The third and last tape of "The Catastrophe" trilogy.
Cisterns, which is now released along with a new box-set, is a musical setting of a poem written by poet Tal Nitzan. The poem, inspired by Massimo Berruti’s photograph, portrays two little children carrying a water tank in the ruins of a bombarded building in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, on their way to a water distribution point shortly after an Israeli air-force attack on Gaza in 2014.
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Cisterns / Tal Nitzan
(translated from Hebrew by the poet)
Our hands did n̶o̶t̶ drain the water
our hands did n̶o̶t̶ blow up the wells
our hands did n̶o̶t̶ pierce the pipes
did n̶o̶t̶ smash the reservoirs
the purification plants
did n̶o̶t̶ empty the cisterns
and at the sight of the little girl
descending the ghost steps
orphaned from the home
that we did n̶o̶t̶ destroy
one hand holding on to her baby brother
the other carrying an empty plastic container
to be filled at the distribution point
$4 per one cubic meter
our throats are n̶o̶t̶ ablaze with a thirst
more scorching than any thirst.
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For Cisterns Asher.Zax were joined by the musicians of the Israeli experimental music ensemble Musica Nova, percussionist Raimund Engelhardt and Contrabassist Nadav Masel. The composition draws its origins and inspiration from Raga Lalit, which is one of the ragas of the hindustani Dhrupad tradition.
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Side A
drain
blow
pierce
smash
empty
Side B
cisterns continuous
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Poem in Hebrew (original), English and the photograph in the bonus items.
credits
released March 21, 2023
Meira Asher - Voice, Structure
Eran Sachs - Electronics
Raimund Engelhardt - Pakhawaj
Nadav Masel - Contrabass
Adi Snir - Contra-alto Clarinet
Maayan Tsadka - Trumpet, Objects,
Hydrophone
Poem by Tal Nitzan
Translated to Arabic by Idan Barir
Translated to English by Tal Nitzan
Photograph: Gaza, Beit Hanoun 2015
by Massimo Berruti
Side A - Hazira JLM-alQuds
Poem read by Tal Nitzan
Sound by Eyal Lally Bitton
Recorded by Ido Mandil
Side B - CCA Yafa-Tel Aviv
Sound by Adi Snir
Recorded by Meira Asher
Mixed by Daniel Meir
Mastered by Ricardo Mazza
Cover Design: Nadav Levi
Text assistance: Liam Evans
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