Just me, a keyboard, a laptop, and the muse of amusement.
Perhaps even you.
Please check out more of my compositions in the player below
please join forces with us! we won’t abuse or torture your personal information.
in fact, it will be relatively painless.
we promise.
Influences
COFFEE
Let's drop some names here. in no particular order of importance:
First off, should you really care to know, I'd like to meet Roberto Benigni and his lovely wife Nicoletta Braschi.
That would be a really fun & interesting evening of conversation.
Oh, and Jackie Chan. Music:
I listen to & explore a wide range of musical styles. I really like what has become ubiquitiously known as "world music" which, by my definition of it, generally means non-western forms of composition. Favorites include third stream, klezmer, gypsy, Indian, Middle Eastern, soukous, forro, conjunto, fado, qawwali, ghazals, opera, jazz, bebop, fusion, experimental composition, ambient, film scores, theatre music & a creative hybrid of them all.
I prefer complicated polyrhythms, syncopation, odd time signatures, unfamiliar scales & structural motifs that are eclectic and unpredictable. A great sense of wonder, absurdity & humor in lyrics is always admired. Not too big into your generic 4/4 shopping mall beat but I do like a good utilitarian waltz rhythm now & then.
Lately I've been exploring the wonderful world of undiscovered independent artists across MySpace, Facebook, MusicForte, TagWorld (now gone defunct), ReverbNation, etc. as well as the incredible publication of Songlines Magazine, which you really should check out & subscribe to: breaking news on world music & musicians, events & 2 CDs included with each issue!
At any given time you may find me listening to the following artists:
Mozart, Rossini, David Byrne, King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Dewey Dellay, Todd Rundgren, Frank Zappa, Carla Bley, Charles Mingus, Bob Dylan, Ornette Coleman, Thomas Newman, Van Dyke Parks, Harry Partch, Silvestre Revueltas, Benoit Jutras, Violaine Corradi, Brian Eno, Nicola Piovani, Ennio Morricone, Stephen Sondheim, Eric Satie, Edgard Varese, Thelonious Monk, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Charlie Haden, Polyrock, Vic Mizzy, Material, John Cage, Carl Stalling, Steve Reich, Arvid Franzen, Bill Frisell, Alan Sherman, Yat-Kha, Bill Laswell, Glen Branca, Don Pullen, Philip Glass, Louis Andriessen, Quincy Jones, Aaron Copland, Warren Senders, Arvo Part, Hildegard Von Bingen, Dobet Gnahoré, Arther Brown, Stan Freiberg, John Prine, Charlie Parker, Kurt Weill, Tom Waits, Raymond Scott, Sonny Rollins, George Clinton, Bill Nelson, Café Tecuba, Leonard Bernstein, Crack the Sky, Pierre Boulez, Anatolia, Camper Van Beethoven, Mickey Katz, Rimsky-Korsakov, Oliver Messiaen, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Phil Ochs, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Robert Frip, Miles Davis, Henry Cowell, Elliott Sharp, Spike Jones, Bauhaus, Shostokovich, Rabindranath Tagore, XTC, James Weldon Johnson, Richard Fariña, Dizzy Gillespie, Tom Lehrer, Gilbert & Sullivan, Evan Ziporyn, Habib Koité, Jazz Butcher, Yann Tierson, The Residents, DJ Sybear, Eugene Chadbourne, Leonard Cohen, Ian & Sylvia, The Ruttles, Conlan Nancarrow, Don Byron, Can, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Roxy Music, Shooglenifty, In the Nursery, Arnold Schoenberg, Marc Ribot, Nicky Skopelitis, Nicolas Slonimsky, James Brown, John Zorn, Kurt Pahlen, Paco Peña, Ali Akhbar Khan, Natraj, Ute Lemper, Greetje Bijma, Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Bjork, War, Art Blakey, Tangerine Dream, Suburban Lawns, Don Cherry, Erkin Koray, Sam and Dave, Bang on a Can
Theatre:
Peter Brook, Franco Dragone, Julie Taymor, Robert Wilson, George Bernard Shaw, Mummenschanz, Willy boy Shakes, Groucho Marx, Dario Fo, Beckett, Paddy Swanson, Commedia dell'arte, Cirque du Soleil, Tom Stoppard, essayons theatre company, Brecht, John Langstaff, Revels Inc., Naqshineh theatre group of Iran, Robert Wilson, dood paard theatre company, wire monkey dance, Augusto Boal, Peking Opera, Le Ballet National du Senegal, Roberto Benigni, Indonesian & Turkish Shadow Puppets, Storahtelling
Writers & Books:
The Rest is Noise - Alex Ross, Ilf & Petrov, George Bernard Shaw, The Guide - R. K. Narayan, The Saddlebag - Bahiyyih Nakhjavani, Gravity's Rainbow - Thomas Pynchon, Rabindranath Tagore, The Empty Space - Peter Brook, dj Sybear, Jorge Luis Borges, James Weldon Johnson, Henderson the Rain King - Saul Bellow, World Tales - Idries Shah, Willy boy Shakes, Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth & Arts - Lewis Hyde, The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mulla Nasrudin by Idries Shah, Children of the Alley - Naguib Mahfouz, The Tradition of Constructivism - Steven Bann, Durov's Pig: Clowns, Politics and Theatre - Joel Schechter, Impro for Storytellers - Keith Johnstone, Richard Fariña, The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property - Lewis Hyde, Rabindranath Tagore, Most of the Most of S.J. Perelman, Color: A Natural History of the Palette - Victoria Finlay, Donald Barthelme
Artists & arts:
Cheryl Burke (my wife), Kinetic Sculptures by George Rhoads, Marcel Duchamp, Marc Chagal, Dada, Diego Rivera, Nathan Orie, Soviet & American Cold War Propaganda Posters, Banksy, Remedios Varos, Kasimir Malevich, Zaumnia, Surrealism, Federal Writer's & Theatre Project Posters, Constructivism, The City Museum, St. Louis, MO., Dali, Claes Oldenburg
the list grows & continues forever
Sounds Like
A house party broadcast by pirate radio from a satellite island drifting somewhere along the tropic of cancer...
My name is Elliott. I'm a music composer/ sound designer, writer & researcher who owns Ishah 'El theatre arts, a small non-profit theatre & performing arts company with the purpose of promoting the arts of ethnic culture in the community. Yep, that involves music, also.
I have some ambitious plans in the works that I will be revealing here & elsewhere soon: more music, writing, audio plays & podcasts of current projects. Currently I'm working on getting my website completed, updating all of these various social web sites, FUNDRAISING, & in the near future will be on several collaborative sites. I hope I find you there.
Once upon a time - quite a ways back now - I was involved in the early evolution of what would become Freaks Amor with my good friend Ricardo Acevedo. Should you care to check some of that stuff out, just head yourself on over & give it a listen. Should you find that you want to purchase some of the music found there, it has been made available at In the RA Studios; go to "Brave Nude Whirled". You should find them there.
Come Join Us!
We are looking for other like minded folk who are interested in working together to bring the arts & culture of the middle east, Afghanistan, South America, Africa, Asia, India and others further into our own worlds. If that's you then give us a call.
Also, for more info & sound files please check out my compositions in the player below or on other space(s) at:
We're raising money to find a new space to rehearse and perform in. Please consider gifting us with a tax deductible donation to help us find a new home. Just click on the buttons below and make a donation. Thanks for your support- we really appreciate it!
Ishah 'El theatre arts collaborative is a U.S. registered 501 (c) (3) non-profit charity organization formed in 2006 for the development, support, education and production of traditional performing arts of diverse cultures as well as developing new, original theatre works that focus on and feature the traditional cultural arts.
About Ishah 'El theatre arts
Ishah 'El theatre arts is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit performing arts & education theatre company focused on development, education, support and promotion of traditional arts of other cultures and developing new original works for public performance in our community. Our vision is to develop new & original works of theatre with an emphasis on spiritual & social themes and to share entertaining & uplifting stories of other cultures through live drama, music, dance, art & improvisation.
mountain of spices!
I also make & sell made by hand spice blends. Great for all of your cooking needs. Well, maybe most of them. Jump on over and check them out at:
Ever wondered what to do in the event of a nuclear threat?
A while ago I found stuff that inspired me to make this film:
Living Under the Shadow of the Nuclear Umbrella
Both artistic (ensure you get the background music!) and educational, it primarily comprises official British government civil defence advice.
Though source materials are quite aged, much remains relevant today.
I encourage all to visit the YouTube page to learn more (Show support! Rate! Comment!) and responsibly circulate as widely as possible, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaIim3Rj7L4
our video "The Weight of the World" (Factory of Dreams) has been released! I hope you'll enjoy it :) Feel free to spread the link and embed the vid on your profile!
FIREWATER - LIVE DEMONSTRATIONS! Last shows until October!
Jun 26 : Larz, GERMANY : Fusion Festival Jun 27 : Audincourt, FRANCE : Rencontres & Racines Jun 28 : Istanbul, TURKEY : Balkan Soundz Festival July 02 : Dornbirn, AUSTRIA : Speilboden July 03 : Bulle, SWITZERLAND : Gibloux Festival July 04 : Jena, GERMANY : JG Stadtmitte July 05 : Hradec Kralove, CZECH R.: Rock For People July 06 : Vienna, AUSTRIA : Szene Wein July 08 : Linz, AUSTRIA : Posthof July 10 : Steyr, AUSTRIA : Röda July 11 : Bologna, ITALY : Mondiali Antirazzisti July 12 : Milano, ITALY : Magnolia Festival July 13 : Colmar, FRANCE : Hiero July 15 : Paris, FRANCE : Batofar July 17 : Pozega, CROATIA : Dirty Old Empire Festival July 18 : Veszprem, HUNGARY : Utcazene Fesztivál July 24 : Riberac, FRANCE : Le Grand Souk Festival July 25 : Gdynia, POLAND : Globaltica Festival July 31 : Namur, BELGIUM : Esperanzha Festival Aug 01 : Habere-Poche, FRANCE : Rock'n'Poche Festival Aug 02 : Bladel, NETHERLANDS : Bladelse Zomerfeesten
> Bellydancers in costume get in free at all club shows!
> More shows are still being added, so check the Firewater MySpace page for updates.
> This message was sent by an evil robot. So if you are somewhere other than Europe and can't escape, we're sorry. We'll be back again someday soon.
Online Now!
