The countdown to opening night gains pace with the 10th Anniversary Premium Content Series launched on August 9, 2023.
Six programs of Desert Song Festival performances by a global family of exceptional artists will be featured in August, September, October and December 2023, and in February 2024, via a dedicated platform: https://www.desertsongdigital.com/#/home.
THE FIRST PROGRAM, DISCOVERING DSF – August 2023, IS FREE! and will also be available on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/DesertSongFestival. Check it out and get in the mood for the 10th Anniversary festival. The other five are available at $20 for individual netcasts or $80 for the entire subscription. Details of broadcast dates will be published after Program #1 becomes available.
AUGUST 2023: MAIN ATTRACTION SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR
“A stunning performance that’s uplifting, energising, and life-affirming” – Scenestr
“Uplifting harmonies that fill your soul” – Play and Go Adelaide
This musical powerhouse has been spreading sheer joy to audiences across the globe for nearly two decades with their powerful blend of African Gospel, Freedom Songs, and international classics.
Since their first visit in 2011, Alice Springs has become one of their favourite destinations. They are returning – for their fifth visit for the 10th anniversary of the Desert Song Festival to present their brand-new concert HOPE at two sessions on Saturday 16th September at the Araluen Arts Centre @ 3pm and 7.30pm. In the past, these concerts have been fully sold out, so the organisers urge enthusiasts to book their tickets as soon as possible for one of the iconic entertainment events of the year Central Australia: https://www.desertsong.com.au/soweto-gospel-choir-3/
HOPE celebrates songs and anthems from the Freedom Movement of Nelson Mandela’s South Africa, and the Civil Rights Movement of Martin Luther King’s America. HOPE is a concert that will sing forever in your hearts! In these concerts, the Soweto Gospel will collaborate with the NIMA award-winning Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir with whom they have developed a close relationship since first meeting these songwomen in 2011.
Help! I’m pre-diabetic! The Kurang Manis (Sugar, Less) Podcast goes in search of ways to avoid diabetes. We interview health & fitness personalities from Asia and the Pacific; athletes, medical doctors, allied health professionals, fitness & wellness experts and people living with diabetes. Co-hosts Nikki Yeo & Jasmine Low chat over a cuppa tea! In Malaysia, it’s the Teh Tarik, made frothy by swift hand movements of a tea-pulling expert but 8tsp of condensed milk in one cup?! Kurang manis, boss! Less sugar please…
In each episode of The Kurang Manis (Sugar, Less) Podcast, our producers have selected music to complement and celebrate the essence of the personalities of our guest speakers (click on links below to view the interviews with each guest speaker). Here’s the playlist for your enjoyment:
Datuk Nicol David, World No. 1 Squash Champ / Amrita Soon, singer-songwriter (Malaysia)
Dr. Desmond Menon, Medical Lab Scientist / Jeremy Monteiro (Singapore)
With her calming voice that flies over the world of flamenco along with the enchanting guitar rhythms, Haifa Kamal, an independent Jordanian singer, releases her mini-album “A Córdoba” (To Cordoba) in collaboration with Obaider, a Palestinian-founded Spanish flamenco band.
Three songs are released in this mini album on various digital music platforms, such as Anghami, Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, and SoundCloud, with each song including a ballad from a different era. While “Shamsu Ennahari” is by Safi Al Din Al Hilli, a fourteenth-century Arab poet, “Asafa Al Hawa” is by Sumaya Saleh, a contemporary Syrian poet, and “En Konta” is by eighteenth-century poet and priest, Nicolas Al Sayegh Al Halabi.
The melodic Spanish tunes that accompany Kamal’s soothing voice are composed and arranged by Obaider, an independent Palestinian band founded by Baider Burman and Obai Al Bitar. Musicians from Spain and Sweden alongside Obaider are behind the tunes of both “Shamsu Ennahari” and “Asafa Al Hawa,” while “En Konta” is composed and arranged by Alvaro Llanos, the bass guitarist in the band.
This iconic team has worked on the album since the outbreak of the coronavirus at the beginning of 2020. Difficult production conditions were imposed due to the lockdowns brought by the pandemic, which extended the music recording for months. With few hours in hand not controlled by quarantine, musicians participating from Spain, Sweden, Jordan, and Qatar found time to work on the project.
The musicians include Haifa Kamal as lead singer, Baider Burman, and Obai Al Bitar on the guitar, Alvaro Llanos as bass guitarist, Manuel Arango on the percussion, Yehia Najem and Alexandra Shabo as backing vocals, along with Najati Al Suloh managing the production.
Haifa Kamal, who aspires to present a new style in each of her projects, adds in this album a new color to her musical career. Like all of her previous productions, this production is also considered independent. She has previously produced “Denya”, an independent album in 2014, and “#TheEDMProject” in 2018, in addition to dozens of singles between her first album and the last one, released this year.
Despite its higher cost and longer completion time, Haifa Kamal says that she prefers independent production. This is because she can not only manage the quality but also seek diversity in each of her works. While this “independency” releases her from the stress of being limited to what is usually required from production companies, it also allows her to shape her musical identity.
It is worth noting that Kamal holds a bachelor’s degree in music from the National Music Conservatory – Jordan, with a concentration in Arabic singing. Although she released her first album in 2014, the beginning of her music career goes way back. Her father, the Palestinian composer and musician Kamal Khalil, discovered her talent when she was six. Since then, she became the youngest lead singer of his band, Baladna. She has also participated in several music projects, such as the Rum Tariq Al-Nasser Group, the Amman Band for Arabic Music, and the National Institute of Music Orchestra, as well as singing different theme songs for Arabic drama series such as “Laysa Saraban”, “Wish Raja’ak”, “Al Aswar”, “Samarkand” and others.
Kamal has also participated in many local music festivals such as Jerash Festival and Fuheis Festival in Jordan. She has also made an appearance in international festivals in Scotland, Cyprus, Tunisia, Opera House in Cairo, Qurain Festival in Kuwait, Opera House in Damascus, and National Day celebrations in the United Arab Emirates.
Obaider is a Palestinian band founded by Baider Burman and Obai Al Bitar, with the participation of musicians from Spain and Sweden. Mixing between Arabic poetry and Spanish Flamenco music, this Andalusian- style band brings different music tastes from all around the world together. They aim not only to show the beauty of the Arabic language but also to allow the youth to reach the language from a different perspective.