Reference :
V-F-CR-F-02964
Date :
08/2020
Title :
Now or never : Seckou Keita & Friends support the ICRC in response to COVID-19
Duration :
00:05:32
Editor :
SECK, Mouhamadou Birom
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
reserved users only
Production company :
ICRC
ICRC producer :
unknown
External producer :
KEITA, Seckou
Description :
In West Africa, any important event is generally marked by the song of the griot or traditional bard; not just joyous, festive events, such as a wedding or a naming ceremony, but tragic ones too. “The griot has a natural duty to come out when there’s death, sadness, conflict,” says the Senegalese griot and kora virtuoso Seckou Keita. “So for me, with a pandemic like a pandemic like this, there was an obligation to act, to do something to help.”
Seckou started to contact other artists - friends, singers whose voices he loved, people he’d met on his travels. Texts and WhatsApp message pinged east, west, north, south, and, “beautifully,” as Seckou describes it, they all agreed to come on board.
All these voices came together, with their own hues, inflections, twists, to offer variants of the message that it’s ‘Now or Never’. “For me, the pandemic is a sign,” Seckou says. “It kicked us all down, sent us into our caves. But then came Black Lives Matter, another kind of pandemic. Because, yes, we’re talking about Covid-19, but what about beyond Covid-19? What about waking people up for what’s coming next – could be stillness, or violence, or problems with borders, but whatever it is, there’s only one cure: coming together. This is the moment.”
In order to walk the talk, the artists agreed that "Now or Never" should honor the work done by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in response to COVID-19 worldwide. The ICRC is fighting to prevent the spread of this disease in more than 90 countries, supporting vital health infrastructure and sourcing necessary supplies for those most in need."
Vocals:
Seckou Keita, Senegal / Fatoumata Diawara, Mali / Noura Mint Seymali, Mauritania / Hakim, USA / Manecas Costa, Guinee Bissau / Anandi Bhattacharya, India / Zule Guerra, Cuba, Kris Drever, Scotland - UK / Celestine Walcott-Gordon, Barbados - Jamaica - UK
Musicians:
Moustapha Gaye, Senegal: guitars
Mieko Miyazaki, Japan: koto
Hakim on the Beats, USA/Gambia: beat maker
Seckou Keita, Senegal: kora ,composer & arrangement
Keyti, Senegal: English & Wolof lyrics writer
English title :
Now or never : Seckou Keita & Friends support the ICRC in response to COVID-19
Colour/B&W :
colour
SD/HD :
HD
Resolution :
1920 x 1080
Aspect ratio :
16/9
Original material/format :
H264
Best material/format available :
ProRes 422
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