Mike's Oud Forums

If film Babel wins Oscar, the oud will enhance audiences

zalzal - 1-24-2007 at 05:42 AM

Just have read Santaolalla saying in this new that the film Babel whose soundtrack has been composed by him

http://www.miami.com/mld/elnuevo/16528209.htm

that he wanted to get a kind of sound which could work globally (in the film), which could allow to go fm coloured moroccan scenes to as coloured Tokyo scenes

And he found the answer in the oud, "very difficult to play" which he learned as everything should be learned, taking it and playing it.

Therefore, if Babel wins an Oscar, oud will enhance audiences.

zalzal - 2-26-2007 at 12:21 AM

Babel earned the Oscar for music, and oud is the star instrument of the soundtrack.

So we can say that oud won an Oscar.....
Terrible but oud will be better known worldwide as fm now on because of an Oscar, instead of being known thanks to its/her/his thousands years history and culture and genius players like Zalzal, Ishaq al Mawsili, Zyriab, Sunbaty, Farido etc etc.

Also curious but probably oud is not shown anywhere in the film, nor in the oscar ceremony (Haven't seen either the film or the ceremony).
And haven't listened yet at the soundtrack....

Anyhow let us all take advantage of this circonstance so we can spread oud knowledge and more people get interest on oud, its music, its culture and learn to play.


Some press releases here
=========================
" The music of Gustavo Santaolalla in "Babel" earned the Oscar for original score.

"In our soul rests, I think, our own true identity beyond language, countries, races and religions. I'm so proud to have worked on 'Babel,' a film that helped us understand better who we are and why and what we are here for," he said.
============================

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Music from politically themed films were top Oscar winners on Sunday.

Argentine composer Gustavo Santaolalla took home his second Oscar in as many years for his score for "Babel," a tale of the globalization of pain and suffering, while Melissa Etheridge's global warming anthem, "I Need to Wake Up," took home the gold at the 79th annual Academy Awards for best original song.

Santaolalla, who won the Oscar last year for his haunting score for "Brokeback Mountain," said he was proud to work on "Babel," which addresses the theme of global miscommunication after a random shooting in one country has tragic consequences for four families around the world.

billkilpatrick - 2-26-2007 at 02:29 AM

i know santaolalla has done alot for the charango - "alot" not only in the sense of promoting it but also treating it as a world instrument; something apart from its exclusively andean heritage.

who knows where it will all lead ... ouds in nashville?

your "multiply" homesite is great, zalzal - complimenti.

- bill

zalzal - 2-28-2007 at 04:56 AM

Thank you Bill. My multiply site is just a collection of all i find on oud through internet and mainly copied fm this fantastic Mikeoud's forum.
Nothing original, no personal creations or own literature, as it would be of poor quality. My aim is to spread as much as possible infos on oud and try to reach and attract other audiences to oud.

I think that with Babel oud will not just be extracted fm its supposed exclusively middle east heritage, nor will be felt by audiences as a new world instrument.

I feel there is a very clever use of the oud made by Santaolalla. He says that to avoid that the music of Babel looked like a National Geographic documentary he had to search for non conventional sounds, and he found this kind of mysterious sounds he was looking for linking the different parts of the film, in the oud.

I still have not heard nor seem the film but i believe the OST is not a kind of world music pasted over images.