Category: Blog

Water Archives – Conservation Music

Posted on by admin

A Harmonious Resistance Creates Global Solidarity for Standing Rock

Mar 5, 2017 | Blog

A Harmonious Resistance

For more than a year, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has been at war with natural gas’s close comrade, Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), over the development of the controversial $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline, which has frequently been referred to as “DAPL.” (Many resistance members call it “the Black Snake.”) The approved project designs developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and supported by the U.S. Government, have allowed ETP to push all the way through the state of North Dakota down to the edge of the Missouri River.  

Despite their clear-cut plans, an unanticipated tribe of Native Americans sparked a spiritual resistance residing within the Sacred Stone and Oceti Sakowin campgrounds. The movement gained public attention and increased energy due to the high risk of a pipeline burst. If a leak were to occur, it could then contaminate drinking water for millions of people. As you can see, no longer was this just a local issue, environmental and human rights activists filed in from all over the world calling themselves the “Water Protectors.”

Weapons of Peace

As tensions began to rise, support on both sides developed further and further. Tens of thousands of people joined the camps in solidarity of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, while police departments from surrounding states joined forces and ramped up their control tactics. With little physical chance against the onslaught of high-powered water hoses, rubber bullets, tear gas, and sound cannons, the water protectors decided to fight back through strong beliefs in the ability of music, dance and prayer to call on spiritual support. In many Native American cultures, it is commonly believed that their music has been passed down from the time of creation and has carried on many spirits of its past. Through playing this music the tribes trusted that they were able to connect with these spirits and call on them for support in a time of need. Supported by the power of the people, they began using music to call in assistance from all realms of existence.

The strumming chords, beating drums and singing loud voices vibrated through the mountains, valleys and rivers, activating a new beat in the hearts of thousands around the world. Peaceful protests and rallies sparked like a raging wildfire. At one point, herds of wild buffalo serendipitously stormed the fields during a tense period between police and protesters. Writers, photographers, videographers, actors and musicians were flocking in to support and contribute their efforts towards fighting the well-oiled DAPL machine. They played at benefit concerts, posted YouTube videos and created hashtags such as #WaterIsLife and #DefendTheSacred in order to stimulate a global movement.

Conservation Music was able to sit down with Max Ribner, an avid water protector and brass musician for the massively popular band Nahko and Medicine for the People, to speak on the power of music at Standing Rock. While travelling around the world, Max speaks to music venues, audiences and local communities on the importance of clean water and the “ripple effect” that they can create by “looking at their water locally, their local Standing Rock.” He believes that art, especially music, is very pivotal in relaying a message and inspiring others because “the sounds and tones take people to a different dimension, by binding them together and allowing them to look past the spectrums of diversity.”

Max strongly feels that the movement did not end at Standing Rock, and that “the water issue is not at one place, it is in thousands of places that need to be protected in this country, and outside of this country.” He trusts that “music has a way to weave, and that weaving basically creates a spark in someone’s body or their consciousness to actually do something.”

Another iconic musician that was involved with, and unexpectedly visited, Standing Rock was Dave Matthews. He had been assigned a visit to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s school as part of an Obama-administration program, and as he said, “I was just somebody who wanted to use some of my strength as an artist to inspire some kids, that proximity [to the pipeline] was completely coincidental (Greene, 2016.) After witnessing peaceful protestors experiencing intense resistance from the police forces, Dave knew he had to be a voice for the voiceless. He did just that by organizing a benefit concert, in which all of the proceeds went towards supporting the efforts of resistance throughout the brutal winter. It was through these peaceful tactics and a global showing of solidarity, that the water protectors were able to remain strong against the unlikely odds.

The Final Setback

Shortly after the Presidential Inauguration, President Trump signed the documents that the USACE needed in order to advance the review and approval process for the section of DAPL that has yet to be built. After issuing a final evacuation date of February 22nd, the camps were raided by armed forces and any remaining campers were arrested. Despite the outcome, the water protectors have counted this one as a victory. The battle at Standing Rock is being viewed as the beginning to a global movement of standing up for clean water and indigenous rights. Communities around the globe are prepared to ride this wave by continuing the fight through financial and legal approaches. Many individuals have already divested from banks that are invested in the pipeline, in order to “gut the snake.” This tactic has been mimicked at a larger scale by several cities divesting from these banks as well. Musicians, such as Nahko Bear of Medicine for the People and Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas, are also remaining involved by creating songs dedicated towards raising awareness. The #NoDAPL movement has climbed many mountains in order to inspire and awaken millions of people towards fighting for what is right. A wave of renewal and awakening is spreading, creating space for the teachers, musicians, writers, artists and activists to rise and make a difference.

RT if you believe in the power of music to #StandUpforStandingRock ! #WaterIsLife #NoDAPL @ConservationMusic http://on.natgeo.com/2mSnUhF
Tweet this

 

This post was written by Charles Ross for Conservation Music.

About Conservation Music

Our Musical Nonprofit For Conservation
of Conservation Music

Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin

info@conservationmusic.org

Conservation Music is on a mission to produce and promote musical media that educates listeners and viewers in conservation and sustainability, with an emphasis on rural developing communities, and to serve as a platform for similar efforts. Currently, the organization primarily collaborates with musicians throughout Southern Africa, catalyzing songs in local genres and local languages regarding local conservation issues in countries like Lesotho, Botswana, Angola, and more.

About the Editor

Alex Paullin

of Conservation Music

Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin

info@conservationmusic.org

After years of soul-searching and months in the African wilderness with the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, musician and geographer Alex Paullin combined his foremost passions and founded Conservation Music, a non-profit aiming to foster a global culture of sustainability using music as the messenger. Throughout his life he aims to expand the Conservation Music movement globally, in hopes that his lifetime will see and hear songs of conservation being sung throughout the world.

 

 

 

Sources:

Chappell, B. (2017, February 09). Tribe Reportedly Files Legal Challenge To Dakota Access Pipeline. Retrieved March 03, 2017, from http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/09/514317352/tribe-reportedly-files-legal-challenge-to-dakota-access-pipeline

Donnella, L. (2017, January 25). Dakota Access Pipeline Foes: We Aren’t Done Fighting Yet. Retrieved March 03, 2017, from http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/01/25/511476889/dakota-access-pipeline-foes-we-arent-done-fighting-yet

Hersher, R. (2017, January 24). Trump’s Move On Keystone XL, Dakota Access Outrages Activists. Retrieved March 04, 2017, from http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/24/511411653/trumps-move-on-keystone-xl-dakota-access-outrages-activists

Greene, A. (2016, November 17). How Musicians Are Joining Fight at Standing Rock. Retrieved March 04, 2017, from http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/how-musicians-are-aiding-standing-rock-protests-w450699

Levine, V. L. (2014, January 31). Native American music. Retrieved March 04, 2017, from https://www.britannica.com/art/Native-American-music

Imagery:

Photo 1: Taken by Charles Ross

Photo 2: Stands with Standing Rock! Peaceful March & Rally Seattle, WA. Taken by John Duffy is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Photo 3: Provided by Max Ribner

Photo 4: Taken by Avery White, Uploaded by Paul Weaver. Source. 

Activism Archives – Conservation Music

Posted on by admin

A Harmonious Resistance Creates Global Solidarity for Standing Rock

Mar 5, 2017 | Blog

A Harmonious Resistance

For more than a year, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has been at war with natural gas’s close comrade, Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), over the development of the controversial $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline, which has frequently been referred to as “DAPL.” (Many resistance members call it “the Black Snake.”) The approved project designs developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and supported by the U.S. Government, have allowed ETP to push all the way through the state of North Dakota down to the edge of the Missouri River.  

Despite their clear-cut plans, an unanticipated tribe of Native Americans sparked a spiritual resistance residing within the Sacred Stone and Oceti Sakowin campgrounds. The movement gained public attention and increased energy due to the high risk of a pipeline burst. If a leak were to occur, it could then contaminate drinking water for millions of people. As you can see, no longer was this just a local issue, environmental and human rights activists filed in from all over the world calling themselves the “Water Protectors.”

Weapons of Peace

As tensions began to rise, support on both sides developed further and further. Tens of thousands of people joined the camps in solidarity of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, while police departments from surrounding states joined forces and ramped up their control tactics. With little physical chance against the onslaught of high-powered water hoses, rubber bullets, tear gas, and sound cannons, the water protectors decided to fight back through strong beliefs in the ability of music, dance and prayer to call on spiritual support. In many Native American cultures, it is commonly believed that their music has been passed down from the time of creation and has carried on many spirits of its past. Through playing this music the tribes trusted that they were able to connect with these spirits and call on them for support in a time of need. Supported by the power of the people, they began using music to call in assistance from all realms of existence.

The strumming chords, beating drums and singing loud voices vibrated through the mountains, valleys and rivers, activating a new beat in the hearts of thousands around the world. Peaceful protests and rallies sparked like a raging wildfire. At one point, herds of wild buffalo serendipitously stormed the fields during a tense period between police and protesters. Writers, photographers, videographers, actors and musicians were flocking in to support and contribute their efforts towards fighting the well-oiled DAPL machine. They played at benefit concerts, posted YouTube videos and created hashtags such as #WaterIsLife and #DefendTheSacred in order to stimulate a global movement.

Conservation Music was able to sit down with Max Ribner, an avid water protector and brass musician for the massively popular band Nahko and Medicine for the People, to speak on the power of music at Standing Rock. While travelling around the world, Max speaks to music venues, audiences and local communities on the importance of clean water and the “ripple effect” that they can create by “looking at their water locally, their local Standing Rock.” He believes that art, especially music, is very pivotal in relaying a message and inspiring others because “the sounds and tones take people to a different dimension, by binding them together and allowing them to look past the spectrums of diversity.”

Max strongly feels that the movement did not end at Standing Rock, and that “the water issue is not at one place, it is in thousands of places that need to be protected in this country, and outside of this country.” He trusts that “music has a way to weave, and that weaving basically creates a spark in someone’s body or their consciousness to actually do something.”

Another iconic musician that was involved with, and unexpectedly visited, Standing Rock was Dave Matthews. He had been assigned a visit to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s school as part of an Obama-administration program, and as he said, “I was just somebody who wanted to use some of my strength as an artist to inspire some kids, that proximity [to the pipeline] was completely coincidental (Greene, 2016.) After witnessing peaceful protestors experiencing intense resistance from the police forces, Dave knew he had to be a voice for the voiceless. He did just that by organizing a benefit concert, in which all of the proceeds went towards supporting the efforts of resistance throughout the brutal winter. It was through these peaceful tactics and a global showing of solidarity, that the water protectors were able to remain strong against the unlikely odds.

The Final Setback

Shortly after the Presidential Inauguration, President Trump signed the documents that the USACE needed in order to advance the review and approval process for the section of DAPL that has yet to be built. After issuing a final evacuation date of February 22nd, the camps were raided by armed forces and any remaining campers were arrested. Despite the outcome, the water protectors have counted this one as a victory. The battle at Standing Rock is being viewed as the beginning to a global movement of standing up for clean water and indigenous rights. Communities around the globe are prepared to ride this wave by continuing the fight through financial and legal approaches. Many individuals have already divested from banks that are invested in the pipeline, in order to “gut the snake.” This tactic has been mimicked at a larger scale by several cities divesting from these banks as well. Musicians, such as Nahko Bear of Medicine for the People and Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas, are also remaining involved by creating songs dedicated towards raising awareness. The #NoDAPL movement has climbed many mountains in order to inspire and awaken millions of people towards fighting for what is right. A wave of renewal and awakening is spreading, creating space for the teachers, musicians, writers, artists and activists to rise and make a difference.

RT if you believe in the power of music to #StandUpforStandingRock ! #WaterIsLife #NoDAPL @ConservationMusic http://on.natgeo.com/2mSnUhF
Tweet this

 

This post was written by Charles Ross for Conservation Music.

About Conservation Music

Our Musical Nonprofit For Conservation
of Conservation Music

Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin

info@conservationmusic.org

Conservation Music is on a mission to produce and promote musical media that educates listeners and viewers in conservation and sustainability, with an emphasis on rural developing communities, and to serve as a platform for similar efforts. Currently, the organization primarily collaborates with musicians throughout Southern Africa, catalyzing songs in local genres and local languages regarding local conservation issues in countries like Lesotho, Botswana, Angola, and more.

About the Editor

Alex Paullin

of Conservation Music

Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin

info@conservationmusic.org

After years of soul-searching and months in the African wilderness with the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, musician and geographer Alex Paullin combined his foremost passions and founded Conservation Music, a non-profit aiming to foster a global culture of sustainability using music as the messenger. Throughout his life he aims to expand the Conservation Music movement globally, in hopes that his lifetime will see and hear songs of conservation being sung throughout the world.

 

 

 

Sources:

Chappell, B. (2017, February 09). Tribe Reportedly Files Legal Challenge To Dakota Access Pipeline. Retrieved March 03, 2017, from http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/09/514317352/tribe-reportedly-files-legal-challenge-to-dakota-access-pipeline

Donnella, L. (2017, January 25). Dakota Access Pipeline Foes: We Aren’t Done Fighting Yet. Retrieved March 03, 2017, from http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/01/25/511476889/dakota-access-pipeline-foes-we-arent-done-fighting-yet

Hersher, R. (2017, January 24). Trump’s Move On Keystone XL, Dakota Access Outrages Activists. Retrieved March 04, 2017, from http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/24/511411653/trumps-move-on-keystone-xl-dakota-access-outrages-activists

Greene, A. (2016, November 17). How Musicians Are Joining Fight at Standing Rock. Retrieved March 04, 2017, from http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/how-musicians-are-aiding-standing-rock-protests-w450699

Levine, V. L. (2014, January 31). Native American music. Retrieved March 04, 2017, from https://www.britannica.com/art/Native-American-music

Imagery:

Photo 1: Taken by Charles Ross

Photo 2: Stands with Standing Rock! Peaceful March & Rally Seattle, WA. Taken by John Duffy is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Photo 3: Provided by Max Ribner

Photo 4: Taken by Avery White, Uploaded by Paul Weaver. Source. 

Green Living Archives – Conservation Music

Posted on by admin

How Music Inspires and Empowers Rural Africans to Steward Their Environment

Feb 15, 2017 | Blog

The Power Of Music

We all have a song that we never forget. Maybe it carried us through tough times. Or perhaps it reminds us of good times we’ve had. It may have taught us an important lesson… maybe even at just the right time in our life. Whatever the reason, it stays with us.

Music is complicated. With no single home in the brain, it sparks various zones simultaneously, a symphony of synapses firing on cue, as conducted by your own individual mind. Together with the artist you are listening to, you are painting a singular image… one that encapsulates your thoughts and your emotions at once. This leaves an imprint on your psyche that’s remarkably hard to forget.

Music is simple. Since we began our human journey, music has stood the test of time as a fundamental universal language. Song and dance bring us together in spite of our differences, giving us something to share regardless of our means. We can use it to help clear our minds and focus. We can use it to inspire our minds with ideas. We can use it to help us move on from the thoughts that don’t serve us. We can use it to help us remember ones that do, and to teach them to others. It just works.

Our auditory systems, our nervous systems, are indeed exquisitely tuned for music.

As Oliver Sacks, acclaimed neurologist and author of the bestseller Musicophilia says, “Our auditory systems, our nervous systems, are indeed exquisitely tuned for music.” So I ask you this: if we’re so well attuned to music, and we use it in so many ways, aren’t there other ways to use it? Can we harness the emotional power, memorability, and universality of music to an even greater end?

Children-in-Seronga-with-homemade-guitars

Those Who Need It Most

Ever had a bad day and improved it by listening to the same song on repeat? Music alleviates suffering, even if it’s only as long as the music lasts. Is there a way to use music to alleviate suffering long-term, and not only suffering of the mind? Can we harness its characteristics to alleviate the suffering of those for whom suffering is a way of life? Can music provide those in poverty with the means to take action, and to gain the crucial knowledge that will lead them to be part of the global solution? Furthermore, can it give them a voice within our often lofty global conversations?

We are living in a world in which the people who are bearing the brunt of the backlash for humanity’s decades of decadence have contributed the least to it. On top of this, they know the least about it, as a result of lack of access to the wealth of information that those of us reading this blog have at our fingertips. And even if they did have information regarding the local, landscape, national, regional, continental and global issues that they face, they have few or no systems in place to be able to ignore them, adapt, or even survive.

An ethos and a knowledge of sustainable development is increasingly crucial for all of us. However, there are many families for whom falling out of balance with the earth that sustains them has grave and immediate consequences. As an informed scientific community, can we reach them with research alone? What bridges the gap between research and learning for those who are lucky to be able to read? For those whose history is riddled with abuse by those who quested for such worldly knowledge in less culturally sensitive times?

We believe in the power of music.

Screen shot 2016-04-15 at 7.07.10 PM

Bringing Environmental Knowledge

Conservation Music is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization on a mission to teach and inspire the world to live environmentally sustainable lifestyles through the power of music, with a special focus on rural, uninformed subsistence communities in the developing world. This includes outlining specific steps to take to better steward the earth as subsistence community members, as well as promoting a general environmental ethic.

We collaborate with artists around the world to compose, record, produce, and create music videos for songs of sustainability in local styles and local languages about local conservation issues. We then seek to add to the global appeal of these songs, to reach the world with inspiring messages from these countries.

We seek to empower the voices of rural musicians and national celebrities alike to reach many thousands of people with messages that everyone needs to hear, broadcast nationally via radio and television, and globally via new media and media partners. In collective harmony, we are planting the seeds of a brighter future in the hearts and the minds of each individual listener, musician, and partner.

The village is the focus, and the world is the stage. Conservation Music first and foremost seeks to reach the communities needing ideas for sustainable living the most. But our impact doesn’t end at the edge of the village. Our rural friends are becoming part of the solution, and their voices can and will inspire other people all around the world.

TsetisoAccordian
Conservation Music is very excited to join the conversation at National Geographic Voices. Thank you for reading our first post on this platform, please tell your friends! And stay tuned for:

  • More posts about the power of music and the arts to play active roles in shaping our world for the better
  • Songs and music videos from Africa and all around the world
  • An upcoming webseries and missives from the field as we adventure across Southern Africa and collaborate with local musicians
  • Virtual Reality experiences – join us in the field and in the studio as we harness the power of music to teach conservation!
  • Partnerships with the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project and many other dedicated conservation groups in Southern Africa
  • (Long term) Our expansion into other developing countries all over the world!

You can learn more about Conservation Music at www.conservationmusic.org and on social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! If you’d like to partner, contribute, or otherwise get involved with Conservation Music, please email info@conservationmusic.org. Thank you! ~Alex

About the Author
ZambiaConcertMosiOaTunyaJokerJoka

Alex Paullin
of Conservation Music

Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin
info@conservationmusic.org
After years of soul-searching and months in the African wilderness with the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, musician and geographer Alex Paullin combined his foremost passions and founded Conservation Music, a non-profit aiming to foster a global culture of sustainability using music as the messenger.

Currently, the organization collaborates with musicians throughout Southern Africa, catalyzing songs in local genres and local languages regarding local conservation issues in countries like Lesotho, Botswana, Angola, and more. Throughout his life he aims to expand the project globally, in hopes that his lifetime will see and hear songs of conservation being sung throughout the world.

Source: CM NatGeo Voices

Development Archives – Conservation Music

Posted on by admin

How Music Inspires and Empowers Rural Africans to Steward Their Environment

Feb 15, 2017 | Blog

The Power Of Music

We all have a song that we never forget. Maybe it carried us through tough times. Or perhaps it reminds us of good times we’ve had. It may have taught us an important lesson… maybe even at just the right time in our life. Whatever the reason, it stays with us.

Music is complicated. With no single home in the brain, it sparks various zones simultaneously, a symphony of synapses firing on cue, as conducted by your own individual mind. Together with the artist you are listening to, you are painting a singular image… one that encapsulates your thoughts and your emotions at once. This leaves an imprint on your psyche that’s remarkably hard to forget.

Music is simple. Since we began our human journey, music has stood the test of time as a fundamental universal language. Song and dance bring us together in spite of our differences, giving us something to share regardless of our means. We can use it to help clear our minds and focus. We can use it to inspire our minds with ideas. We can use it to help us move on from the thoughts that don’t serve us. We can use it to help us remember ones that do, and to teach them to others. It just works.

Our auditory systems, our nervous systems, are indeed exquisitely tuned for music.

As Oliver Sacks, acclaimed neurologist and author of the bestseller Musicophilia says, “Our auditory systems, our nervous systems, are indeed exquisitely tuned for music.” So I ask you this: if we’re so well attuned to music, and we use it in so many ways, aren’t there other ways to use it? Can we harness the emotional power, memorability, and universality of music to an even greater end?

Children-in-Seronga-with-homemade-guitars

Those Who Need It Most

Ever had a bad day and improved it by listening to the same song on repeat? Music alleviates suffering, even if it’s only as long as the music lasts. Is there a way to use music to alleviate suffering long-term, and not only suffering of the mind? Can we harness its characteristics to alleviate the suffering of those for whom suffering is a way of life? Can music provide those in poverty with the means to take action, and to gain the crucial knowledge that will lead them to be part of the global solution? Furthermore, can it give them a voice within our often lofty global conversations?

We are living in a world in which the people who are bearing the brunt of the backlash for humanity’s decades of decadence have contributed the least to it. On top of this, they know the least about it, as a result of lack of access to the wealth of information that those of us reading this blog have at our fingertips. And even if they did have information regarding the local, landscape, national, regional, continental and global issues that they face, they have few or no systems in place to be able to ignore them, adapt, or even survive.

An ethos and a knowledge of sustainable development is increasingly crucial for all of us. However, there are many families for whom falling out of balance with the earth that sustains them has grave and immediate consequences. As an informed scientific community, can we reach them with research alone? What bridges the gap between research and learning for those who are lucky to be able to read? For those whose history is riddled with abuse by those who quested for such worldly knowledge in less culturally sensitive times?

We believe in the power of music.

Screen shot 2016-04-15 at 7.07.10 PM

Bringing Environmental Knowledge

Conservation Music is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization on a mission to teach and inspire the world to live environmentally sustainable lifestyles through the power of music, with a special focus on rural, uninformed subsistence communities in the developing world. This includes outlining specific steps to take to better steward the earth as subsistence community members, as well as promoting a general environmental ethic.

We collaborate with artists around the world to compose, record, produce, and create music videos for songs of sustainability in local styles and local languages about local conservation issues. We then seek to add to the global appeal of these songs, to reach the world with inspiring messages from these countries.

We seek to empower the voices of rural musicians and national celebrities alike to reach many thousands of people with messages that everyone needs to hear, broadcast nationally via radio and television, and globally via new media and media partners. In collective harmony, we are planting the seeds of a brighter future in the hearts and the minds of each individual listener, musician, and partner.

The village is the focus, and the world is the stage. Conservation Music first and foremost seeks to reach the communities needing ideas for sustainable living the most. But our impact doesn’t end at the edge of the village. Our rural friends are becoming part of the solution, and their voices can and will inspire other people all around the world.

TsetisoAccordian
Conservation Music is very excited to join the conversation at National Geographic Voices. Thank you for reading our first post on this platform, please tell your friends! And stay tuned for:

  • More posts about the power of music and the arts to play active roles in shaping our world for the better
  • Songs and music videos from Africa and all around the world
  • An upcoming webseries and missives from the field as we adventure across Southern Africa and collaborate with local musicians
  • Virtual Reality experiences – join us in the field and in the studio as we harness the power of music to teach conservation!
  • Partnerships with the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project and many other dedicated conservation groups in Southern Africa
  • (Long term) Our expansion into other developing countries all over the world!

You can learn more about Conservation Music at www.conservationmusic.org and on social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! If you’d like to partner, contribute, or otherwise get involved with Conservation Music, please email info@conservationmusic.org. Thank you! ~Alex

About the Author
ZambiaConcertMosiOaTunyaJokerJoka

Alex Paullin
of Conservation Music

Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin
info@conservationmusic.org
After years of soul-searching and months in the African wilderness with the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, musician and geographer Alex Paullin combined his foremost passions and founded Conservation Music, a non-profit aiming to foster a global culture of sustainability using music as the messenger.

Currently, the organization collaborates with musicians throughout Southern Africa, catalyzing songs in local genres and local languages regarding local conservation issues in countries like Lesotho, Botswana, Angola, and more. Throughout his life he aims to expand the project globally, in hopes that his lifetime will see and hear songs of conservation being sung throughout the world.

Source: CM NatGeo Voices

Education Archives – Conservation Music

Posted on by admin

How Music Inspires and Empowers Rural Africans to Steward Their Environment

Feb 15, 2017 | Blog

The Power Of Music

We all have a song that we never forget. Maybe it carried us through tough times. Or perhaps it reminds us of good times we’ve had. It may have taught us an important lesson… maybe even at just the right time in our life. Whatever the reason, it stays with us.

Music is complicated. With no single home in the brain, it sparks various zones simultaneously, a symphony of synapses firing on cue, as conducted by your own individual mind. Together with the artist you are listening to, you are painting a singular image… one that encapsulates your thoughts and your emotions at once. This leaves an imprint on your psyche that’s remarkably hard to forget.

Music is simple. Since we began our human journey, music has stood the test of time as a fundamental universal language. Song and dance bring us together in spite of our differences, giving us something to share regardless of our means. We can use it to help clear our minds and focus. We can use it to inspire our minds with ideas. We can use it to help us move on from the thoughts that don’t serve us. We can use it to help us remember ones that do, and to teach them to others. It just works.

Our auditory systems, our nervous systems, are indeed exquisitely tuned for music.

As Oliver Sacks, acclaimed neurologist and author of the bestseller Musicophilia says, “Our auditory systems, our nervous systems, are indeed exquisitely tuned for music.” So I ask you this: if we’re so well attuned to music, and we use it in so many ways, aren’t there other ways to use it? Can we harness the emotional power, memorability, and universality of music to an even greater end?

Children-in-Seronga-with-homemade-guitars

Those Who Need It Most

Ever had a bad day and improved it by listening to the same song on repeat? Music alleviates suffering, even if it’s only as long as the music lasts. Is there a way to use music to alleviate suffering long-term, and not only suffering of the mind? Can we harness its characteristics to alleviate the suffering of those for whom suffering is a way of life? Can music provide those in poverty with the means to take action, and to gain the crucial knowledge that will lead them to be part of the global solution? Furthermore, can it give them a voice within our often lofty global conversations?

We are living in a world in which the people who are bearing the brunt of the backlash for humanity’s decades of decadence have contributed the least to it. On top of this, they know the least about it, as a result of lack of access to the wealth of information that those of us reading this blog have at our fingertips. And even if they did have information regarding the local, landscape, national, regional, continental and global issues that they face, they have few or no systems in place to be able to ignore them, adapt, or even survive.

An ethos and a knowledge of sustainable development is increasingly crucial for all of us. However, there are many families for whom falling out of balance with the earth that sustains them has grave and immediate consequences. As an informed scientific community, can we reach them with research alone? What bridges the gap between research and learning for those who are lucky to be able to read? For those whose history is riddled with abuse by those who quested for such worldly knowledge in less culturally sensitive times?

We believe in the power of music.

Screen shot 2016-04-15 at 7.07.10 PM

Bringing Environmental Knowledge

Conservation Music is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization on a mission to teach and inspire the world to live environmentally sustainable lifestyles through the power of music, with a special focus on rural, uninformed subsistence communities in the developing world. This includes outlining specific steps to take to better steward the earth as subsistence community members, as well as promoting a general environmental ethic.

We collaborate with artists around the world to compose, record, produce, and create music videos for songs of sustainability in local styles and local languages about local conservation issues. We then seek to add to the global appeal of these songs, to reach the world with inspiring messages from these countries.

We seek to empower the voices of rural musicians and national celebrities alike to reach many thousands of people with messages that everyone needs to hear, broadcast nationally via radio and television, and globally via new media and media partners. In collective harmony, we are planting the seeds of a brighter future in the hearts and the minds of each individual listener, musician, and partner.

The village is the focus, and the world is the stage. Conservation Music first and foremost seeks to reach the communities needing ideas for sustainable living the most. But our impact doesn’t end at the edge of the village. Our rural friends are becoming part of the solution, and their voices can and will inspire other people all around the world.

TsetisoAccordian
Conservation Music is very excited to join the conversation at National Geographic Voices. Thank you for reading our first post on this platform, please tell your friends! And stay tuned for:

  • More posts about the power of music and the arts to play active roles in shaping our world for the better
  • Songs and music videos from Africa and all around the world
  • An upcoming webseries and missives from the field as we adventure across Southern Africa and collaborate with local musicians
  • Virtual Reality experiences – join us in the field and in the studio as we harness the power of music to teach conservation!
  • Partnerships with the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project and many other dedicated conservation groups in Southern Africa
  • (Long term) Our expansion into other developing countries all over the world!

You can learn more about Conservation Music at www.conservationmusic.org and on social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! If you’d like to partner, contribute, or otherwise get involved with Conservation Music, please email info@conservationmusic.org. Thank you! ~Alex

About the Author
ZambiaConcertMosiOaTunyaJokerJoka

Alex Paullin
of Conservation Music

Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin
info@conservationmusic.org
After years of soul-searching and months in the African wilderness with the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, musician and geographer Alex Paullin combined his foremost passions and founded Conservation Music, a non-profit aiming to foster a global culture of sustainability using music as the messenger.

Currently, the organization collaborates with musicians throughout Southern Africa, catalyzing songs in local genres and local languages regarding local conservation issues in countries like Lesotho, Botswana, Angola, and more. Throughout his life he aims to expand the project globally, in hopes that his lifetime will see and hear songs of conservation being sung throughout the world.

Source: CM NatGeo Voices

#Okavango Archives – Conservation Music

Posted on by admin

CMP Month In Review : August 2016

Aug 31, 2016 | Blog

Featured Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

Okavango, Okavango, Okavango… The Conservation Music Project glided into August aboard a mokoro, a week after launching from its birthplace of Seronga with the Cross Okavango Delta Expedition (CODE) on July 25th. It was a scramble to reset and repack in Johannesburg after arriving from Zambia July 21st! (The Zambia project, Tushange Isamu, was done alongside Greenpop, a Cape Town-based environmental education and tree planting group. More on that in another post!)

The Creative Crossing

CODE 2016 marked the first official “Creative Crossing” of the Okavango Delta, in hopes of supplementing research efforts to understand and conserve the place with poetic and musical messages to bring more Batswana (people of Botswana) on board, as well as to inspire a global audience. As many of you know, the Conservation Music movement was crystalized in Angola, en route to the Delta, aboard a mokoro in 2015 with Dr. Steve Boyes’ Okavango Wilderness Project (OWP). At the time of this writing, the OWP crew is pulling their boats through the deep, muddy wilderness as the water that carried our crossing continues to drop during theirs. You can follow along with live updates at www.intotheokavango.org.

The CODE 2016 crossing was quite special… a group of 15 Batswana was joined by just a single foreign member, Conservation Music founder Alex. In general, the Delta is visited and run by either foreigners or white Botswana nationals, and one intention of CODE is to inspire more Batswana to visit and invest in this incredible national heritage site. Needless to say, it was an honor to be made the exception and join the team of creative celebrities, media professionals, and polers from Botswana to produce a song and music video throughout the two-week crossing.

EricPoleVideo still shot by Alex Paullin.

The song is entitled, “Okavango Oa Moxa,” which means “Okavango You Are Beautiful” in seYei, the mother tongue of famous four-string guitarist Stiger Sola, who was born into the lineage of the baYei, also known as the “Watshara,” or “The River People.” This tribe is said to have been the first to break into the Delta long ago, bringing 6-meter long wooden mekoro (mokoros) to enter the deep, wild paradise that the land-based KhoiSan bushmen in the region left alone.

Indeed, Stiger Sola himself was born inside that very wilderness… his aunt assisting his young mother to deliver him on an island, as his uncle waited aboard the mokoro, long ngashe pole in hand. They were still far from the village of Sharobe, the place where he was meant to be delivered, which would soon become his home. Thus a legend of Botswana was born in the heart of the same inspiration that our expedition was seeking…. We brought him back into the wild with a guitar.

Stiga River

Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

The other musical celebrity on board was HT Tautona, a Maun-born rapper who grew up on the cattle post but made his claim to fame in Gaborone, Botswana’s capitol. For HT this trip was like returning home, but finally seeing the Delta he grew on the edge of the right way… by mokoro, in the depth of its wilderness. His lyrics describe the overflow of emotions upon returning to this place “like a pen without ink” and being filled with inspiration to write. HT was a major team player and was easy to find helping in the kitchen.

HTKitchen

Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

Last but not least, as a surprise addition to the music team, multi-talented poet Leshie Lovesong spoke up during a fireside brainstorming jam session with a poem she had written, which now serves as a deeply emotional opening to the song. Once she was brought aboard the music team, she also lent her voice to the chorus, responding to Stiger’s calls of “Okavango, Okavango, Okavango” with Stiger’s own declarations to his mother, the Delta, of her lovable, everlasting, beautiful nature, and her role in his existence as “a way of life.” Leshie’s own way of life took quite a shock in the wilderness… prior the expedition she had never even been camping.

LeshieSmileEle

Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

Conservation Music is extremely excited to be part of Botswana’s 50th anniversary celebrations. As we speak, the new song “Okavango O Moxa” is being registered with the Copyright Society of Botswana (COSBOTS) so that the artists involved can earn their royalties and protect their rights when this song hits the radio in September. The music video shot in the Delta is soon to follow, and will we broadcast on Botswana Television (BTV) and on Youtube and Vimeo. The song and video will also be made available on iTunes and Google Play soon!
Overall the Cross Okavango song project has been a resounding success. The tune is set to be a hit, the video will be made up of some incredible moments with people and wildlife out in the deep wilderness, and new opportunities are coming up rapidly as this project gains attention. We cannot wait to release this song and video, and hopefully do it all over again next year.

What’s Next On the Horizon?

In the meantime, lots of other things are happening too! For example:

Conservation Music Presents Sotho Sounds @ Rocking the Daisies

For instance, Conservation Music is preparing to bring our old friends the Sotho Sounds from Lesotho down to Cape Town for the massive Rocking the Daisies* music festival! The festival runs from the 7th-9th of October, and we’ll be rocking the Hemp Stage in the Green Village area on Saturday from 2-2:45pm. The Sotho Sounds are a group of rural musicians with enormous heart and talent, and we are extremely excited to give them the chance to perform for such an audience, and hopefully to sell some of their handcrafted merchandise!

FYI, preceding the festival opportunity, we are discussing a collaboration in Lesotho with an American celebrity musician. More on that soon!

SSCrawfurdPhoto by Jacob Crawfurd of Crawfurd Media.

Zambian Tree Song “Tushange Isamu” Release with Greenpop

Quite close to the release date for “Okavango O Moxa” in Botswana, we look forward to releasing the tree planting song and music video recorded in Livingstone, Zambia alongside Greenpop. In July, the song was composed and performed by the Mosi Oa Tunya band, alongside members of the Golden Leaf band as well as Conservation Music’s own Alex Paullin. September is Arbor Month, so this release is very relevant!

ZamStagePhoto by Lee-Ann Olwege.

Return to Angola with The Okavango Wilderness Project

Conservation Music looks forward to returning to Angola in October, following Rocking the Daisies festival in Cape Town. The Okavango Wilderness Project (OWP) is bringing several research teams to survey the Angolan catchments of the Okavango watershed. We are grateful for their continued enthusiasm regarding the power of music to foster conservation ethics in the minds of the people living in the region, where decades of aggression have scarred both the people and the landscape. The beauty and importance of the landscape there are something to be proud of, and we look forward to encouraging that pride alongside OWP and National Geographic.

AngoVidVideo still shot by Alex Paullin.

The Elephants’ Playground

Jul 29, 2016 | Blog

As soon as we beached on this island I named it the elephants’ playground… Dozens of tall, regal, royal fan palms dot the place, evermore dotting the ground with their fruit. I tasted this palm fruit today, which lived its life high off the ground, tucked away between its crunchy outer shell and the large ball of vegetable ivory within. As I write this, the trees that surround me are shaking the as elephants ram them to bring down these bittersweet morsels.

Two nights in a row now we’ve slept with the elephants near. Today I ate their fruit. Tonight I ponder if they will come visit me here. Last night they had already past when my head hit the pillow… but before my tent was up I had been with them like never before.

The images are clear in my mind… I will never forget, thus yet again I can relate to my elephant friends. The herd of fifteen-odd adults and adolescents with their two wobbly-trunked younglings in tow had just passed by our camp as the light became golden. I found a perch atop a standalone turret, a sandcastle built up by termites for years. I was hoping to watch the herd crossing the river en route to the flats near Jao Village, Djedibe, the place that made me think this afternoon that we would not see any wildlife this evening. From upon my tower I watched them turn towards me.

An elephant’s moment is longer than others, but to them it must have felt like an instant as I slowly felt my heartbeat picking up as they grew closer, tree by tree. Through the zoom lens of my camera I had watched from afar as they brought down a tree for the babies to eat from. At this point the naked eye was plenty to capture this larger-than-life moment… they were standing right in front of me.

The matriarch had given me her blessing. We had been making frequent eye contact as I focused my intention on peace, love, and respect for the herd. These emotions undeniably mingled with fear… what if the villagers nearby had been in conflict with these animals? Or if a young male in the herd had been spited that day? Or a mother grew defensive, or her mate had a toothache? But consciously I focused on peace, love, and respect. Any negative visualizations must pass by as glimpses, not to be focused on.

But even when a youngling stood less than two meters below me, it’s trunk reaching up for a leaf near my dangling foot, and was startled to find me there, spreading its ears out and stumbling back, the mothers that surrounded me stayed calm. A significant look here and there, a bit of a head shake, perhaps a raised trunk. We were sharing the space. I was granted a point on the plane. For a moment, even less than an elephant’s instant, I could feel like a part of the herd. As the sky became dim, they moved on. Their wind tunnel breathing and near-silent footsteps that were filling up my ears had grown distant the moment the matriarch pointed her trunk in the direction they had come from. Only two of the herd were nearby when she pointed, but as one they all departed. An ultrasonic rumble of the stomach was the real cue. The herd had moved on through the trees, but our mother remained there with me, locking eyes for an eternity. I raised my hand. She raised her trunk and went.

On assignment for The Conservation Music Project and Cross Okavango Delta Expedition. Follow @crossokavango and @intotheokavango for more stories like these.

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#monthinreview Archives – Conservation Music

Posted on by admin

CMP Month In Review : August 2016

Aug 31, 2016 | Blog

Featured Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

Okavango, Okavango, Okavango… The Conservation Music Project glided into August aboard a mokoro, a week after launching from its birthplace of Seronga with the Cross Okavango Delta Expedition (CODE) on July 25th. It was a scramble to reset and repack in Johannesburg after arriving from Zambia July 21st! (The Zambia project, Tushange Isamu, was done alongside Greenpop, a Cape Town-based environmental education and tree planting group. More on that in another post!)

The Creative Crossing

CODE 2016 marked the first official “Creative Crossing” of the Okavango Delta, in hopes of supplementing research efforts to understand and conserve the place with poetic and musical messages to bring more Batswana (people of Botswana) on board, as well as to inspire a global audience. As many of you know, the Conservation Music movement was crystalized in Angola, en route to the Delta, aboard a mokoro in 2015 with Dr. Steve Boyes’ Okavango Wilderness Project (OWP). At the time of this writing, the OWP crew is pulling their boats through the deep, muddy wilderness as the water that carried our crossing continues to drop during theirs. You can follow along with live updates at www.intotheokavango.org.

The CODE 2016 crossing was quite special… a group of 15 Batswana was joined by just a single foreign member, Conservation Music founder Alex. In general, the Delta is visited and run by either foreigners or white Botswana nationals, and one intention of CODE is to inspire more Batswana to visit and invest in this incredible national heritage site. Needless to say, it was an honor to be made the exception and join the team of creative celebrities, media professionals, and polers from Botswana to produce a song and music video throughout the two-week crossing.

EricPoleVideo still shot by Alex Paullin.

The song is entitled, “Okavango Oa Moxa,” which means “Okavango You Are Beautiful” in seYei, the mother tongue of famous four-string guitarist Stiger Sola, who was born into the lineage of the baYei, also known as the “Watshara,” or “The River People.” This tribe is said to have been the first to break into the Delta long ago, bringing 6-meter long wooden mekoro (mokoros) to enter the deep, wild paradise that the land-based KhoiSan bushmen in the region left alone.

Indeed, Stiger Sola himself was born inside that very wilderness… his aunt assisting his young mother to deliver him on an island, as his uncle waited aboard the mokoro, long ngashe pole in hand. They were still far from the village of Sharobe, the place where he was meant to be delivered, which would soon become his home. Thus a legend of Botswana was born in the heart of the same inspiration that our expedition was seeking…. We brought him back into the wild with a guitar.

Stiga River

Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

The other musical celebrity on board was HT Tautona, a Maun-born rapper who grew up on the cattle post but made his claim to fame in Gaborone, Botswana’s capitol. For HT this trip was like returning home, but finally seeing the Delta he grew on the edge of the right way… by mokoro, in the depth of its wilderness. His lyrics describe the overflow of emotions upon returning to this place “like a pen without ink” and being filled with inspiration to write. HT was a major team player and was easy to find helping in the kitchen.

HTKitchen

Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

Last but not least, as a surprise addition to the music team, multi-talented poet Leshie Lovesong spoke up during a fireside brainstorming jam session with a poem she had written, which now serves as a deeply emotional opening to the song. Once she was brought aboard the music team, she also lent her voice to the chorus, responding to Stiger’s calls of “Okavango, Okavango, Okavango” with Stiger’s own declarations to his mother, the Delta, of her lovable, everlasting, beautiful nature, and her role in his existence as “a way of life.” Leshie’s own way of life took quite a shock in the wilderness… prior the expedition she had never even been camping.

LeshieSmileEle

Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

Conservation Music is extremely excited to be part of Botswana’s 50th anniversary celebrations. As we speak, the new song “Okavango O Moxa” is being registered with the Copyright Society of Botswana (COSBOTS) so that the artists involved can earn their royalties and protect their rights when this song hits the radio in September. The music video shot in the Delta is soon to follow, and will we broadcast on Botswana Television (BTV) and on Youtube and Vimeo. The song and video will also be made available on iTunes and Google Play soon!
Overall the Cross Okavango song project has been a resounding success. The tune is set to be a hit, the video will be made up of some incredible moments with people and wildlife out in the deep wilderness, and new opportunities are coming up rapidly as this project gains attention. We cannot wait to release this song and video, and hopefully do it all over again next year.

What’s Next On the Horizon?

In the meantime, lots of other things are happening too! For example:

Conservation Music Presents Sotho Sounds @ Rocking the Daisies

For instance, Conservation Music is preparing to bring our old friends the Sotho Sounds from Lesotho down to Cape Town for the massive Rocking the Daisies* music festival! The festival runs from the 7th-9th of October, and we’ll be rocking the Hemp Stage in the Green Village area on Saturday from 2-2:45pm. The Sotho Sounds are a group of rural musicians with enormous heart and talent, and we are extremely excited to give them the chance to perform for such an audience, and hopefully to sell some of their handcrafted merchandise!

FYI, preceding the festival opportunity, we are discussing a collaboration in Lesotho with an American celebrity musician. More on that soon!

SSCrawfurdPhoto by Jacob Crawfurd of Crawfurd Media.

Zambian Tree Song “Tushange Isamu” Release with Greenpop

Quite close to the release date for “Okavango O Moxa” in Botswana, we look forward to releasing the tree planting song and music video recorded in Livingstone, Zambia alongside Greenpop. In July, the song was composed and performed by the Mosi Oa Tunya band, alongside members of the Golden Leaf band as well as Conservation Music’s own Alex Paullin. September is Arbor Month, so this release is very relevant!

ZamStagePhoto by Lee-Ann Olwege.

Return to Angola with The Okavango Wilderness Project

Conservation Music looks forward to returning to Angola in October, following Rocking the Daisies festival in Cape Town. The Okavango Wilderness Project (OWP) is bringing several research teams to survey the Angolan catchments of the Okavango watershed. We are grateful for their continued enthusiasm regarding the power of music to foster conservation ethics in the minds of the people living in the region, where decades of aggression have scarred both the people and the landscape. The beauty and importance of the landscape there are something to be proud of, and we look forward to encouraging that pride alongside OWP and National Geographic.

AngoVidVideo still shot by Alex Paullin.

#crossokavango Archives – Conservation Music

Posted on by admin

CMP Month In Review : August 2016

Aug 31, 2016 | Blog

Featured Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

Okavango, Okavango, Okavango… The Conservation Music Project glided into August aboard a mokoro, a week after launching from its birthplace of Seronga with the Cross Okavango Delta Expedition (CODE) on July 25th. It was a scramble to reset and repack in Johannesburg after arriving from Zambia July 21st! (The Zambia project, Tushange Isamu, was done alongside Greenpop, a Cape Town-based environmental education and tree planting group. More on that in another post!)

The Creative Crossing

CODE 2016 marked the first official “Creative Crossing” of the Okavango Delta, in hopes of supplementing research efforts to understand and conserve the place with poetic and musical messages to bring more Batswana (people of Botswana) on board, as well as to inspire a global audience. As many of you know, the Conservation Music movement was crystalized in Angola, en route to the Delta, aboard a mokoro in 2015 with Dr. Steve Boyes’ Okavango Wilderness Project (OWP). At the time of this writing, the OWP crew is pulling their boats through the deep, muddy wilderness as the water that carried our crossing continues to drop during theirs. You can follow along with live updates at www.intotheokavango.org.

The CODE 2016 crossing was quite special… a group of 15 Batswana was joined by just a single foreign member, Conservation Music founder Alex. In general, the Delta is visited and run by either foreigners or white Botswana nationals, and one intention of CODE is to inspire more Batswana to visit and invest in this incredible national heritage site. Needless to say, it was an honor to be made the exception and join the team of creative celebrities, media professionals, and polers from Botswana to produce a song and music video throughout the two-week crossing.

EricPoleVideo still shot by Alex Paullin.

The song is entitled, “Okavango Oa Moxa,” which means “Okavango You Are Beautiful” in seYei, the mother tongue of famous four-string guitarist Stiger Sola, who was born into the lineage of the baYei, also known as the “Watshara,” or “The River People.” This tribe is said to have been the first to break into the Delta long ago, bringing 6-meter long wooden mekoro (mokoros) to enter the deep, wild paradise that the land-based KhoiSan bushmen in the region left alone.

Indeed, Stiger Sola himself was born inside that very wilderness… his aunt assisting his young mother to deliver him on an island, as his uncle waited aboard the mokoro, long ngashe pole in hand. They were still far from the village of Sharobe, the place where he was meant to be delivered, which would soon become his home. Thus a legend of Botswana was born in the heart of the same inspiration that our expedition was seeking…. We brought him back into the wild with a guitar.

Stiga River

Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

The other musical celebrity on board was HT Tautona, a Maun-born rapper who grew up on the cattle post but made his claim to fame in Gaborone, Botswana’s capitol. For HT this trip was like returning home, but finally seeing the Delta he grew on the edge of the right way… by mokoro, in the depth of its wilderness. His lyrics describe the overflow of emotions upon returning to this place “like a pen without ink” and being filled with inspiration to write. HT was a major team player and was easy to find helping in the kitchen.

HTKitchen

Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

Last but not least, as a surprise addition to the music team, multi-talented poet Leshie Lovesong spoke up during a fireside brainstorming jam session with a poem she had written, which now serves as a deeply emotional opening to the song. Once she was brought aboard the music team, she also lent her voice to the chorus, responding to Stiger’s calls of “Okavango, Okavango, Okavango” with Stiger’s own declarations to his mother, the Delta, of her lovable, everlasting, beautiful nature, and her role in his existence as “a way of life.” Leshie’s own way of life took quite a shock in the wilderness… prior the expedition she had never even been camping.

LeshieSmileEle

Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

Conservation Music is extremely excited to be part of Botswana’s 50th anniversary celebrations. As we speak, the new song “Okavango O Moxa” is being registered with the Copyright Society of Botswana (COSBOTS) so that the artists involved can earn their royalties and protect their rights when this song hits the radio in September. The music video shot in the Delta is soon to follow, and will we broadcast on Botswana Television (BTV) and on Youtube and Vimeo. The song and video will also be made available on iTunes and Google Play soon!
Overall the Cross Okavango song project has been a resounding success. The tune is set to be a hit, the video will be made up of some incredible moments with people and wildlife out in the deep wilderness, and new opportunities are coming up rapidly as this project gains attention. We cannot wait to release this song and video, and hopefully do it all over again next year.

What’s Next On the Horizon?

In the meantime, lots of other things are happening too! For example:

Conservation Music Presents Sotho Sounds @ Rocking the Daisies

For instance, Conservation Music is preparing to bring our old friends the Sotho Sounds from Lesotho down to Cape Town for the massive Rocking the Daisies* music festival! The festival runs from the 7th-9th of October, and we’ll be rocking the Hemp Stage in the Green Village area on Saturday from 2-2:45pm. The Sotho Sounds are a group of rural musicians with enormous heart and talent, and we are extremely excited to give them the chance to perform for such an audience, and hopefully to sell some of their handcrafted merchandise!

FYI, preceding the festival opportunity, we are discussing a collaboration in Lesotho with an American celebrity musician. More on that soon!

SSCrawfurdPhoto by Jacob Crawfurd of Crawfurd Media.

Zambian Tree Song “Tushange Isamu” Release with Greenpop

Quite close to the release date for “Okavango O Moxa” in Botswana, we look forward to releasing the tree planting song and music video recorded in Livingstone, Zambia alongside Greenpop. In July, the song was composed and performed by the Mosi Oa Tunya band, alongside members of the Golden Leaf band as well as Conservation Music’s own Alex Paullin. September is Arbor Month, so this release is very relevant!

ZamStagePhoto by Lee-Ann Olwege.

Return to Angola with The Okavango Wilderness Project

Conservation Music looks forward to returning to Angola in October, following Rocking the Daisies festival in Cape Town. The Okavango Wilderness Project (OWP) is bringing several research teams to survey the Angolan catchments of the Okavango watershed. We are grateful for their continued enthusiasm regarding the power of music to foster conservation ethics in the minds of the people living in the region, where decades of aggression have scarred both the people and the landscape. The beauty and importance of the landscape there are something to be proud of, and we look forward to encouraging that pride alongside OWP and National Geographic.

AngoVidVideo still shot by Alex Paullin.

#conservationmusic Archives – Conservation Music

Posted on by admin

CMP Month In Review : August 2016

Aug 31, 2016 | Blog

Featured Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

Okavango, Okavango, Okavango… The Conservation Music Project glided into August aboard a mokoro, a week after launching from its birthplace of Seronga with the Cross Okavango Delta Expedition (CODE) on July 25th. It was a scramble to reset and repack in Johannesburg after arriving from Zambia July 21st! (The Zambia project, Tushange Isamu, was done alongside Greenpop, a Cape Town-based environmental education and tree planting group. More on that in another post!)

The Creative Crossing

CODE 2016 marked the first official “Creative Crossing” of the Okavango Delta, in hopes of supplementing research efforts to understand and conserve the place with poetic and musical messages to bring more Batswana (people of Botswana) on board, as well as to inspire a global audience. As many of you know, the Conservation Music movement was crystalized in Angola, en route to the Delta, aboard a mokoro in 2015 with Dr. Steve Boyes’ Okavango Wilderness Project (OWP). At the time of this writing, the OWP crew is pulling their boats through the deep, muddy wilderness as the water that carried our crossing continues to drop during theirs. You can follow along with live updates at www.intotheokavango.org.

The CODE 2016 crossing was quite special… a group of 15 Batswana was joined by just a single foreign member, Conservation Music founder Alex. In general, the Delta is visited and run by either foreigners or white Botswana nationals, and one intention of CODE is to inspire more Batswana to visit and invest in this incredible national heritage site. Needless to say, it was an honor to be made the exception and join the team of creative celebrities, media professionals, and polers from Botswana to produce a song and music video throughout the two-week crossing.

EricPoleVideo still shot by Alex Paullin.

The song is entitled, “Okavango Oa Moxa,” which means “Okavango You Are Beautiful” in seYei, the mother tongue of famous four-string guitarist Stiger Sola, who was born into the lineage of the baYei, also known as the “Watshara,” or “The River People.” This tribe is said to have been the first to break into the Delta long ago, bringing 6-meter long wooden mekoro (mokoros) to enter the deep, wild paradise that the land-based KhoiSan bushmen in the region left alone.

Indeed, Stiger Sola himself was born inside that very wilderness… his aunt assisting his young mother to deliver him on an island, as his uncle waited aboard the mokoro, long ngashe pole in hand. They were still far from the village of Sharobe, the place where he was meant to be delivered, which would soon become his home. Thus a legend of Botswana was born in the heart of the same inspiration that our expedition was seeking…. We brought him back into the wild with a guitar.

Stiga River

Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

The other musical celebrity on board was HT Tautona, a Maun-born rapper who grew up on the cattle post but made his claim to fame in Gaborone, Botswana’s capitol. For HT this trip was like returning home, but finally seeing the Delta he grew on the edge of the right way… by mokoro, in the depth of its wilderness. His lyrics describe the overflow of emotions upon returning to this place “like a pen without ink” and being filled with inspiration to write. HT was a major team player and was easy to find helping in the kitchen.

HTKitchen

Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

Last but not least, as a surprise addition to the music team, multi-talented poet Leshie Lovesong spoke up during a fireside brainstorming jam session with a poem she had written, which now serves as a deeply emotional opening to the song. Once she was brought aboard the music team, she also lent her voice to the chorus, responding to Stiger’s calls of “Okavango, Okavango, Okavango” with Stiger’s own declarations to his mother, the Delta, of her lovable, everlasting, beautiful nature, and her role in his existence as “a way of life.” Leshie’s own way of life took quite a shock in the wilderness… prior the expedition she had never even been camping.

LeshieSmileEle

Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

Conservation Music is extremely excited to be part of Botswana’s 50th anniversary celebrations. As we speak, the new song “Okavango O Moxa” is being registered with the Copyright Society of Botswana (COSBOTS) so that the artists involved can earn their royalties and protect their rights when this song hits the radio in September. The music video shot in the Delta is soon to follow, and will we broadcast on Botswana Television (BTV) and on Youtube and Vimeo. The song and video will also be made available on iTunes and Google Play soon!
Overall the Cross Okavango song project has been a resounding success. The tune is set to be a hit, the video will be made up of some incredible moments with people and wildlife out in the deep wilderness, and new opportunities are coming up rapidly as this project gains attention. We cannot wait to release this song and video, and hopefully do it all over again next year.

What’s Next On the Horizon?

In the meantime, lots of other things are happening too! For example:

Conservation Music Presents Sotho Sounds @ Rocking the Daisies

For instance, Conservation Music is preparing to bring our old friends the Sotho Sounds from Lesotho down to Cape Town for the massive Rocking the Daisies* music festival! The festival runs from the 7th-9th of October, and we’ll be rocking the Hemp Stage in the Green Village area on Saturday from 2-2:45pm. The Sotho Sounds are a group of rural musicians with enormous heart and talent, and we are extremely excited to give them the chance to perform for such an audience, and hopefully to sell some of their handcrafted merchandise!

FYI, preceding the festival opportunity, we are discussing a collaboration in Lesotho with an American celebrity musician. More on that soon!

SSCrawfurdPhoto by Jacob Crawfurd of Crawfurd Media.

Zambian Tree Song “Tushange Isamu” Release with Greenpop

Quite close to the release date for “Okavango O Moxa” in Botswana, we look forward to releasing the tree planting song and music video recorded in Livingstone, Zambia alongside Greenpop. In July, the song was composed and performed by the Mosi Oa Tunya band, alongside members of the Golden Leaf band as well as Conservation Music’s own Alex Paullin. September is Arbor Month, so this release is very relevant!

ZamStagePhoto by Lee-Ann Olwege.

Return to Angola with The Okavango Wilderness Project

Conservation Music looks forward to returning to Angola in October, following Rocking the Daisies festival in Cape Town. The Okavango Wilderness Project (OWP) is bringing several research teams to survey the Angolan catchments of the Okavango watershed. We are grateful for their continued enthusiasm regarding the power of music to foster conservation ethics in the minds of the people living in the region, where decades of aggression have scarred both the people and the landscape. The beauty and importance of the landscape there are something to be proud of, and we look forward to encouraging that pride alongside OWP and National Geographic.

AngoVidVideo still shot by Alex Paullin.

Primeira Composição com a banda “Progresso”

Apr 11, 2016 | Blog

Today went well. It started with myself and Abias, lead composer and keys player for the local band Progresso. After a quick jam to break the ice and a couple of phone calls, we had a couple of other composition-minded individuals with us, each with different strengths. I enjoyed getting to know the different roles these guys could fill as composers… different languages, lyrics, and melodies were brought to the table for myself and Abias to sort through and organize. Firstly, here’s a preview of the chorus, which has a more modern feel and is sung in the link language Portuguese as opposed to the various regional languages:

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/258524836″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true&show_user=false” width=”100%” height=”135″ iframe=”true” /]

 

Next is a bridge in Umbundu, whipped up by a kindly schoolteacher sporting micro-dreads by the name of Tchingualele. Umbundu is spoken further north within the river system, and this part will be the flow between the chorus and and language spoken further down the river system, Nganguela.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/258524827″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true&show_user=false” width=”100%” height=”135″ iframe=”true” /]

 

And finally, for now at least, here’s one of my favorite parts of the song. This part will be both accompanied and a cappella at different points. The language is Nganguela, the most widely spoken in Menongue, and perhaps in Kuando Kubango province as well. It’s closely related to Chokwe, which is spoken in many of the villages interviewed by The Okavango Wilderness Project this year, which is good, because we want this song to be understood by as many of the people of the region as possible!

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/258524842″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true&show_user=false” width=”100%” height=”135″ iframe=”true” /]

 

That’s all for now, folks. I took some video as well, but I’m completely out of steam for the night. I’ll get on an edit ASAP to show you a bit of the songwriting process that led to these clips! ~Alex

angola Archives – Conservation Music

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CMP Month In Review : August 2016

Aug 31, 2016 | Blog

Featured Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

Okavango, Okavango, Okavango… The Conservation Music Project glided into August aboard a mokoro, a week after launching from its birthplace of Seronga with the Cross Okavango Delta Expedition (CODE) on July 25th. It was a scramble to reset and repack in Johannesburg after arriving from Zambia July 21st! (The Zambia project, Tushange Isamu, was done alongside Greenpop, a Cape Town-based environmental education and tree planting group. More on that in another post!)

The Creative Crossing

CODE 2016 marked the first official “Creative Crossing” of the Okavango Delta, in hopes of supplementing research efforts to understand and conserve the place with poetic and musical messages to bring more Batswana (people of Botswana) on board, as well as to inspire a global audience. As many of you know, the Conservation Music movement was crystalized in Angola, en route to the Delta, aboard a mokoro in 2015 with Dr. Steve Boyes’ Okavango Wilderness Project (OWP). At the time of this writing, the OWP crew is pulling their boats through the deep, muddy wilderness as the water that carried our crossing continues to drop during theirs. You can follow along with live updates at www.intotheokavango.org.

The CODE 2016 crossing was quite special… a group of 15 Batswana was joined by just a single foreign member, Conservation Music founder Alex. In general, the Delta is visited and run by either foreigners or white Botswana nationals, and one intention of CODE is to inspire more Batswana to visit and invest in this incredible national heritage site. Needless to say, it was an honor to be made the exception and join the team of creative celebrities, media professionals, and polers from Botswana to produce a song and music video throughout the two-week crossing.

EricPoleVideo still shot by Alex Paullin.

The song is entitled, “Okavango Oa Moxa,” which means “Okavango You Are Beautiful” in seYei, the mother tongue of famous four-string guitarist Stiger Sola, who was born into the lineage of the baYei, also known as the “Watshara,” or “The River People.” This tribe is said to have been the first to break into the Delta long ago, bringing 6-meter long wooden mekoro (mokoros) to enter the deep, wild paradise that the land-based KhoiSan bushmen in the region left alone.

Indeed, Stiger Sola himself was born inside that very wilderness… his aunt assisting his young mother to deliver him on an island, as his uncle waited aboard the mokoro, long ngashe pole in hand. They were still far from the village of Sharobe, the place where he was meant to be delivered, which would soon become his home. Thus a legend of Botswana was born in the heart of the same inspiration that our expedition was seeking…. We brought him back into the wild with a guitar.

Stiga River

Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

The other musical celebrity on board was HT Tautona, a Maun-born rapper who grew up on the cattle post but made his claim to fame in Gaborone, Botswana’s capitol. For HT this trip was like returning home, but finally seeing the Delta he grew on the edge of the right way… by mokoro, in the depth of its wilderness. His lyrics describe the overflow of emotions upon returning to this place “like a pen without ink” and being filled with inspiration to write. HT was a major team player and was easy to find helping in the kitchen.

HTKitchen

Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

Last but not least, as a surprise addition to the music team, multi-talented poet Leshie Lovesong spoke up during a fireside brainstorming jam session with a poem she had written, which now serves as a deeply emotional opening to the song. Once she was brought aboard the music team, she also lent her voice to the chorus, responding to Stiger’s calls of “Okavango, Okavango, Okavango” with Stiger’s own declarations to his mother, the Delta, of her lovable, everlasting, beautiful nature, and her role in his existence as “a way of life.” Leshie’s own way of life took quite a shock in the wilderness… prior the expedition she had never even been camping.

LeshieSmileEle

Photo by Thalefang Charles for Cross Okavango Delta Expedition.

Conservation Music is extremely excited to be part of Botswana’s 50th anniversary celebrations. As we speak, the new song “Okavango O Moxa” is being registered with the Copyright Society of Botswana (COSBOTS) so that the artists involved can earn their royalties and protect their rights when this song hits the radio in September. The music video shot in the Delta is soon to follow, and will we broadcast on Botswana Television (BTV) and on Youtube and Vimeo. The song and video will also be made available on iTunes and Google Play soon!
Overall the Cross Okavango song project has been a resounding success. The tune is set to be a hit, the video will be made up of some incredible moments with people and wildlife out in the deep wilderness, and new opportunities are coming up rapidly as this project gains attention. We cannot wait to release this song and video, and hopefully do it all over again next year.

What’s Next On the Horizon?

In the meantime, lots of other things are happening too! For example:

Conservation Music Presents Sotho Sounds @ Rocking the Daisies

For instance, Conservation Music is preparing to bring our old friends the Sotho Sounds from Lesotho down to Cape Town for the massive Rocking the Daisies* music festival! The festival runs from the 7th-9th of October, and we’ll be rocking the Hemp Stage in the Green Village area on Saturday from 2-2:45pm. The Sotho Sounds are a group of rural musicians with enormous heart and talent, and we are extremely excited to give them the chance to perform for such an audience, and hopefully to sell some of their handcrafted merchandise!

FYI, preceding the festival opportunity, we are discussing a collaboration in Lesotho with an American celebrity musician. More on that soon!

SSCrawfurdPhoto by Jacob Crawfurd of Crawfurd Media.

Zambian Tree Song “Tushange Isamu” Release with Greenpop

Quite close to the release date for “Okavango O Moxa” in Botswana, we look forward to releasing the tree planting song and music video recorded in Livingstone, Zambia alongside Greenpop. In July, the song was composed and performed by the Mosi Oa Tunya band, alongside members of the Golden Leaf band as well as Conservation Music’s own Alex Paullin. September is Arbor Month, so this release is very relevant!

ZamStagePhoto by Lee-Ann Olwege.

Return to Angola with The Okavango Wilderness Project

Conservation Music looks forward to returning to Angola in October, following Rocking the Daisies festival in Cape Town. The Okavango Wilderness Project (OWP) is bringing several research teams to survey the Angolan catchments of the Okavango watershed. We are grateful for their continued enthusiasm regarding the power of music to foster conservation ethics in the minds of the people living in the region, where decades of aggression have scarred both the people and the landscape. The beauty and importance of the landscape there are something to be proud of, and we look forward to encouraging that pride alongside OWP and National Geographic.

AngoVidVideo still shot by Alex Paullin.

Primeira Composição com a banda “Progresso”

Apr 11, 2016 | Blog

Today went well. It started with myself and Abias, lead composer and keys player for the local band Progresso. After a quick jam to break the ice and a couple of phone calls, we had a couple of other composition-minded individuals with us, each with different strengths. I enjoyed getting to know the different roles these guys could fill as composers… different languages, lyrics, and melodies were brought to the table for myself and Abias to sort through and organize. Firstly, here’s a preview of the chorus, which has a more modern feel and is sung in the link language Portuguese as opposed to the various regional languages:

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/258524836″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true&show_user=false” width=”100%” height=”135″ iframe=”true” /]

 

Next is a bridge in Umbundu, whipped up by a kindly schoolteacher sporting micro-dreads by the name of Tchingualele. Umbundu is spoken further north within the river system, and this part will be the flow between the chorus and and language spoken further down the river system, Nganguela.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/258524827″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true&show_user=false” width=”100%” height=”135″ iframe=”true” /]

 

And finally, for now at least, here’s one of my favorite parts of the song. This part will be both accompanied and a cappella at different points. The language is Nganguela, the most widely spoken in Menongue, and perhaps in Kuando Kubango province as well. It’s closely related to Chokwe, which is spoken in many of the villages interviewed by The Okavango Wilderness Project this year, which is good, because we want this song to be understood by as many of the people of the region as possible!

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/258524842″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true&show_user=false” width=”100%” height=”135″ iframe=”true” /]

 

That’s all for now, folks. I took some video as well, but I’m completely out of steam for the night. I’ll get on an edit ASAP to show you a bit of the songwriting process that led to these clips! ~Alex