Intimaa (TOUCH TO:123) by Bana Haffar was full of pleasant surprises for this listener. This item by the Arabian-born (now living in the USA) musician was prepared for a Touch 40th anniversary event, and it’s got a title that translates as “from a deep place of un-belonging, searching and searching” – or at any rate, such a philosophical quest is implied within that word.
I’m sure a lot of people would recognise or align themselves with a sense of “unbelonging”, finding themselves at odds with society at large, feeling unrecognised or unappreciated, or just confused by the many swift perils of ever-changing modern life. In the 1980s, some musicians turned this emotional turmoil into music of alienation, despair, and sociopathic hate. By contrast, Bana Haffar’s album conveys much compassion, warmth, and sympathy. Rather than attempting to negate society and sever ties with the human race, Haffar uses her music to find common ground, build bridges, and offer messages of hope. One such message is implied in the title ‘Save This Manual for the Future’ which opens Side B, a phrase which strongly suggests the fate of mankind is hanging in the balance, and we need a set of guidelines for our salvation. At one time in our history, we thought the Bible would be that book, but now it seems we need more technical instruction to help us negotiate the deep societal problems being caused by computers, IT, the internet, social media, and AI.
While she may borrow from the vocabulary of ambient and techno and related electronica genres, she brings a lot of her own personality to these effects and devices, deploying them tremendous grace and subtlety – that word again – and completely bypassing any of the ennui which quickly sets in from hearing lesser dance-floor derived music. The album draws parallels between making music and the operations used in weaving, which was quite unexpected, but the link is confirmed by the Jon Wozencroft image on the back cover. Morton Feldman was another who may have used the “structure” of Persian carpet designs and weaves to build some of his compositions. Bana Haffar may have found her way towards electronic music from a more traditional classical training base, including learning the violin and playing the electric bass for ten years. From 2nd May 2023.