Our second Tət-à-Tեt features Collectif Medz Bazar, a band with musicians of Armenian, Turkish, American and French descent based in Paris. With their multicultural background, their music not only expresses a lot of these different influences but also spreads a message of fraternity between peoples. After the last war between Armenia & Azerbaijan, they published a song called “Vodki” with a strong anti-war message. In this interview, our collaborator Deniz Aslan interviewed them to ask them about their history, goals, backstages and the messages of Vodki, and what’s next in store for them.
***We recommend to activate subtitles***
Collectif Medz Bazar:
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Lyrics of Vodki in English (originally in Armenian, Turkish, English, French & Farsi):
We stand on the mountain slope
Vay lo lo lo, vay le le le
Let us dance together, shoulder to shoulder
Vay le le, may it heal my heart
Stand!
What happened?
Your pain, our pain
A thousand were sacrificed
How many woke up?
Stand! Hey!
Open your eyes
Tears in my eyes
What is left standing?
What slipped away from under your feet?
Stand!
Put out the fire
Notice me
Fulfill your wish
Your fear is weaker than you
Stand!
Where is your voice?
Give me your hand
Where are you? Where am I?
What is this flame between us?
Against those who keep you from looking into the eyes
of those that are different from you, fearing that you will love them
Who put these insults into your mouth?
Who put these weapons in your hand?
Do not kill with words or with bullets
Ask yourself these questions each day since you call yourself a human
Their lies have hypnotized you for centuries
Forget all those ´´sacred´´ things that they have imposed on you
Do not mistake the enemy, your enemy is in fact the one
Who destroys common dreams
Against those who silence you each time you pronounce the word ´´peace´´
With those who sow love instead of hate
With those who nurture life
With the spirit of Hrant Dink
We stand on the mountain slope
Vay lo lo lo, vay le le le
Let us dance together, shoulder to shoulder
Vay le le, may it heal my heart
Stand!
So much hate!
Stand!
We suffocate!
Stand!
My ghost, your fate
Some things you can´t exterminate
Stand!
He screams in your ear,
Stand!
I´ll sing to your fear,
Won´t dry my tears until you see you need me here!
Stand!
Bury that Ax!
Stand!
Bury those flags!
Stand!
Mighty national rags they´ll always stab you in your back!
Stand!
Name the names
Stand!
This is not a game
Stand!
No, they´re not all the same
We´re here to wake up, not to shame!
Stand! (Ayaklan)
We are tired of your hate
Of this system based on wars
corruption, flags, and money
Stand! (vodki)
Why so much blood?
We cannot even ask.
These hymns and prayers we learned by heart
Are all lies
Stand! (vodki)
How will these children grow up?
How will we look at each other?
Who will enjoy all these mountains and lands
If the sun doesn´t rise?
Remember the past, don´t remain silent
Open your eyes
Remember what matters
To live together in dignity
This resistance is ours!
Stand! (Vodki!)
My thoughts took me home,
I´m living a nightmare
Tyrants have decided to destroy our home
Raise your voices!
Until we find peace
In these cruel days, come, let´s struggle together!
What are this steps we´re taking?
What is this dance we´re dancing?
I don´t recognize any melody,
All is but darkness and noise.
Stand!
In a deafening roar
You silence all desires
Your incessant bombing has taken countless lives
Stand!
I only hear these planes
These zurnas give me the blues
The bullets whistle a terrible tune
your invasion rings hollow.
Your words are only cries
Your cries, only blows
That sweep us away down the river of madness
Rain has fallen, the waters have risen
my hope has drowned in them
They struggled in sweat
Walking forth yet looking back, they got lost
A hundred died, a thousand died
Their hearts burning for life
We, there to heal each other
Me, loving you
You, respecting me
We, to live together
They, to play around with us
We, helping each other to live
We stand on the mountain slope
Vay lo lo lo, vay le le le
Let us dance together, shoulder to shoulder
Vay le le, may it heal my heart
We stand on the mountain slope
Vay lo lo lo, vay le le le
Let us dance together, shoulder to shoulder
Vay le le, may it heal my heart
We stand on the mountain slope
Vay lo lo lo, vay le le le
Let us dance together, shoulder to shoulder
Vay le le, may it heal my heart
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