Gilfema

The Compositions

Lionel Loueke's songs:

"Dream" - This is about a dream of talking to God. A man asks God to tell him when he is going to die so he can prepare himself. God's answer: Live prepared. It could happen at any time.

"Akwe" - In Lionel's home language, Fon, 'akwe' means money. The message: money is great, but don't let it take over your life. Love is more important.

"Gbede Temin" - I'm not much into politics, but on this song I ask, "Which war are we in? Why do so many people have to die for the causes of the few and the powerful?" The only entity any man must answer the call for is God.

"Tinmin" - This means "ego." On this song I say be humble. Bring yourself down. Let other people bring you up. If you have to be up, let it not be because of you, but because people think you deserve to be there.

"Okagbe" - On this song, I use an analogy - the difference in sound when a wooden jug is filled with water and when there is no water. Fill it to different levels, you get different sounds. The meaning is if you don't have anything to say, don't say anything. But if you do have something to say, speak up.

"Manding" - The Manding are a nomadic tribe that you see in the North and West of Africa - Senegal, Mali, etc. The way they play melodies is very unique. It inspired me to write this song.

Massimo Biocalti's songs:

"I have a list of titles and at the beginning of a song, I decide which one it sounds like. The title then inspires me to continue the song in a particular direction."

"Lost Magic" - I wanted to compose something modal that Lionel could sing on with a melody, long notes and some lyricism. I approached this song more as an arranger than a composer.

"Allgon" - 'gon' means angle in Greek, so this title means 'all angles.' I wanted to write something with angular rhythm and melodic lines with counterpoint between the bass line and the melody in 7/4 time.

"At The Tree" - This is a ballad I wrote some time ago at the piano. It's about a girl I had a romantic meeting with one day in Boston. I rearranged it for trio. Lionel suggested I play the melody on this one. We all agreed it was best played rubato.

"Hormonix" - This is a play on words. The tune starts with Lionel and I playing harmonics. Then it gets into a rock and roll section that got me thinking of...hormones.

Ferenc Nemeth's songs:

"Vera" - This is for a very supportive girlfriend I was with for six years. I met her in Hungary and she moved to the States with me. During this time, I was very busy - leaving at 9am and not getting home until 2am - yet she stayed by me. I could dedicate all of the songs I wrote in that period to her, but I have chosen this one. (Boston-1999/2000)

"Six and Three" - This title reflects the song's steady rhythmic pattern. (Boston-1999/2000)

"New Song" - This is the first song I wrote after I moved to New York. I hadn't written much the previous year in Los Angeles. New York was a new beginning for me - a new place...everything new - and I started to write with a different attitude. (NYC-2004)


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