Baby Arm Soundsystem - Disarmament Dub - online release
Having
spent the last few months in reggaeland, I'm keen to branch out this
track of the week to include a spoken word track: a speech by Haile
Selassie which has been set to a tasty dub backdrop by Arizona-based
producer, Baby Arm Soundsystem, titled Disarmament Dub.
The
address, given by Haile Selassie to United Nations General Assembly
October 1963, is still pertinent today. It primarily concerns nuclear
disarmament, colonialism and human rights, and was immortalised by
Robert Nesta Marley in his 1976 song War which uses the following
extract from the speech as a basis for his lyrics:
"That
until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior
is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned: That until there
are no longer first-class and second class citizens of any nation; That
until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the
color of his eyes; That until the basic human rights are equally
guaranteed to all without regard to race; That until that day, the
dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of
international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be
pursued but never attained; And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes
that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique and in South Africa in
subhuman bondage have been toppled and destroyed; Until bigotry and
prejudice and malicious and inhuman self-interest have been replaced by
understanding and tolerance and good-will; Until all Africans stand and
speak as free beings, equal in the eyes of all men, as they are in the
eyes of Heaven; Until that day, the African continent will not know
peace. We Africans will fight, if necessary, and we know that we shall
win, as we are confident in the victory of good over evil. "
Disarmament Dub has
Selassie speaking in his native Amharic on the right channel with a
live translation in your left ear: a juxtaposition of the passionate
delivery from Selassie, and the somewhat sterile English annunciation,
making for interesting brain-scrambling fun for attentive listeners. I recommend listening on headphones for the full effect.
I
came across Baby Arm Soundsystem through SoundCloud (soundcloud.com)
last year, and have enjoyed following his/her releases, all of which
are available for free download on SoundCloud. Unfortunately there
isn't much info out there on Baby Arm: I found no mention of gigs,
photos, a name or anything after some interesting Google search
results for baby arms. Is it intentional? A classic case of
shy-bedroom-producer syndrome perhaps?
Music is a valuable
tool for social commentary which is often overlooked in the industry.
To me, Baby Arm has hit on something powerful: a way of keeping this
speech and its message relevant, as well as bringing the power of HIM
Selassie's words to a new digi-dub audience and the SoundCloud
community.
Link to track:
soundcloud.com/baby-
Translation of the speech:
www.rastafarispeaks.
Comments
Hey, some of the mystery has been solved. Baby Arm sent this yesterday:
Thank you for appreciating and promoting that speech, that song and its message--which is bigger than all of us. I do hope people listen carefully, as you suggest.
Baby Arm Sound System is a one-person production. I write and record everything in a home studio in the mountains of northern Arizona, near the Grand Canyon. I like to make it and make it available to others who enjoy it.
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