This season, programmer Jaïr and the new resident artist Haroun Iqbal will be engaging in a dialogue – in the form of letters. They will be asking each other questions about music, their practice and the world around them, in a constant back-and-forth. A dialogue that unfolds gradually over the course of the year.
Hey Haroun,
We’re so happy to welcome you as our new resident artist! We thought it would be nice for our audience to get to know you a little through this public exchange. Please allow me to take a meandering, free-associative approach here.
The first time we spoke was with my former colleague Benny Claeysier from the Bruges-based label W.E.R.F. Records, on the sunny terrace of VierNulVier—remember? What struck me even then was that our conversations often go far beyond the simple question: how to get gigs? That connection between music and society is something I suspect you have a deep, natural interest in. What power does music hold in an overwhelmingly visual age, in which, moreover, every form of focus and attention is “target number one” for the interests behind the smartphone and social media industries?
Your artistic journey, in which artificial boundaries between classical, jazz, and “world” music no longer seem to exist, is something we discuss almost daily here at Ha Concerts. On the one hand, the current digital age is, of course, a veritable cornucopia for the adventurous music lover. Whereas in the 1990s I still needed specialized magazines, stores, and labels, nowadays virtually every organized sound in the world is accessible 24/7—including previously unreachable niches.
At the same time, there is plenty of reason for skepticism. It sometimes seems as though the interesting middle ground in music has disappeared. That should come as no surprise when you read how Spotify and YouTube’s algorithms are designed to steer “general taste” toward the mainstream. Music sometimes seems to rival tap water in value: it’s always there, everywhere, and it seems free. I need not emphasize here what lies behind this neoliberal economy in terms of growing inequality.
Music as an art form extends far broader and deeper than the concepts the music industry imposes on it. At the same time, we at Ha feel a great responsibility to use our monumental, historic building for its intended purpose: as the perfect common ground for people who don’t necessarily belong to a single niche and who enjoy being surprised. Reaching an audience for musical adventure, in a brick-and-mortar concert hall that operates seasonally, is just as important as it is a massive challenge in an era of festivals with a clear annual climax.
I know that, in addition to Indian and jazz music, you’ve also become quite the expert on West African griot music. Let me conclude this first letter with—as the epistolary form allows—three questions. I’m very curious to hear your thoughts on the evening when the Malian n’goni virtuoso Bassekou Kouyaté was our guest here and you performed the opening act. What do you think is the secret behind the appeal of that griot tradition?
Best regards,
Jaïr
Read Haroun's reply to Jaïr's letter:
#Stories
