Tape III of "The Catastrophe" triology by Asher.Zax

A
drain
blow
pierce
smash
empty

B
Cisterns Continues

Cisterns/Tal Nitzan
(translated from Hebrew by the poet)

Our hands did not drain the water
our hands did not blow up the wells
our hands did not pierce the pipes
did not smash the reservoirs
the purification plants
did not empty the cisterns

and at the sight of the little girl
descending the ghost steps
orphaned from the home
that we did not destroy
one hand holding on to her baby brother
the other carrying an empty plastic container
to be filled at the distribution point
$4 per one cubic meter

our throats are not blaze with a thirst
more scorching than any thirst.

The Catastrophe - Al-Nakba - is a term used specifically to refer to the destruction and occupation of Palestinian homeland and the displacement of the majority of Palestinians by the Israeli state. The word, and the act of, Nakba resonates from 1948 to the present day. The Catastrophe continues. It also expands its reach to infect present-day Israeli society.

Cisterns is a musical setting of a poem written by poet Tal Nitzan. The poem, inspired by Massimo Berruti’s photograph, portrays two little children carrying a water tank in the ruins of a bombarded building in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, on their way to a water distribution point shortly after an Israeli air-force attack on Gaza in 2014.

For Cisterns Asher.Zax were joined by the musicians of the experimental music ensemble Musica Nova, percussionist Raimund Engelhardt and Contrabassist Nadav Masel. The composition draws its origins and inspiration from Raga Lalit, which is one of the ragas of the hindustani Dhrupad tradition.

Meira Asher - Voice, Structure
Eran Sachs - Electronics
Raimund Engelhardt - Pakhawaj
Nadav Masel - Contrabass
Adi Snir - Contra-alto Clarinet
Maayan Tsadka - Trumpet, Objects, Hydrophone

Poem by Tal Nitzan
Translated to Arabic by Idan Barir
Translated to English by Tal Nitzan
Photograph: Gaza, Beit Hanoun 2015 by Massimo Berruti

A. Live at Hazira JLM-al-Quds
Poem read by Tal Nitzan
Sound by Eyal Lally Bitton
Recorded by Ido Mandil

B. Live at CCA Yafa-Tel Aviv
Sound by Adi Snir
Recorded by Meira Asher

Mixed by Daniel Meir
Mastered by Ricardo Mazza
Image design: Nadav Levi
Text assistance: Liam Evans

[Released March 21, 2023, Raash Records]