Two Berkeley grad students, interested in how the brutalities of the last three decades have taken a tragic toll on Afghanistan’s musical heritage, put together an organization to help fund Afghan music teachers. Over a ten-day visit, Chris Becherer and Adam Gouttierre traveled to Kabul to find and record classical folk musicians who’d struggled through 25 years of occupation and censorship.
The L Magazine: Tell us a little bit about the Afghan Music Project (AMP).
Chris Becherer: The AMP is a non-profit digital-media initiative with the mission of raising awareness of Afghan causes. It consists of an album of traditional Afghan folk music and a short film documenting the creation of that album. We went to Kabul to record and shoot a band of local musicians last summer, and we’re now selling the album digitally on online music stores.
Adam Gouttierre: I was born in Kabul and grew up listening to this kind of music. I left Afghanistan early in my life, and had always heard about the tragedies of Afghan musicians, beginning with the Soviet invasion in the late 1970s and worsening during the Taliban’s reign in the 1990s. Music was basically forbidden and many musicians fled the country. Now, the country is trying to rebuild that musical heritage, and we wanted to do something to document and support that effort. We believed we could expose this music to a new audience.
The L: It takes balls to travel to a war-ravaged country to help revive something that 30 years of fighting has nearly destroyed. What was it like being in Afghanistan?
CB: Scary, amazing, frightening. All of those. Kabul is a bruised but beautiful city. The people are incredible. The streets are teeming with energy. We felt like we were doing something these people would be proud of, and that was inspiring.
The L: How were you received as an American? Was it easy to get in the country and travel about?
AG: Afghans are known for their generous hospitality — we were welcomed with open arms. Most of the people we met were extremely supportive of our idea, and wanted to help however they could. Getting in was a little tricky. Afghan air carriers aren’t quite what you know from the Western world. And we weren’t able to leave Kabul for safety reasons. Inside Kabul, we traveled with an Afghan driver and translator during the day. We stayed indoors at night.
The L: Were there any threatening situations?
CB: We were there during a tenuous time. The Newsweek Koran scandal had just broken, and there was unrest all over the country. A few days into the trip, a European NGO worker was kidnapped. That night, we were having dinner with some government officials regarding our project. When word got out about the kidnapping, the city went into lockdown. We had to be disguised and escorted home with an armed guard — armed meaning giant machine gun. It turned out not to be needed, but we posted some pictures on our blog and sort of freaked out the loved ones a bit. Other than that, we didn’t have many problems.
The L: Tell us a bit about the type of music you were recording, and about the musicians involved:
AG: The album is 11 songs of traditional Afghan folk. We assembled a seven-player group, including a female vocalist and a master rubaab player. The rubaab is a big-bellied lute — it’s the signature sound of this type of music. Similar to a sitar, but a little bassier. Soulful, enchanting stuff. We also had tablas and a harmonium.
The L: How can people buy AMP?
AG: The album is on most major online music stores including iTunes and Rhapsody. All proceeds from the project will fund Afghan music teachers in Kabul who will teach music education to Afghan youth, particularly young women. Just 600 song downloads will fund one teacher’s salary for an entire year.
You can learn more about the Afghan Music Project at www.afghanmusicproject.org.
