Paris-London. Music Migrations journey through decisive decades
From the beginning of the 1960s to the end of the 1980s, multiple musical trends linked to migratory flows transformed Paris and London into multicultural capitals. Paris-London. Music Migrations offers an immersive and chronological journey through these three decisive decades of the musical history of Paris and London.
Paris-London. Music Migrations explores the dense and complex links between migration, music, anti-racist struggles and political mobilizations. The exhibition shows how several generations of immigrants seized music to make their rights equal, claim their place in the public space and contribute to transformations both urban economic and cultural aspects of both countries.
True musical and visual experience, Paris-London. Music Migrations presents more than 600 documents and works of art related to music – instruments, costumes, photos, concert posters, videos, record covers, fanzines … – from institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, but also sets from personal collections of musicians – including that of Manu Dibango -, a costume of Fela Kuti the “father” of Afro-beat or achievements of Jean Paul Gaultier.
The tour features rich series of photographers such as James Barnor, Charlie Phillips, Pierre Terrasson, Philippe Chancel and Syd Shelton, as well as works by contemporary artists such as Saadane Afif, Paul Villinski, Isaac Julien and Rose Eken.
Martin Meissonnier, composer, musical producer and director, proposes, finally, a gallery of video portraits with the unpublished testimonies of musical personalities who embody multiple connections between Paris and London, such as Amina, Wally Badarou, Sophie Bramly, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac , Neneh Cherry, Jacob Desvarieux, Manu Dibango, Brian Eno, Vivien Goldmann, Ray Lema, Cameron McVey, Blaise N’Djehoya and Robert Wyatt.
The playlist of the exhibition includes Poly Styrene’s reggae-punk, Manu Dibango’s makossa, Cheikha Rimitti’s vintage rai, Desmond Dekker’s ska, Soul II Soul’s R & B, Salif Keïta’s Mandingo, the blue Millie Small’s beat, Noura’s Algerian song, Rachid Taha’s punk without borders, Asian Dub Foundation’s Asian underground, Papa Wemba’s rumba rock, Aswad’s roots reggae, Dahmane El Harrachi’s chaâbi, Linton Kwesi Johnson’s dub poetry, Kassav’s zouk, Neneh Cherry’s electro-rap, Alpha Blondy’s afro-reggae, Bob Marley’s legendary reggae, Khaled’s modern rai, mixed-metal rock Green Negresses, Vigon’s rhythm’n’blues, King Sunny Ade’s juju music …
