Hear me now

I took the elements of the earth in my hands and with less obdurate effort I scraped. Peeling myself layer by layer to expose the deeper catacombs of my being. BURIED and cryptic with twists and turns hidden by the surface, and hidden to those inattentive and uninvited. Is it inevitable age that weathers the surface down? Or is it purely acknowledgement, acceptance and then divulgence that reveals the enigma? Either way, however many years I am, I am discovering, I am. Letting other people discover is not something I've actioned before, usually the others figure it out on their own should they glimpse what I've happened to let shown. Only now the glimpses won't be fleeting nor will they be succumbed to my tendency to hide. Always eternally these here rooms, burials and vulnerableness to confide shall arise. 

_______________________

"I am simply thankful for your existence,"

I wrote.

"Whether I am meant to be a part of it or not."

Beau Taplin || A journal entry

_______________________

It took a while to translate and decipher, but hear (here) it is:

Let envy | Siyani dumbo

Leave greed | Siyani umbombo

It is not enough to know that in the past? | Tatopa nazo kodi simukudziwa kuti lija ndi kale?

Let crime | Siya umbanda

Leave terrorism | Siya zauchigawenga

What happened you do not know that murder and Sambi? (Central African Republic reference) | Kodi watani iwe siukudziwa kuti kupha ndi sambi?

Let envy | Siya kaduka

Quit stealing interests | Siya zokonda kuba

Let deception from today let correct before | Siyani chinyengo kuyambila lero tiyeni tikonze tsogolo

Let sleeping | Siyani kugona

Leave sleep | Siya kugona tulo

Outside is a dollar not see the sun? | Kunja kwacha kodi simukuona kuti dzuwa latuluka?

Let envy | Siya kaduka

Hear me now

Seventy years | Dzaka makumi asanu

Over to today | Zatha kufika lero

To this day poverty | Mpaka lero umphawi

You neophobe world (neophobe - a tendency to dislike anything new; fear of novelty) | Ukungophabe dziko

Seventy years | Dzaka makumi asanu

Over to today | Zatha kufika lero

To this day poverty | Mpaka lero umphawi

You neophobe world | Ukungophabe dziko

On the song:
“We wrote this song in May 2014, only days before the Malawi general elections. It was also the 50th anniversary for Malawi independence from colonial rule. One day we where sitting outside the house listening to the radio and Joyce Banda (the president that day) was talking about something to do with the election and progress, or lack of progress for Malawi as a nation. We put an iPhone next to the radio and recorded some of her voice. That’s the voice you can hear in the beginning of the song. Esau really wanted to write a song about the corruption, poverty, struggle of Malawi, and how frustrated he was about the fact that very little has changed since independence. We recorded the whole song that day, and the next day we asked the local church choir to come in and record some choir vocals for it. As with most vocals and instrumentation on this record, we recorded them outdoors, on the beach, singing the bridge and last chorus with Esau. Back in London a month later, Chris Baio from Vampire Weekend came in and played bass on the song.”

And the clip:

“Between writing songs and recording, we would climb the mountains above the lake and set the camera up to take time lapses. Any time we wanted a break we would bring the camera on a tripod to the shop or to someone’s small house and always leave it taking time lapses. We would sit for hours in the dark while the camera clicked away, working on a song, tweaking melodies or words. Mosquitos everywhere. Sometimes we would leave the camera running and trek back to the house, hoping none would find it.”

What I hear:

- lack of progress

- corruption

- poverty

- struggle

- changed

- independence

- that day

- outdoors

- beach

- climb

- mountains

- time 

- lapses

- wanted

- break

- house

- leave

- hours

- dark

- everywhere

- words

- hoping

- find it