Terri Dunbar-Curran
WOMEN’S power and creativity are the driving themes behind Mynabirds singer and pianist Laura Burhenn’s latest album, Generals. So it seemed fitting that they be incorporated into the American indie pop artist’s Songbird Tour which will see her perform with Inge Beckmann at Welgemeend Estate in Gardens on July 3 at 8pm, before heading for the National Arts Festival .
With Generals, Burhenn did a portrait project of American women, The New Revolutionists.
“These are women who may not be making headlines, but who are quietly shaping their communities in fundamental, revolutionary ways,” she says, adding that promoters of her Songbird Tour thought the “zeitgeist” she’s been singing about is of great importance to South Africa as well.
“There are lots of amazing women lifting their communities up just because it’s the right thing to do – somebody’s got to do it! American politics is frustrating as hell; people spend their whole lives trying to change power structures with a top-down approach. And I fully support that – changing laws to ensure fair and equal treatment of all people. But sometimes the best way to empower, educate and encourage people – women particularly – is to simply do it.
“Let the politicians fight their fights, and just make things right by going around them altogether. In my opinion, that’s the perfect balance of Zen and punk rock.”
With the focus on “celebrating the creative woman”, this tour will see Burhenn collaborating with three singers from the Africa Voices Trust.
“I’ll have my keyboard with me and a few fancy pedals, but the vocalists will be adding their voices for full harmonies and even emulating organs and strings and other instrumentation in the album recordings. I think we’re going to create some lush, intimate orchestrations.
“Recreating these songs in this way reminds me of how music connects us so deeply together. When a few people join their voices together in song, suddenly they’re creating and sharing this undeniable power between them.”
Burhenn will also collaborate with artists like Beckmann, Lucy Kruger, Shotgun Tori, Faye Oakes and Eve Rakow at her gigs across the country. The distance alone has presented a challenge.
“We’re planning a couple of songs together in advance, passing recordings and chord charts and lyrics back and forth to learn on our own. Then we’ll work out the arrangements in rehearsal before the show.
“I’m excited to see what happens once we’re singing together in the same room. I’m sure every musician will bring something different to the night, and I can’t wait to see how unique each collaboration is.”
An important part of the tour is a mentorship programme running with the help of Lana Crowster and the African Voices Trust. For the students taking part, this will be their first experience on the road.
“I’ve sent them the songs, chord charts and lyrics along with some notes on what I’m imaging for live arrangements. But I’ve told them I’m excited for them to do their own thing, to make these songs their own,” says Burhenn.
“That’s one of the greatest lessons I’ve been taught over the years – to find and use your own voice. I hope this experience will encourage that in the singers. My mother once wrote a poem for me, a line of which I carry with me every day, ‘Lift your voice and your voice will lift the world’. In my opinion, helping someone find their voice is the essence of real education.”
Burhenn is working on her third Mynabirds record, and while most of it is already written and recorded, she is looking forward to seeing how the South African people and scenery inspire her.
“I’ve been meditating on this William Faulkner quote: ‘You cannot swim for new horizons until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.’ Touring South Africa seems like the perfect thing to do right now. I’m sure it’ll open me up in ways I can’t even imagine right now. And I’m welcoming that with open arms and an open heart.”
l Early bird tickets for the Welgemeend Estate show on July 3 are R195. See www.citysoiree.co.za/ laura-burhenn-live-in-sa/ or www.facebook.com/themynabirds