Stone Flowers
On 11th December 2015 Stone Flowers, musical collective of refugee torture survivors, are bringing their new album Ngunda to Manchester as part of a fundraiser in support of the group’s founding charities Music Action International (MAI) and Freedom from Torture (FfT) North West.
The group was first brought together as a positive response to the shocking use of music as a form of torture in Guantanamo Bay and other military detention camps. Through Stone Flowers, the survivors have been empowered to write and perform their own songs and take ownership of the creative process, with all participants contributing musical ideas, lyrics and melodies, leading the songs and playing instruments. Each member brings a different musical tradition to the group, with songs performed in Tamil, Farsi, Kikongo, Lingala, Arabic, French and English; blending traditional and modern instruments with musical influences ranging from Tamil folk to Congolese Soukous.
Lis Murphy, Creative Director of Music Action International, had this to say about the project: “Each member of Stone Flowers has something important to say and the music they have created to express this is incredibly powerful. We are delighted to present the life affirming experience of a Stone Flowers performance at Manchester Club Academy.”
Show information
Friday 11 December 2015
7pm – 10.30pm
Manchester Club Academy
Tickets can be purchased here
Music Action International Website: http://musicaction.org
Freedom From Torture Website: http://www.freedomfromtorture.org
Music Action International design and deliver music programmes that reach individuals and communities devastated by war, armed conflict and torture. Through our work music becomes a means to reduce the effects of trauma, raise awareness of human rights abuses, and develop connections between divided communities.
Freedom from Torture (FFT) North West is the only UK charity devoted wholly to the rehabilitation of survivors of torture. We currently provide medical treatments, counselling and therapies to over 1500 torture survivors each year across five regional centres. Established in 1985, we have received over 50,000 referrals originating from 88 countries.
