Release Date: March 26, 2024
Check out Dying Son here: Single Link
Breaking Boundaries: Ooberfuse Unites Cultures and Hearts Through the Power of Music in ‘Dying Son’
London, UK
Bringing together a fusion of cross-border and cross-cultural elements, London-based band Ooberfuse unites with Palestinian multi-instrumentalists Charlie Rishmawi and Miguel Khair for the reinvigorating new release, “Dying Son”. This poignant, musical lament rises from the depths of turmoil and grief to voice the voiceless: the unfathomable pain that shatters a mother’s heart on the battlefields of the Holy Land.
In a world where headlines so often arrest us, numbing us to the personal stories of loss and grief, “Dying Son” comes to the fore, putting a sharp point on the distress that follows from losing one’s son to the cruelties of modern warfare. Set to release on May 22, 2024, the Easter single, “which will highlight the unspoken agony of those left behind,” but also tells about forgiveness and hope in a background of despair.
A Collaboration Born of Shared Grief and Hope Ooberfuse, one is the natural outcome of its collaboration with the Palestinian artists, found a common way to find a pathway through the rubble of war and destruction.
“We had a glimpse of the horror in its fullness, so we were pleased to work with some of London’s finest musicians in an attempt to explore the possibilities of finding a pathway through the rubble left behind when the bombs have been dropped through music,” says Charlie Rishmawi, whose expertise in the oud and with vocals adds authenticity to the single. As Miguel Khair’s words referred, “The rain kept coming as a blessing, really, from another world, as a tribute to the common mourning of the region.
“It was like all the tears of the mothers and fathers put together, raining down from the skies to remind us of their pain,” he said.
Ooberfuse: The London Duo with a Global Voice
Consisting of Hal St. John and Cherrie Anderson, Ooberfuse is a twosome that brought forth an ethereal form of electronic pop music with the east and west musical traditions.
Their music—described by one of the most important British critics as a combination of “complex beauty that will resonate”—is often focused on subjects like social justice, peace, and the common human experience of suffering and hope. But “Dying Son” was there, and Hal St. John gives his performance to that message of profound forgiveness in the face of loss: “Confronted by the morbid spectacle of her dying son, the mother with supernatural energy whispers a shaming reproach to those thirsting for blood: ‘I still love my enemies.'” Cherrie Anderson voiced this notion in “Dying Son,” too, and found a parallel in what is considered in the season of Easter: the story the song has to tell of finally breaking out of a cycle of hatred and violence for peace to return to the Holy Land.
The Video: A Visual Journey of Grief and Hope
Shot through an unexpected monsoon from Amman to ending with a sunset over Jericho and Jerusalem, the music video adds a profound visual layer to the audio.
His work wonderfully reflects the song and brings to light its meaning, leaving room for empathy and an ardent call for peace in the region, which has been a matter of many years of conflict.
Proceeds from “Dying Son” will go to needy families in Gaza and the West Bank, in cooperation with the UK-based charity Friends of the Holy Land.
It extends, in fact, the message of the song into a concrete act of solidarity, providing personalized and urgent aid to the people directly involved in the conflict. As “Dying Son” gets set for an Easter release, Ooberfuse’s Hal St John and Cherrie Anderson join Charlie Rishmawi and Miguel Khair to bring listeners around the world to a place of reflection on how love and forgiveness are the only real course to lasting peace. They brought forth a voice for the voiceless and even a light of hope unto the world, longing for reconciliation, in their musical lament. Listen to Djson on Spotify or take a look at the video on him. Feel free to further follow their hopeful, healing music journey on the band’s official website or the Instagram page. Serving, in sorrow and loss, “Djson” is a light that reminds all who read it that even in the blackest of times, the possibility offered in humanity’s ability to love and forgive will light the way toward peace.
