Latest news with #BrianEno
UPI
3 days ago
- Politics
- UPI
Ship with aid bound for Gaza readies to set sail to break Israeli blockade
June 1 (UPI) -- A ship filled with aid bound for Gaza readied to set sail Sunday, hoping to break Israel's blockade on the Palestinian enclave a month after another of its ships was damaged in an alleged Israeli drone strike in Maltese waters. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition was expected to set sail Sunday on a ship called the Madleen from Malta with activists onboard, including Greta Thunberg; celebrity artists Brian Eno and Nan Goldin; actors Susan Sarandon, Guy Pearce, Aiysha Hart, Liam Cunningham, and Indya Moore; and Alana Hadid, the daughter of Palestinian-Jordanian real estate developer Mohamed Hadid, among others. The ship is carrying "as much life-saving aid as she can carry," including baby formula and medical supplies. Its organizers have stressed that the ship is not carrying any weapons. Organizers have installed a tracking device on the ship so that the public can view its progress, noting that "the risk is real." They hope that the tracker can help increase its safety, accountability and solidarity with their mission. A similar flotilla was raided by the IDF in May 2010, leading to the close-range shooting deaths of at least nine passengers in international waters. "Unarmed and nonviolent, 'Madleen' poses no threat. She sails in full accordance with international law," the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said in a statement on Telegram. "Any attack or interference will be a deliberate, unlawful assault on civilians." Last month, another ship called the Conscience put out an SOS distress signal when it was 16 miles off the coast of Malta. "The front of the vessel was targeted twice, resulting in a fire and a breach in the hull," the group said at the time. "We have sent an SOS distress signal out, but no one has responded. Water is coming into the ship."
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
Brian Eno donates his Windows 95 chime fee to Palestinian aid
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Brian Eno has penned an open letter to Microsoft urging the tech company to disinvest in Israel and has pledged to donate his fee from the six second chime he originally composed for Windows 95 to aid for Palestinians. It comes in the wake of Microsoft admitting that it has sold AI and cloud computing services to the Israeli Defence Force that have been used in the war in Gaza. It is estimated that over 63,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict since October 2023. Eno has posted his letter on Instagram. In it, that he 'never would have believed' that the company that once represented 'a promising technological future' would be complicit in 'the machinery of oppression and war'. 'In the mid-1990s, I was asked to compose a short piece of music for Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system,' he said by way of an introduction. 'Millions - possibly even billions - of people have since heard that short start-up chime - which represented a gateway to a promising technological future. I never would have believed that the same company could one day be implicated in the machinery of oppression and war.' He continues: 'Selling and facilitating advanced AI and cloud services to a government engaged in systematic ethnic cleansing is not 'business as usual.' It is complicity. If you knowingly build systems that can enable war crimes, you inevitably become complicit in those crimes. 'We now live in an age where corporations like Microsoft often command more influence than governments. I believe that with such a power comes an absolute ethical responsibility. Accordingly, I call on Microsoft to suspend all services that support any operations that contribute to violations of international law.' Eno was originally paid $35,000 for his composition by Microsoft, money which will now go to Gazans very much in need of aid. His statement continued: 'My new start up chime is this: stand in solidarity with the brave Microsoft workers who have done something truly disruptive and refused to stay silent. They risk their livelihoods for people who have lost and will continue to lose their lives.' 'I invite artists, technologists, musicians, and all people of conscience to join me in this call.' In recent years Eno has been increasingly vocal about a range of political issues, especially Palestinian freedom. In April 2021 he took part in a Live For Gaza online concert, which featured Gaza's first rock band Osprey V and he was amongst the first artists to call for a ceasefire after the Israeli aerial bombardment started back in October 2023.
Hypebeast
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hypebeast
Aryo Toh Djojo's ‘Spectra' Explores Multidimensional Reality Through Art, Sound & Atmosphere
Summary Opening today,Perrotin Hong Kongwill be unveilAryo Toh Djojo's newest exhibition,Spectra. Shaped by temperature, sound and atmospheric conditions, the LA-based artist transforms traditional painting into an evolving sensory experience. His latest body of work merges explores the interplay between inner clarity and cosmic revelation, inviting viewers to engage with perception as a gateway to expanded consciousness. Toh Djojo believes everyone exist within a multidimensional reality, where meditation, hypnosis and altered states can reveal realms beyond ordinary vision. 'Our mind and spirit are one with the cosmos. If we can tap into that, we can gain knowledge and answers of what lies beyond,' he reflects. This belief fuels his practice, where heat-reactive paintings pulse between visibility and obscurity, echoing the ever-shifting nature of truth and experience. 'Some situations are guided more by logic, some are more mystical. If we're open to both, life becomes more interesting.' At the heart of the exhibition are thermochromic paintings, which gradually reveal UFO-like forms as the temperature rises, reinforcing Toh Djojo's fascination with extraterrestrial presence and hidden knowledge. His approach is rooted in both personal experience and artistic inquiry. Having witnessed unidentified aerial phenomena firsthand, he embraces the unknown with reverence and curiosity. The layered ambient soundscape, inspired by a workshop with Brian Eno, mirrors this indeterminate quality. Drone textures, field recordings and fragmented melodies play on looping tracks, each shifting independently, reflecting Toh Djojo's belief that truth is a fluid interplay between logic and mysticism. 'Some situations are guided more by logic, some are more mystical. If we're open to both, life becomes more interesting,' he notes. The journey throughSpectraunfolds like a meditative experience, with transitional works offering moments of introspection and transformation. A sinewy candle flame burns with devotional intensity, while a serene blue Siddhartha head recalls Buddhist statuary, gesturing toward impermanence and self-discovery. Beyond these quiet moments, the second gallery erupts into highly detailed airbrush paintings, blending science fiction themes with spiritual mysticism. Toh Djojo's compositions evoke otherworldly transmissions, from a six-fingered hand reaching outward to a nude spirit guide with a steady, searching gaze. Each image is a portal into alternative forms of knowing, resonating with Toh Djojo's belief that empirical science and embodied intuition both contribute to our understanding of the universe. 'We're all experiencing our own realities in a weird universal consciousness way.' Ultimately,Spectrameditates on uncertainty, revelation and unseen dimensions, reflecting the artist's conviction that reality is deeply personal yet universally interconnected. 'We're all experiencing our own realities in a weird universal consciousness way,' he suggests. The exhibition title itself speaks to this idea: color, sound and heat operate as frequencies within a broader spectrum, forming shifting, impermanent fields that hint at realms beyond human perception. Just as Toh Djojo's thermochromic paintings transform with temperature, his artistic vision resists fixity, embracing experience as a fluid and ever-evolving phenomenon—whether encountered in meditation, mystery, or the fleeting glow of a distant spacecraft in the night sky. His California roots also shape his artistic approach, where airbrushed surfaces and atmosphere-responsive materials evoke a sense of fluidity, movement, and geographic influence. Ultimately, Spectra is less about delivering definitive answers and more about embracing uncertainty, inviting audiences to contemplate reality as a shifting phenomenon rather than a fixed truth. Aryo Toh Djojo'sSpectraopens today and will remain on view until July 5, 2025. Perrotin Hong Kong807, K11 ATELIER Victoria Dockside,18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The 'scary spotlight' on music stars amid Kneecap terror charge
Before the amps are even switched on in Brockwell Park, there's been a lot of noise about who should or shouldn't be performing. It's where are set to play their first major show since band member Mo Chara was in support of the terrorist group Hezbollah at one of their gigs. Before that, there had been calls for festivals to reconsider booking the band over their political stances, and several have done, which prompted artists like Brian Eno, the Mystery Jets and CMAT to sign an open letter accusing Westminster and the British media of a campaign to "remove Kneecap from the public eye". They put their names to wording that said "in a democracy, no political figures… have the right to dictate who does and does not play at music festivals." The band have since claimed they're designed to silence their views on Gaza. So what's the reality like for artists who are outspoken at a time when the world is so divided? As some of the biggest names in music gathered in London for the Ivors, an annual celebration of songwriting, Self-Esteem - aka Rebecca Lucy Taylor - said the level of scrutiny can be "terrifying". 'The problem with the internet' She told Sky News: "The problem with the internet is you say one thing, which gets scrutinised, and then you shit yourself, you really do… then you're advised not to. And then you're like 'don't advise me not to!' "You second-guess anything you want to say any more… but any time I do that, I think 'well that's why you've got to say it then'." She said it can be frustrating that focus turns on to pop stars' opinions instead of "the people doing the bad things". Read more: 'Being a pop artist isn't just about the music' Former Little Mix singer Jade said: "To be a pop artist these days, it's not just about music, it's: 'What's your political stance?' "I've always been quite vocal about those things, but in doing so you have even more of a scary spotlight on you, constantly assessing what your thoughts are as a human…it is scary." Trinidad-born London artist Berwyn, whose songs depict his struggles with UK immigration, says: "Silencing freedom of speech… is a road we don't want to walk down. "I'm not a politician, this is a very complicated issue, but I do absolutely believe in a human's right to express themselves freely." But is that freedom of speech dependent on what side you're coming from? 'Unethical investments' Soon, an event called Mighty Hoopla will take place at Brockwell Park as part of its programme of six festivals this summer. Artists performing at that are coming under increased pressure from pro-Palestine groups to quit because it's owned by a company called Superstruct, which has links to an American investment firm called KKR. Critics argue that any KKR-affiliated events should be a red flag to artists as campaigners claim it "invests billions of pounds in companies" that do things like "develop Israeli underground data centres", and they say it has shares in companies that "advertise property on illegally occupied land in the West Bank".Mighty Hoopla itself has said while it "cannot control investments made in our parent companies", it wants to "state its clear opposition to KKR's unethical investments". And Superstruct - which puts on over 80 festivals around the world - says while horrified by the crisis in Gaza: "We are aware that there is a significant amount of debate… around our festivals. "Our owners, made up of our promoters and several investment firms, support us to achieve the highest standards... fans and artists rightly expect." They insist that operationally, Superstruct is independently run and all its "revenue and profits… remains entirely within our business… towards the ongoing development… of our festivals." Read more from Sky News: Even deciding where to perform can have political connotations for musicians these days. As Tom Gray, a founding member of the rock band Gomez, now chair of the Ivors, explains: "The amount of commercial interest required to get a young artist into the public eye means they have to keep their head down a lot and that's a terrible shame. "It's not just artistic expression, but personal human expression is one of the fundamental things that allows people to feel they have agency."
Sky News
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
The 'scary spotlight' on music stars amid Kneecap terror charge
Before the amps are even switched on in Brockwell Park, there's been a lot of noise about who should or shouldn't be performing. It's where Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap are set to play their first major show since band member Mo Chara was charged for allegedly displaying a flag in support of the terrorist group Hezbollah at one of their gigs. Before that, there had been calls for festivals to reconsider booking the band over their political stances, and several have done, which prompted artists like Brian Eno, the Mystery Jets and CMAT to sign an open letter accusing Westminster and the British media of a campaign to "remove Kneecap from the public eye". They put their names to wording that said "in a democracy, no political figures… have the right to dictate who does and does not play at music festivals." The band have since claimed they're the victims of "political policing" designed to silence their views on Gaza. So what's the reality like for artists who are outspoken at a time when the world is so divided? As some of the biggest names in music gathered in London for the Ivors, an annual celebration of songwriting, Self-Esteem - aka Rebecca Lucy Taylor - said the level of scrutiny can be "terrifying". 'The problem with the internet' She told Sky News: "The problem with the internet is you say one thing, which gets scrutinised, and then you shit yourself, you really do… then you're advised not to. And then you're like 'don't advise me not to!' "You second-guess anything you want to say any more… but any time I do that, I think 'well that's why you've got to say it then'." She said it can be frustrating that focus turns on to pop stars' opinions instead of "the people doing the bad things". 'Being a pop artist isn't just about the music' Former Little Mix singer Jade said: "To be a pop artist these days, it's not just about music, it's: 'What's your political stance?' "I've always been quite vocal about those things, but in doing so you have even more of a scary spotlight on you, constantly assessing what your thoughts are as a human…it is scary." Trinidad-born London artist Berwyn, whose songs depict his struggles with UK immigration, says: "Silencing freedom of speech… is a road we don't want to walk down. "I'm not a politician, this is a very complicated issue, but I do absolutely believe in a human's right to express themselves freely." But is that freedom of speech dependent on what side you're coming from? 'Unethical investments' Soon, an event called Mighty Hoopla will take place at Brockwell Park as part of its programme of six festivals this summer. Artists performing at that are coming under increased pressure from pro-Palestine groups to quit because it's owned by a company called Superstruct, which has links to an American investment firm called KKR. Critics argue that any KKR-affiliated events should be a red flag to artists as campaigners claim it "invests billions of pounds in companies" that do things like "develop Israeli underground data centres", and they say it has shares in companies that "advertise property on illegally occupied land in the West Bank". Mighty Hoopla itself has said while it "cannot control investments made in our parent companies", it wants to "state its clear opposition to KKR's unethical investments". And Superstruct - which puts on over 80 festivals around the world - says while horrified by the crisis in Gaza: "We are aware that there is a significant amount of debate… around our festivals. "Our owners, made up of our promoters and several investment firms, support us to achieve the highest standards... fans and artists rightly expect." They insist that operationally, Superstruct is independently run and all its "revenue and profits… remains entirely within our business… towards the ongoing development… of our festivals." Even deciding where to perform can have political connotations for musicians these days. As Tom Gray, a founding member of the rock band Gomez, now chair of the Ivors, explains: "The amount of commercial interest required to get a young artist into the public eye means they have to keep their head down a lot and that's a terrible shame. "It's not just artistic expression, but personal human expression is one of the fundamental things that allows people to feel they have agency."
