’s a good balance between American and French, old and new ! There are no artists from other parts of the world like South America, West Indies, Africa, Asia, sadly, but at some point you have to make a choice – and you also have to be able as a musician to play the songs right and that wouldn’t have been easy with these kind of music.