“Alight Aloft” and breaking news about Prop Roots!

The following is an adaptation from what I wrote to the friends that subscribed to the fan list on www.reverbnation.com/AntonLustig, as a kind of newsletter.

Dear friends around the world! I have a lot of news, about publications, awards, buildings, exhibitions, big plans starting to get realized! Before I go back to our Zaiwa/Jingpo village and probably lose connection from a few webpages for a few months, I just have to leave behind this newsletter! Unlike in previous newsletters, I will write more extensively about our Prop Roots Program, because of its important breakthroughs in the last half a year, and then (through the paintings) turn back towards music again, because this webpage, after all, is supposed to be about music.

For those who are not familiar with us yet: I am a musician and painter, that also happens to be linguistic expert on Zaiwa language, spoken by China’s Jingpo minority. Or shortly: ""I am the Dutch Zaiwa that paints with the children". Together with my wife Li Yang I also work on the Prop Roots Program, focusing on creative and language education in order to empower the Jingpo children, gifted with creativity and talent, though growing up in a community struggling with poverty, drug problems and HIV/AIDS. Though a lot of practicality is needed, Prop Roots nevertheless is a piece of art, like a very large window.

Therefore, this is not only about music. Shouldn't I most of all be writing about my struggles and experiences while integrating all my various activities and endeavors into the creative process? Things are even more complicated than that, because of my rather philosophical nature, or, I should say: the obvious strangeness of life itself. Besides project matters and music and painting, I am also much interested in existential issues like: "what is consciousness", "what does it mean to be a living being", the uncertainty principle, and all the other mysteries of science. There's always food for more thought, apart from the obligation to give the children my full attention, with an open mind. Since they deserve it and are so much worth it. And because it is rewarding! For me, the integrated approach is the real way to go. Matters that cannot easily be expressed should best find their way out through my own paintings and music.

Now the Prop Roots news:

                                2011 Summer activities

Last summer we did activities in our village’s primary school with six volunteers, and together we prepared (more than) a week full of fun activities, such as “explore the world with Google Earth”, “chemistry in everyday life”, “paint out your dreams”, “portrait our beautiful home with cameras”, etc. The last big activity was a treasure hunt through the village. Appears that the kids liked it very much. Pictures are here.

2011 Summer activity's Story Sharing and Charity Auction
After coming back to Beijing, we organized a meeting for sharing our stories and feelings with journalists, other non-profit organizations, artists, and all others who would be interested. Pictures. The event also included a charity auction, where the Jingpo kids’ paintings went under the hammer, as well as works donated by professional artists living in Beijing. All funds raised will be used for further non-profit activities (for donations to Jingpo children most in need of support, and for financing more creative activities by Prop Roots).

our bamboo activity center built soon!

From next year summer onwards we will also organize camps enabling city children to come and meet the Jingpo children in our village and to let the two sides play and learn from each other. In order to secure this plan, Li Yang took part in a CSR Charity contest organized by China’s biggest computer company Lenovo, and won a big prize. So now we can really build our bamboo activity center, on the green foothills of Yingpan village this winter! More news about the design, the professionals helping us for free, and the whole building process next time!
Not only the local children are going to be creative and have fun there. This will also be the place where more of my art and music will take shape, much of it in happy cooperation with the children, other works rather as Music for Music, Art for Art. It will be the ideal creative environment!

I/we got Awarded!
Some people may recall that Tianjin TV’s “China Right Here” (泊客中国) Program made a documentary about me and Prop Roots <all our videos are here, watch without VPN> as part of their series of high-standard documentaries about non-Chinese people contributing to Chinese culture, society or environment. The program’s Award Ceremony "You Bring Charm to China / 中国因你更美丽” for this year’s best documentaries was held on October 30th in Beijing, and among 10 other foreigners, I was also awarded, for my work on behalf of the Zaiwa/Jingpo culture and community. Most attention went to my language research, but underneath and in less words it was also for boosting Prop Roots! It was good that the presenters and VIP’s did not avoid mentioning heavy themes like ‘AIDS’ and ‘drugs’. This spectacular event, with orchestra, choir, great audio-visuals and many VIP’s appearing on stage was broadcasted on various channels in China and abroad (including Phoenix TV).
Pictures and more info
Video from the award ceremony

Paintings
I have regularly visited my friend Gao Yuan’s studio in Songzhuang, on the edge of Beijing, and nearly finished a series of paintings there. These paintings are more spacious and contain more water and air than before. We are working on plans for an exhibition in Beijing in the first half of 2011, before our final move to Yingpan village. Of course I should say: a “music-exhibition”.

‘Alight Aloft’ EP free download
Generally, my musical style is moving towards ‘bluntly optimistic’ and ‘Jingpo’. But, a mix of my more introspective and transcendental music, titled “Alight Aloft” and nicknamed "chilly mix", has recently been published on the high-quality but also quite well hidden website INQB8R.net, "a free will foundation project having a goal to present innovative musicians and attract progressive listeners, merge different audiences and provide a new way of deep thinking through music." The website's team did a great job, making a perfect mix, with all the pieces merging so well, and having it mastered in a professional studio. Click and you will see my artist bio and songs descriptions. Behind every “eye” icon there is a picture or painting. This music is not suitable for while doing active sports, but much so for relaxing while meditating or daydreaming. At times it can be a bit hypnotizing too. This mix will stay available for free download. You could consider it as a gift.

     Russian review of 'Alight Aloft'


     Leave a comment on my music on INQB8R.net.

more suitable for the cover?

Soirée
In October I presented my music during one of the monthly musical soirées held by connoisseur and audiophile David Cahill at his comfortable home in Beijing. I played and commented more than 20 of my pieces, to the most attentive and responsive audience one could wish for, in the best sound quality and accompanied with a continuous slideshow of my paintings.

EP's
I was determined to publish two new EP’s (‘extended play albums’) around this time: named “Music for Stretching and Painting” (with Arno Vrijman and Richard Carciofo) and “Music for Optimism” onto iTunes and a few websites, but now I have to postpone this, because ‘unfortunately’ I have to leave for our village earlier than foreseen, to have our dream house and bamboo studio built.
 I will publish them in due time, after some decent re-mixing and mastering. I am learning to do master the music, to improve the sound quality by some special tricks. And PSD already did some professional mastering on two of the tracks. Thank you, 圣石! These mastered files are too big to upload into my Reverbnation player, unless I convert them to mp3, in which case the sound becomes blurry. So all I can do with them on this site is to place in my store and offer them for sale. Link to my STORE.  Of course I would love to share them with you for free. Luckily, I did manage to add them to my myspace music page. (Who would have guessed, Myspace wasn't dead after all!) (The only problem still is that you need to have fast internet to be able to play them.) Therefore, I put them a bit down the list, the tracks' names are: "Up" and "Summer (Mastered)".
Mastering can make a great difference in sound quality! You will hear more better mastered music from me in the future. I am also learning to do mastering myself. My many hours of unpublished music, once remastered, could be worked into several more EP's or LP's. My 'Art Therapy' CD, printed earlier this year, could also be re-mastered.

But, I cannot be bothered by that now. I will be flying to our village tonight and stay there for about two months. I will be helping build our Prop Roots Program's activity center, which will also be our future house, roaming the village, puppeteering with the kids, reading books, eating wonderful food, and going on the internet sometimes, so maybe I can still share some of that with you. Or hear how my friends have been doing!

Wish you all good health, happiness and inspiration!




Anton

view from future house?

Interview Anton Lustig - Global Times.CN Aug '11

Minority Rapport

Dear Friends

The following is an adaptation from what I wrote to the people that subscribed to the fan list on www.reverbnation.com/AntonLustig, as a kind of newsletter.


Dear Friends,

I hope life has been treating you all very well lately. Thanks again for signing up to this fan list. It’s time for some updates.

You may well know that I do things in a bit of a complicated way. Not just a combination of both painting and music, but also a project for the Jingpo minority, involving education, research and intercultural exchange. At the point that painting and music had become indispensable parts of my destiny, a few years ago, I choose to also start that Jingpo project and try to find ways to integrate it all. I couldn’t just throw away my close connection to the Jingpo, after living in their villages for such long time, and being involved in research on their Zaiwa language for almost twenty years. It would be a difficult combination, but I had to do this because I knew that, after the inevitable hardships, the outcome would be better for all: for the Jingpo, for myself, for the outside worlds, and for Art.

In the course of the coming year, my wife Li Yang and I will move to a Jingpo village and start activities on a regular base there, instead of just in the holidays like we have done the last few years. It’s not easy, and first of all we need to find ways to feed ourselves.

It’s hard, you know, to maintain two different mindsets. The project mindset needs to be rational and pragmatic, though also idealistic. Luckily, Li Yang is better on this side. The artist mindset is one that spirals outward incessantly, always thinking of new ways of putting things. My art thing is much about transcending, surpassing my present life form… Luckily, I also tend to make simple, pure things, with bright colors and notes. The things I make are getting closer to the children’s world of perception. Besides, some of my music is made with the Jingpo people specifically in mind, making use of their musical themes, so there’s more connection to the project.

For the Dutch speaking, there now is a long interview with me on Geledraak.nl, an important info site about China.
The one-hour documentary about me and our project will be broadcasted throughout China in the beginning of June and then posted on-line. This documentary is in Chinese.

I have been painting like crazy on a new series of paintings, in my friend Gao Yuan’s studio in Songzhuang, Beijing. I certainly will publish some stuff about this happy cooperation.



Have been working on my various artist profiles and playlists, on Reverbnation (linked to Facebook’s My band), on Myspace and on a new Chinese douban page. I present myself differently on every site. So, all together a lot of my music can still be listened to for free. A next step is to start selling music on iTunes and such.
I made a CD! If you wouldn’t all be living so far away (in 7 different countries), I would give it to you for free!


photo: me with Jingpo band, early 1990's

Last week, the director of that documentary asked me to record myself singing a specific Jingpo song she heard when we were filming in the Jingpo area, and I decided to add instruments and arrange it into a full piece. Here it is, the piece Yvum mao / 家乡 / Back to the hills. So this is the first piece where I actually use my voice! It will be obvious to everyone that my voice needs training but I think that is not so important here. The song is about longing for the native Jingpo area and the funny thing here is that the singer here is me, the Dutch Jingpo. Therefore, the song could also well be about my deep wish to be living there and to become one with that area, with its great people, green hills and red earth, an environment that is so much full of life.



Happy days and a lot of inspiration to everyone!


Till later,


Anton

Shooting the documentary (1)

I just got back to gray and smoggy Beijing after about two months in subtropical Dehong, the sunny land of the Jingpo minority. Traveling between these two places is nothing unusual for me, but this time I really need some kind of break, to do some reorganizing, and get used to the inhumane Beijing winter. The last week there in Dehong was the first week of shooting for the documentary. A team from Tianjin TV is making a documentary, with me myself, including my art and my life with the Jingpo, as the main topic. Since I am a modest and shy person, one can imagine that this period of shooting may have had some impact on me.

pic (1) the team, on a bridge between China and Myanmar
pic (2) the team (minus one) plus Li Yang and me (left) on the same bridge



A formidable team they are: two cameramen, the director, her boss the chief director, plus the beautiful presenter, all of them very pleasant people. They are greatly experienced and very professional, and since they are not in for making fake and superficial stuff, my main task was just to be myself. Unfortunately, being ‘just’ myself can be a very hard task for me, since I am a rather multiple being and tend to make the simplest things very complicated. While you watch the following pictures, I will do some rethinking. More will follow in the next blog.

(3) with the old man living on top of Loilung Hill


(4) back in time, once again studying with my old informant Pai Kun while he is cooking


Lately, every night I dream that I am still in some Jingpo village and that the filming continues there. I assist a shaman on some vague ceremony or we together are waiting for some surreal painting activity for village kids to start. I wonder how long these dreams will remain coming back. The real filming will start again in a week or so here in Beijing, and will be mainly about: me painting, doing music, cooking, talking about life, and maybe some unexpected other topics.