من: مجلة ليالينا العربية الى: الموسيقي المبدع روني باسم الموضوع: أسئلة حوارية
من هو “روني باسم” – دراستك – وظيفتك – مسيرتك المهنية ؟
I describe myself as a homeless being trying to uproot my Lebanese heritage in order to spread my wings. The contrast inherent between the American Label “Ronnie” and the Lebanese Label “Bassem” has given me a better understanding of who I am, to aspire to become a global being unattached to anything that does not serve my personal growth.
I graduated high school from American Boys School of Tripoli, Lebanon then graduated college with a Masters degree from George Mason University in Northern Virginia, USA. I studied Econometrics & I am fascinated with numbers.
Between 1983 and 2000, I served as Director of Finance for an international group based in Washington DC / Northern Virginia. I worked for them in the USA, Saudi Arabia, England, Germany, Washington DC and Vienna, Virginia.
During 2000 I established my own business, the largest night club in Fredericksburg, Virginia (South of Washington DC). From 1975 through 2000 I never heard of Fredericksburg which I later discovered that it was the LAST city in the USA to surrender Slavery of Black-Americans. The City Manager of Fredericksburg fought me for 8 years from 2000 till 2008 to shut my business down because I allowed Black clientele into my club. Finally they placed me in Jail under a false liquor law that the city of Fredericksburg enacted illegally, since all liquor laws are enacted by law in Richmond, the Capital of Virginia.
So I started my life all over again just like a 5-year old child, contacted my prior employer who started me in Iraq during July 2008. Served in Iraq for 18 months and since March 2010 I’ve been serving in Afghanistan as Director of Finance.
During my isolate presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, I began to soul-search and discovered that spiritual writing and music production were means of healing and growth for me. So I am pursuing this path in the hope to leave my professional career, get out of Afghanistan and finally come home to Lebanon.
متى انطلقت بمسيرتك المهنية وأين ؟
I produced the first 2 songs “Funny Tears” and “Mirandalynn” during 1997 when music was just a hobby. In the isolate living conditions of Afghanistan, I built a mini music studio inside my 20-foot living container and produced 9 full albums during the last 2 years. I have a website that hosts all my productions under: www.RonnieBassem.com
لماذا اخترت الموسيقى الى جانب مهنتك ؟
During my childhood and absence of my dear father, I was raised by my 6 maternal uncles who were like 6 fathers to me. Each of them is a soul-mate who has influenced me with his own distinct and different taste of music: from Classical to Fariouz, from French (Aznavour) to Western (Engelbert), from Spanish (Soul of Spain) to the Bee Gees, etc. and even old school such as Abdul Wahab or Abdul Mattalib. I have also been encouraged to remain on the music path, as I’ve been mystically told that Angel Gabriel (Angel of Music) helps me all the time.
ما هو الذي يجعل موسيقتك مختلفة عن الاخرين؟ وكيف تقيم موسيقاك؟
Often, I don’t perceive my music as music to be compared to other artists, but I rather see it as converting what I feel into the mechanics of instrumental sounds. Being good with numbers, I’ve become good with the music software as the alignment of various instruments into a single mix is just like a mathematical arrangement. Since it relates to what I feel, it has to be Ambient and Euphoric, therefore my music brand AWE standing for “Ambient / World / Euphoric”.
More importantly, music is the language of the Soul and I am very close to my Spiritual aspects. Most importantly, I resent the influence of Western Rap of Drugs and Violence upon Lebanese society. One of my core messages is to awaken our youth to our heritage, where our youth should demand from the West to emulate and imitate us, instead of the other way around.
ما هي برأيك العوامل التي دفعتك للوصول الى تلك الموسيقى المبتكرة ؟ وما هي الصفات التي تتمتع بها ساهمت بتطور موسيقاك؟
The main drive behind my music is truly my longing and love to Lebanon. Having been in exile for over 30 years has piled up so much pain, the outcome of which is the joy of knowing that I can dictate my own life. I have the power to choose to come home, I’ve sacrificed almost 7 seven years between Iraq and Afghanistan, all for one purpose is to come home and hopefully make a difference. I challenge any Lebanese living abroad, whether in USA, Canada, Europe and Australia, that they can claim to be TRULY happy. Anyone born in our sacred land can tour the whole world in 360 degrees like I did, but cannot find that BLISS without coming home.
Since I was a kid, my Mother gave me the nickname “Barri” or wild. I am never home and I am always out late at night. Another reason why I opened a night club, it’s in my own blood to be surrounded by music till the sunrise comes up.
ما هي خططك المستقبلية ؟ وما هي الاهداف التي تأمل تحقيقها ؟
My short-term and near future objective is to first create the AWE Brand Awareness through the help of Ghassan and his 360 PR Group. This awareness is crucial in order for us to line up a Concert. A concert is important to me since I see it as a great avenue to speak to our youth, not just with music but with certain lectures that I wish to deliver regarding the essence of Lebanon and the negative influences of external forces. Having met Hillary Clinton and having worked as an Expat on US Military contracts during my career, allows me to portray certain truth that needs to be told.
نرى في موسيقاك حنين الى لبنان، ماذا تقول للذين هاجروا بلدهم وليسوا بوارد العودة ؟
Just as I mentioned earlier in point 5 above, if they have no plans to come home, then they have no plans to be blissful and happy. I say this with certainty that Lebanese abroad miss their home, just like a mother misses her baby. They don’t have to waste 30 plus years like me to awaken to the inevitable, which is coming back come, not only for their sake, but more importantly Lebanon today has an utmost and dire need for their return.
ما هو افصل عمل موسيقي قمت به حتى الان ؟
This is similar to asking: what was the best feeling you had expressed lately?
Among my favorite productions are:
Lebanon-Related:
- Pray With Me Amen
- WithoutAnAddress
- GibraniORGibrani
- LibnaniAl-Amircan
- BelovedTreasure–Lebanon
- Tears of Gibran
- WadiQanoubine
Western-Related:
- FragilityofInnocence
- Souls Sing Alike
- GentleWings
- You Are Who You Love
- FunnyTears
- Mirandalynn
- Phenomena
I always stop at number 7. The above are 14 out of 120 productions.
كيف تصف المرأة في عملك الموسيقي؟
I always felt bad what a woman has to endure between make-up, hair style and high heels. So I wrote a Lebanese song titled “Miwwal Skarbeeneh”.
I believe, regardless of the emotion behind any music production, there is a vision of a woman that every man longs for. This woman could be his mother, his sister, his lover or some undiscovered soul-mate.
If women disappear, then all music will halt.
After which, an emptiness may form, that is deeper than Hell.
نرى ” التكنو” في موسيقتك، ما الذي اخذك الى هذا النمط من الموسيقى ؟
The form of techno that is Euphoric is a highly positive form of Energy. If I listen to DJ Tiesto I don’t need Ecstasy to feel Euphoric. It is natural. This particular type of music has a higher “Vibrational Frequency” than any other. Such a frequency can make you transcend the physical body and feel absolutely wonderful. However, not all techno is Euphoric as much of it is repetitive and may keep you stuck in the same vibration. But when the Melody develops with the proper transitions taking you from Build-Ups to Build-Downs, then the Energy can fluctuate better.
هل لديك أي طموح سياسي أو مهني معين ؟ وهل تعتقد بأن موسيقى تستحق بأن تحظى باهتمام اكبر؟ لماذا ؟
My only political statement is on Facebook daily where I wrote:
I will religiously post this photo every single day of my life till the day I either bid farewell or till the day Lebanon is Healed. (Friday December 5, 2014)
I wish to remind our politicians that our Visit is short and our Farewell is long. I wish to remind them that we come in as innocent children and exit as innocent fragile old men, and yet forget such purity between our visits and farewells. Perhaps, this statement may remind them that whatever they are ambitiously gathering in their lives is hollow and cannot be transported in their graves. So they need to wake up for their own pruning to begin their truthful service to Lebanon and its people.
Yes music again is the language of the Soul and all Souls Sing Alike. It is a form of a higher expression and can thus serve as a means for awakening.
نصيحة تود اعطائها للبنانيين ولذواقي موسيقاك ؟
Please do not sing Rap in Arabic about stealing money from your mother to buy drugs. Please do not wear your underwear hanging over and above your jeans. Are you trying to imitate the worst of Western cultures? If so, let us lock you up in prison, perhaps as a criminal you can write the top Hollywood lyrics.
Please no longer point your right thumb & index fingers towards your left thumb & index fingers. This Yo Yo move you make with your fingers means: “Less than Zero and Bigger than Zero Signs simultaneously”. Together it means your condition is always at point Zero and you will get nowhere in life.
Teach the West our Dabkeh. It is far more complex than their Monkey Dance and it is also manly and more elegant.
Send them the Rahbani Lyrics of Fairouz and let them compare our lyrics to the junk they write from their jail cells.
Share with them the elegant videos of Elissa and Ragheb and let them compare our videos to their “I cannot write this One; I will let you guess it”.
Finally, I love the title of your magazine “Layalina” because it reminds me of a dear song I wrote to my first love when I was 12 years old. So I decided to share it with you:
العيون السود تجرحني
والبسمه البريئة تدبحني
هاجر عني حبيبي
وتركني للأيام
مش عارف شو نصيبي
تتحققلي الأحلام
شو بدي من الأيام
وشو بدي من الأحلام
يكفيني إسمع صوتك
وشوف عيونك يا لينا
حبيناكي يا لينا – وطولتي بليالينا
Thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity.
I hope to have the pleasure of meeting you in person while I visit Beirut during December.
Warmest Regards, Ronnie Bassem
December 6, 2014
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