Ep #7: "I Ache for Home Music"

Femme FM

Host Shaya Ishaq and Guest Host Carmella Farahbakhsh look critically at western Classical music through the experiences of second gen Canadians. Carmella talks about the tension between "a love for their violin and a deep rage and heartbreak about not having access to my traditional cultural music." Shaya speaks with multi-instrumentalist Nick Dourado(Budi, Century Egg, Special Costello)about the Black classical tradition and the role improvisation has in disrupting and subverting western classical music. Carmella speaks with their sibling, Isaiah Farahbakhsh--a classically trained cellist and the host of 'With Strings' on CFRU 93.3 FM (Wednesdays @6pm)-- about their experiences navigating very white, upperclass, classical music scenes, and shares some jazz history. ~Femme FM twitter gal~ Lianne Xiao reflects on her time as a budding pianist, and her relationship with her mother. ~*~*~*~ Bios ~*~*~*~ Isaiah Farahbakhsh is a mixed race Iranian jazz musician and theoretical ecologist-in-training, studying at the University of Guelph. He loves composition, spontaneous co-creation and nerding out. A great passion of his is sustainability which he explores through the laws of physics, mathematics, food production and social justice. He hosts “With Strings”, a radio show on CFRU 93.3 FM, in Guelph. It features bowed strings in modern jazz, while speaking to issues of race and gender in music. ~*~*~*~ Nick Dourado is a femme-y brown fairy, engineer, ocean scientist and music worker who expends his energy rockin' and fightin' like a tiny boat on a terrible ocean with a tiger in it. His priority was always making a big joyful sound and making it back to the beach so it's a wonder anything else gets done at all. ~*~*~*~ Lianne Xiao is a second year journalism and creative writing student at the University of King's College in Halifax. In her spare time she likes to walk the dog, play the piano, and sulk because she cannot get paid to sit around the house in lingerie. She is strong advocate for unwashed fruit and blonde Kim Kardashian. She often finds herself falling in love with girls on public transportation. Find her on twitter here: https://twitter.com/blackvisababy ~*~*~*~Featured Music~*~*~*~ Tona Brown The Aida String Ensemble Black Violin Cris Derksen Tanya Tagaq Princess Nokia Charlie Parker <3 Image Art: Jacob Baker-Kretzmar <3