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| "THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE" & "PLUS DE LARMES" Another organization decidated to promoting global peace, as well as offering assistance to victims of war, is the Kim Foundation. Kim Phuc was the badly burned 9-year-old girl who was photographed, along with several other children, fleeing in terror from a napalm attack during the Vietnam War. The photograph, taken by Nick Ut, was published world-wide via Associated Press (AP). Kim has been a Canadian citizen for some time now and lives in Ajax, Ontario. In order to bring additional awareness to Kim's organization, recording artist-composer Yanah (www.yanah.be), in collaboration with Belgian musician-producer Eric Geurts (a.k.a. the Flying Snowman) have collaborated on a two-track disc appropriately entitled The Girl in the Picture (napalm girl), that specific track written by Eric Geurts. The second track is entitled, "Plus de Larmes (no more tears)", which was written by Yanah. Proceeds from the sale of the disc are being donated to the Kim Foundation. "The Girl in the Picture" is vocalized by Yanah, who has a lovely voice that captures the essence of a young girl. The song opens with the sorrowful strains of a Cambodian-sounding flute, followed by the sounds of aerial bombing and an spoken-word intro announcing "Vietnam 1972". This pop-rock waltz track has a 3/4 time signature, orchestrated with a 4-string quarter, piano, bass, electric guitar, drums and choir vocals provided by Mozaiek. "Plus de Larmes" opens with a haunting lullaby melody on piano backing a multilingual declaration against tears caused by war. The languages spoken here are Belgian French, English, Belgian Dutch, Russian, Congolese Lingala, Romanian, Thai, South African, Gabonese Fang, Tunesian Arabian, Israeli Hebrew, Chinese Mandarin and Indian Malayalan. This is a more polished effort, with an equally haunting Pink Floyd-ish guitar filling out the sound. It's a lovely but melancholy composition that left me wanting to hear more, as it's not quite even three minutes long. The musical endeavour is extremely appreciated by Kim Phuc, who cried when she first heard "The Girl in the Picture". Kim, who is now the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Culture and Peace, actually met with Yanah in Brussels at a press conference on September 24/03 to be presented with an official copy of the newly-released recording. For more information on the Kim Foundation and to obtain a copy of the CD, click on any of the links above. It would make an excellent Christmas present for anyone who wants to help children in need and truly wishes for peace in the world. |
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