In the hottest place on earth, making music, even playing the blues, is a political and religious challenge!
Nassim Nakad’s “Heated Melodies” poses the question of “What happens to an artistic community when a country’s legal system is comprised of British Common Law, French and Egyptian Civil Law and Islamic Law?”
Music is a universal language. Composing it, producing it and performing it is a challenge that requires a lot of diligence. That is the art of the musician.
In some countries the difficulties are exacerbated by political and religious acceptance – rules & laws – which impact the ability of the musician to be an artist at all. Kuwait is one of the countries!
The music community in Kuwait is growing, but it remains mostly underground as it fights the cultural and government restrictions placed upon it. Not all music is welcomed in Kuwait.
While classical music is mostly accepted, the underground scene is packed with musicians and bands playing contemporary genres including Rock, Metal, Blues and more, and are comprised of members who have helped to highlight the issue by participating in this production.
As Wikipedia and Wikiislam explain, Kuwait law and the Sharia law struggle with an artistic society that is westernizing.
Heated Melodies highlights the challenges of such a society and the stereotyping of musicians and musical genres. The film additionally explores the difference between the acceptance of males vs. females within the context of religious beliefs and musical performance.
SPECIAL NOTE: All of the musicians featured in Heated Melodies are safe. Director Nassim Nakad departed Kuwait in a search for a new place to live. They have kindly asked that the following statement accompany information about the film: “This film is not intended to disrespect any religion or the government laws of any country.”
The film features
- Faud Murad, House Hold Production
- Caesar Fernandes, Founder Kuwait Music
- Ali “Bluesman” Sleeq, Avant-Garde Music Projects
- Roland Lopez, “DJ Roland”
- Carole Souki, Singer
- Basil Al Hadi “Rasta Baba”, Karrouhat Studios
40 minutes on 1 disc / 2017
HOW TO ORDER:
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In-home/personal use copies are available on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2teIFeb
WATCH THE TRAILER
You might find this other film about freedom of expression through music of interest as well…