turn your photo into a caricature | Ahmad Massad | جوكر اليوتيوب العربي أحمد مساد
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Gig Review: Massad - Neck Of The Woods [14/06/19]
After being abroad for around 5 years, Pop artist, Massad, headed to Neck Of The Woods on Friday for his first Auckland gig in quite some time! He was accompanied by the incredible Auckland based artist, Geoff Ong and the stunning Indyah. The night was full of Pop goodness and overwhelmingly good talent from all three artists. It was the perfect night to welcome Massad back to New Zealand shores.
Indie Pop artist, Geoff Ong kicked off the night with his mesmerizing lyrics and smooth pop melodies. This Auckland artist introduced his set with some sweet sounds including 2018 single, Fingerprints, “This next song is one called Fingerprints. It’s really special to me because I wrote this in July last year and it made it to Number 3 in the New Zealand charts, which is a total dream come true!” During this tune Geoff compelled the crowd with his insanely good falsetto while killing it on his electric guitar. The crowd were grooving and clapping along to the beat throughout the entirety of his set, Geoff mentioned it was “good to see the fun-ness reciprocated” before he introduced his next song, All Our Hours. The lyrics outlined the themes of expectations so eloquently. “This next song is about living life as a young person in today’s day and age. Society is so prescriptive of how we should spend our days and fuck that!” I thought it was great that he addressed the idea that “wasting time” shouldn’t make us feel bad. A lot of us feel the need to be creating and working consistently, but it is just as important to take the time to breathe and relax!
The next song Geoff shared was titled, The Last Song I’ll Ever Write About You, from his 2015 EP, The Boston. It was about how hard it is to get out of a funk, “I kept writing about the same person every time I tried to write a song even though I broke up with them ages ago.” It was an honest track that most likely resonated with a lot of friends and fans in the room. The way Geoff interacted with the crowd was really great to see, near the end of his set, the venue lit up with the crowds phone lights as Geoff got everyone singing along to his track, How Long, Boston. It was so lovely to see such high energy during an opening act. Geoff best describes his music as “Pop music for dorks” as he “never felt like I was cool enough to relate to the people performing Pop music. I figure there must be people out there who feel the same way - my music is for them.” If you’re into artists like half•alive and Two Door Cinema Club be sure to give some of Geoff Ong’s music a listen on Spotify or YouTube.
Indyah graced the stage next with her powerful vocals and was accompanied by some sweet Acoustic melodies from guitarist, Joe. Indyah has grown so much over the past few years as she moved from Nelson to Auckland in 2018 to begin Artist Development with Parachute Music. She released her debut single earlier this May and we are already looking forward to hear next release! As Indyah belted her raspy vocals and smooth pitch shifts, she reminded me of artists like Maggie Lindemann or Sasha Sloan. Her set was very intimate as Indyah sat under a spotlight on a stool - in classic singer songwriter fashion, sharing honest lyrics and stories with the crowd. It was great to see such soul and strong musicianship from such a new artist.
She really has the whole package and it will be incredible seeing what exciting releases and tours Indyah gets up to over the next few years. During the start of her set Indyah introduced her track, Blue, as “The saddest song I’ve written” It was such an incredible song that almost reminded me of a 90’s pop ballad. There was a perfect balance of slower tunes and upbeat tempos as her next track was called, That Night, which was written with some of her friends that had made it to the show. Closing off her set, Indyah, shared her debut single with the crowd “This song is the first single that I put out and I am really excited to play this one. It’s called Truth Or Dare”. This was my first time checking out Indyah and definitely not the last!
The lights dimmed and the crowd roared as soon as Massad hit the stage for his set. A warm spotlight shone through the crowd as Massad began his set with a 12 string acoustic guitar. “It’s been a long time! It is so nice to be back here singing. I’ve been living in London for a while but I’ve got a bunch of new songs for you!” He treated the crowd to a new track, Made To Break. This song outlined the struggles of keeping contact with someone as responses fade and communication subsides. This was my first time hearing Massad live and it was incredible to hear the control in his voice as he shared new stories with dedicated fans and family in the crowd. His next track was called Tainted Love, the falsettos throughout this song reminded me of artists like Jeff Buckley and Tracy Chapman. Sharing new songs must be nerve wracking sometimes, but it was lovely to hear the stories behind each track. Massad introduced the following track, which will soon be titled something along the lines of Primrose Hill or Flow. “My bestie in London, Tanya and I wrote this song together. It’s about this place in London called Primrose Hill. People go there for picnics and sit there in their togs even though there are no beaches there. It’s like that togs, undies ad, but in real life. We wrote this song there on a lovely day during Easter and we have been playing it at shows in London together.”
The crowd were super hyped when Massad headed towards the keys to play some older tracks like Tear My Heart Out, My Heart Won’t Let You Go and The Whistle Song. First up was Tear My Heart Out. It had been 6 years since Massad had played the track but the crowd comforted him as they sang along to every word. Massad’s Nan was in the front row along with his sister and friend, Erin. He dedicated one of the new tracks, Who I am, to his Nan as it was her birthday. Shortly after the song, the crowd were all a part of the classic, Happy Birthday, sing-along which was super wholesome. We were taken on a journey throughout the entirety of Massad’s set as he performed songs that were written when he was 14 through to new tracks that were written over the past few years. It was great to hear the development in his music! “The next song, Let’s Not Pretend, I wrote with one of my favourite people, Lizzie Marvelly. We wrote this song when I was 18. I don’t remember being able to relate to it at that point but it’s cool now because I understand the lyrics a lot more.” Throughout his set, the crowd kept suggesting one of his oldest tracks, Girl Next Door, which was released in 2013. It was super sweet hearing the crowd take over the track and sing along with Massad. Before ending his set with new track, Space, Massad excited the crowd by mentioning when his new music might be released, “I think on the 9th of August I have a new single coming out! After travelling I have loads of new stories to share. I wrote 2 albums and am going to the studio soon! If you’re young or in your twenties just go out and live and make new stories for yourself!” A crowd member even shouted “And if you’re 36! Go out and live!” It was such a motivating and positive note to end his set on which I always appreciate.
This was my first time hearing Massad, Geoff Ong and Indyah live and they were all so captivating. I loved the range of personality and crowd interaction as each set was personalised to the artist. Geoff Ong opened the night with his soulful solo set and lit up the venue with sparkling phone lights while Indyah was a complete powerhouse and shook the stage with her strong vocals. Massad was welcomed back to New Zealand with such high energy and shared a lot of honesty and positivity with the crowd. It was great to hear the new material and stories he had to share with friends, fans and family that attended. It is always a good time checking out the incredibly talented musicians NZ has to offer! If you didn’t make it to Fridays show at Neck Of The Woods then be sure to have a listen to these amazing artists when you get a chance and keep an eye out for Massad’s new music this August.
PHOTOS
Massad | Indyah | Geoff Ong
Massad
Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Youtube
Indyah
Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Youtube
Geoff Ong
Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Youtube
Photographs by Mandie Hailwood
Review by Helena Barnett
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Asumo que la gente no le caigo bien, por eso que no habló con nadie a menos que se acerquen a mi primero. No puedo ser parte de la multitud porque siempre tengo la sensación de que no pertenesco a ningún lugar.
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Abriendo los ojos?
La vida es una estupidez, digo…que objeto tiene? Realizas cosas que te hacen sentir bien okay…vez lugares que quieres conocer…pero a veces no…hay vidas que están de más, personas que solo son un robot, hay personas que se pierden en el camino, caen con la sociedad maldita que los hace cambiar de pensamiento…no quiero llegar a eso, creo haber vivido ya una buena vida, me enamoré, sufrí, perdí, gané, tuve amigos, deje huella, y aún soy auténtica, pero no por mucho…
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Wilbur Robinson - 19 - Dark Magic - Massad
Unaware of his abilities, Wilbur thought he was a regular kid. At least as regular as a kid could be with a billionaire inventor parent and a huge family with just about the greatest dynamic of love and loyalty. The only problem was that his family lived in the future and Wilbur was stuck in the past, or the present, depending on what end of the spectrum of time one looked from.
Wilbur had just been messing around with this old car that his father had as a kid, unaware that it was from a time even further back. Something sparked Wilbur’s powers and he was taken back to today’s time with no idea how to get back.
Settled now in Bayard, Wilbur has only the car his father is supposed to bring to the future. He’s hoping to meet his father at some point and figure out what’s going on with this whole magic? Science? Wilbur’s very confused as of now, but comes off as cocky and confident. He’s very smart and maybe he could explain this bio as it’s confusing enough without trying to explain more about his past? Future? Present? The important part is that he’s in the past, his father is also in the past, but they’re different pasts and they’re the same age and Wilbur doesn’t know how to get home and isn’t risking being grounded to seek out his father and ask - too much Robinson pride.
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Oh still love this song it maybe just under 3 years since it came out but it’s still so amazing #MASSAD #JAMIECURRY #GIRLNEXTDOOR ❤️💋🙈
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Week 11
According to Joseph Massad, how do US military and political interests in North Africa and the Middle East impact discussions of sexual rights?
The U.S. has a very irritating tendency to force other countries to conform to our “standard” of “civility” and human rights. Rather than actually taking time to learn about how different countries and cultures view things differently the U.S. tends to push our standards onto others. Massad mentions this when he refers to the U.S. labelling certain sexual activities as “homosexual” which instantly places our idea and definition of what constitutes homosexuality on the Middle East while that definition may not actually fit. Massad’s article also reminded me of all of the articles I’ve seen online sensationalizing the “horror” of “female genital mutilation” that have been circulating. This is seen as “barbaric” and women are seen as having no agency or rights because of it. However, in the U.S. male circumcision is regularly performed with little thought, and these procedures both involve removing part of a person’s genitalia. One is seen as horrible and barbaric while the other is seen as normal and even beneficial. There is this image perpetuated through U.S. media that paints Muslim countries as those where women have no agency, where “the sexual privileges allowed to men are largely at the expense of women.” (p. 165), and where queer individuals have no rights. The converse to this is that often Middle Eastern countries are painted as a gay paradise where wealthy, white, gay men can go and have sex without consequences with the ready and willing Arab men. Overall, the main problem I see with all of this and that Massad touched on is that the U.S. pushes their agenda, definitions and views onto other countries like the Middle East without thought about that country’s specific culture, values and practices.
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Week 11
According to Joseph Massad, how do US military and political interests in North Africa and the Middle East impact discussions of sexual rights?
I’ll start with a quote from one of Massad’s many footnote rants - “What … the Gay International seem deliberately to refuse to understand is that opposition to their imposition of sexual identities and epistemologies is based on this violence that they perpetuate on the very subjects they seek to liberate, and not on nativist claims of authenticity and foreignness.”
Massad says that, in imposing Western conceptualizations of sexuality as essential to identity, the Gay International is actually placing limits on sexuality - placing acts into strict categories and forcing people to adhere to the terms of these categories. The Western binary is heterosexual, monosexual and essentialist. LGBTQIA categories that have gained ground in the US are largely extensions of this binary - probably I’d say with the exception of queer and genderqueer as deliberate sociopolitical identities.
The Gay International pressure and presence in North Africa and Muslim communities in the Arab world disproportionately harms rural and poorer people who engage in same sex contact. It does this by forcing their partners (Massad refers to them in the GI’s term “active”) to choose between straight or gay and by imposing a gay identity on them - without a choice. “Gay” as a sociopolitical identity is what the police oppose, not the act of same sex contact. But time and time again Massad shows how the Gay International ignores this and positions the Arab world as anti-gay.
Language is another area of violence Massad talks about. The knowledge produced about “gays” in the Arab world is by Western authors with little to no grasp of Arabic language, culture or religion. Yet these authors cherry pick words to attempt to “translate” - incorrectly most of the time - or interpret as defending their imperialistic, missionary efforts to “liberate the Arab gays.”
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In contrast with Muslim and non- Muslim personal status laws in Arab countries, the sexism of European liberal laws that pervades European societies and their former Muslim colonies does not seem to indict European cultures with misogyny, patriarchy, sexism, and related liberal failures. Arab culture, however, is immediately condemned for these very same liberal failures
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The Orientalist discourse of the absence of civil society in islam was thus a reflection of basic political anxieties about the state of political freedom in the West. in this sense the problem of Orientalism was not the Orient but the Occident. These problems and anxieties were consequently transformed [sic] onto the Orient which became, not a representation of the east, but a caricature of the West. Oriental Despotism was simply Western monarchy writ large.
