Afropop Living Room Session: Alsarah and Brandon Terzic

Alsarah and Brandon Terzic of Alsarah & the Nubatones join us for the third Afropop Worldwide Living Room Session to perform two songs by Nubian oud master Hamza el Din, one in Nubian and one in Arabic at the Barzakh Cafe.

About the music:

Born in Khartoum and based in Brooklyn, Alsarah is a Sudanese singer, songwriter, producer and ethnomusicologist, as well as the founder and lead vocalist of Alsarah & the Nubatones. A graduate of Wesleyan University, where she studied music and ethnomusicology, she draws on Nubian and Sudanese musical traditions to create what she calls “East African retro-pop.” Through her work with the Nubatones, Alsarah explores migration, displacement and cultural exchange while bringing Arabic- and Nubian-language music to audiences around the world. The group’s recordings include Silt, Manara and Seasons of the Road.

Brandon Terzic (here on IG) is a New York-based multi-instrumentalist and composer who plays oud and ngoni with Alsarah & the Nubatones. Originally a blues guitarist, Terzic expanded his musical language through the study of jazz and extended travels in the Middle East, North Africa and West Africa, drawing inspiration from Arabic music, Senegalese griot traditions and Morocco’s Gnawa music. He has performed with artists ranging from acclaimed jazz composer Henry Threadgill to Alsarah and has also led his own world-jazz ensemble, the Xalam Project. In this Afropop Worldwide Living Room Session, Terzic’s oud accompanies Alsarah’s interpretations of two compositions by influential Nubian musician and oud master Hamza el Din.

MUSICIANS

Alsarah: Vocals

Brandon Terzic: Oud of Alsarah & the Nubatones

SET LIST

"Greetings"

“Desse Barama”

AFROPOP TEAM

Executive Producer: Sean Barlow

Producer and Host: Banning Eyre

Line Producer: Lynn Jones

Sound: Michael Jones

Cameras & Editing: Bec Stupak Diop

Song Info:

Composed by Hamza El Din
Lyrics by Mohi El Din Sharif

"Greetings" Lyrics:

لا سلام لا جواب يا اعز حبيب
ايه الاسباب عن عينى تغيب
لا سلام لا جواب يا اعز حبيب
ايه الاسباب عن عينى تغيب
كتير كتير سألت عليك رسّلت وجيت علشان الاقيك
كتير كتير سألت عليك رسّلت وجيت علشان الاقيك
يا شاغل بالي، سهر الليالي والشوق يا غالي
هم دالي الحب وفادي الشوق قلبي وهناي
كيف اراضيك انا يا مناي وين ألاقيك انا يا هناي
كيف اراضيك انا يا هناي وين ألاقيك انا يا هناي
لا سلام لا جواب يا اعز حبيب
ايه الاسباب عن عينى تغيب
لا سلام لا جواب يا اعز حبيب
ايه الاسباب عن عينى تغيب
كتير كتير سألت عليك رسّلت وجيت علشان الاقيك
كتير كتير سألت عليك رسّلت وجيت علشان الاقيك
يا شاغل بالي، سهر الليالي والشوق يا غالي
هم دالي الحب وفادي الشوق قلبي وهناي
كيف اراضيك انا يا هناي وين ألاقيك انا يا هناي
كيف اراضيك انا يا هناي كيف اراضيك انا يا هناي
كيف اراضيك انا يا مناي كيف اراضيك انا يا هناي
وين ألاقيك انا يا هناي كيف اراضيك انا يا هناي

Translation:

No greeting, no answer, my dearest love
Why have you disappeared from my sight?

No greeting, no answer, my dearest love
Why have you disappeared from my sight?

So many times I asked about you
I sent word and came looking, hoping to find you

So many times I asked about you
I sent word and came looking, hoping to find you

You occupy my thoughts
You keep me awake through the nights
And the longing, my dear,
Love has brought me sorrow
And yearning has consumed my heart and happiness

How can I make things right with you, my heart’s desire?
Where can I find you, my happiness?

How can I make things right with you, my happiness?
Where can I find you, my happiness?

No greeting, no answer, my dearest love
Why have you disappeared from my sight?

No greeting, no answer, my dearest love
Why have you disappeared from my sight?

So many times I asked about you
I sent word and came looking, hoping to find you

So many times I asked about you
I sent word and came looking, hoping to find you

You occupy my thoughts
You keep me awake through the nights
And the longing, my dear,
Love has brought me sorrow
And yearning has consumed my heart and happiness

How can I make things right with you, my happiness?
Where can I find you, my happiness?

How can I make things right with you, my happiness?
How can I make things right with you, my happiness?

How can I make things right with you, my heart’s desire?
How can I make things right with you, my happiness?

Where can I find you, my happiness?
How can I make things right with you, my happiness?

"Desse Barama" Lyrics:

desse desse barama indounia chidamastodsemadessi hilalkonihu sadjigiafitod
nayligo nayjiumo
ohun mingay minamingay
hayoun totaon dounia mastod
dessi oyho des sitar
tandji kayho agintar
gigikachor tenorke
gachadjougour igekey
noran ikah selimosa
dengilondafa dounia lonkouda djia gachey
hayoun tota dounia mastod
baharingar ratawatigos
dounia gouran disouda ygos
asir mekesere
obolynkel sigirilla
baharintibidanel
okigolera iyo ya salam
tangigokera iyo ya salam
firigaraga iyo ya salam

Translation:

Desse Barama (Peace)

The world glows all around me,
bright as the moon
and blossoming like a rose.
A gentle blessing moves
through everything that lives.

How beautiful life is.
I wonder at those
who cannot love this world.

You, my beloved, are beautiful,
and your beauty endures,
like the beautiful dream of peace,
forever and beyond time.

Reject war and destruction.

Go down to the riverbank
as the evening sun begins to set.
The water ripples quietly,
and far away in the twilight
white sails come into view.

From across the river
the boatman’s song drifts toward you:

“Today there is no suffering,
no suffering.”

The world glows all around me,
bright as the moon
and blossoming like a rose.

Oh, peace.
Oh, peace.
Oh, peace.