There's an old saying that if you sit enough monkeys at enough typewriters, eventually one of them will produce the complete works of Shakespeare. That may be true, but acquiring the requisite number of monkey/typewriter combinations poses quite a challenge, given the primates' less than prolific literary traditions. Birds and music, on the other hand, go back a long way, which raises a slightly different question: if you put the right birds with the right instruments, would they accompany their own singing?
An appealing installation at London's Barbican Centre is addressing this chirpy issue. The French composer-turned-artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot has transformed the centre's Curve gallery into a sort of aural aviary, equipped with various instruments on which the conscripts can hone their rock 'n' roll riffs or, as it actually transpires, their intriguingly abstract compositions.
These birds are definitely inclined toward more avant-garde material, and yet have also managed to attract a sizeable audience. Many human artists will be green with envy.
Boursier-Mougenot is renowned for bold interactions of sight and sound and this commission is a larger, more ambitious version of a once rather modest idea. Visitors enter through a curtain of metal chains, pass along a dark corridor lined with impressive audio/visual effects and are then thrust into a bright, spacious and slightly curious room, which could easily be a set from a neglected Tim Burton movie: Alice in Birdland, perhaps.
Under the six-metre high Curve roof around 20 upturned musical instruments have been stood on small, grassy islands, their power leads disappearing into the sand. Each takes on a dual role: classic Les Paul guitars and bass guitars become perches, while cymbals are refashioned as birdbaths and seed trays. Making good use of these items are some 40 tiny zebra finches, which appear blissfully unperturbed by their human visitors and proceed to peck, pull and generally punish the equipment with great enthusiasm.
Given its random nature, the array of sounds this interaction produces is surprisingly coherent, even oddly calming. The guitars are tuned to major chords with the reverb set high, so each brush with a bird produces an enduring prang of ambient noise, and a minor flurry of excitement among the onlookers gathered on the wooden path. When a territorial squabble breaks out on one of the fretboards, as happens fairly regularly, it sounds like an audacious finch has embarked on a full-on virtuoso solo.
Observing the daily chores of these jolly, red-billed characters would be richly entertaining even without the sonic element, so you can understand the project's popularity. Queues have been snaking through the Barbican for weeks, with many visitors clearly making return trips, and a short YouTube video sample of the birds in action has attracted 700,000 visitors so far.
"It's very accessible and understandable for everyone. There's no age at which it stops being interesting," says Ariella Yedgar, the assistant curator of the Curve. "It's obvious that these are not musically trained birds; they just do what they do, and then, because their instruments are tuned so well, it creates amazing sounds."
The project took a year to research and realise and, as Yedgar suggests, "it looks a lot easier than it was". Zebra finches were chosen for their gregarious, outgoing nature - and high noise tolerance - while visitors are limited to 25 at a time. Too many would disturb the aviary's inhabitants; too few and the birds might refuse to perform.
"The installation only really happens when there are people in the space," explains Yedgar. "The birds don't necessarily fly around all the instruments naturally, but as people move around, the birds go to be with other birds, or move to another island. It's really a choreography of space and sound."
But is it music? The staff certainly seem to think so. Alastair, one of the Curve stewards, is "in here three or four hours a day" and likes "to listen and hear if they play anything I recognise". Virtual visitors are also convinced of the finches' technical merits. That YouTube sample drew numerous comparisons to two experimental noise bands from the States, Sonic Youth and Sunn O, as well as a proper rock legend's improvised score for a 1995 Jim Jarmusch movie. "Neil Young wrote the soundtrack for Dead Man and it sounded exactly like this," commented one video viewer. "They could have saved a lot of money by hiring these birds."
Thorsten Sideboard has his own take on the finches' influences. The Scottish-born, now London-based DJ/producer runs a record label called Highpoint Lowlife, which specialises in "head-nodding distorted noise and anything else that doesn't sound right". Having been enticed to the Boursier-Mougenot experience, does he rate the birds' output as comparable to human compositions?
"Absolutely, it could easily pass as generative music, as it's very chance-related but completely harmonic and listenable," says the experimental connoisseur.
Generative music, once popularised by the production maestro Brian Eno, involves composers feeding various components into a pre-programmed system and letting the music make itself, which is, in essence, the path Boursier-Mougenot has followed.
In fact, when it comes to certain forms of experimental music, these oblivious birds may have an advantage over their human counterparts.
"It also fits really well with Eno's idea of ambient background music, because I think when humans try to create background music, there's still always a temptation to fall into some kind of structure," continues Sideboard. "Whereas here, we actually have birds and nature doing something like that. And the fact that it's tuned harmoniously, it could just keep going continually and would always be pleasing. It'd be quite interesting to do it in restaurants, have the birds always going round and creating this sound."
That might cause a slight hygiene issue, but the very suggestion that such random noise could be used for a practical purpose does thrust validity upon it. Birds, of course, were creating music long before the instruments were introduced, and their vocal contributions shouldn't be discounted.
"The tweeting totally adds to it," says Sideboard. "It's all in the same key and really complements it quite well. Your mind can actually drift between the different layers of music. It's quite an interesting installation on so many levels, because of the attention paid to the tuning, because of the interaction of the birds with the music and just your actual closeness to the birds."
One aspect of the project that has particularly interested visiting musicians is its duration. The installation lasts an epic three months, although the sounds aren't being recorded, so if our feathered friends do recreate a famous guitar solo it will be lost for ever.
"True," says Yedgar, "but it's the nature of the piece: it's temporary, but it's also durational - I think, for Céleste, the reason he chooses to work in a gallery context. He trained as a musician and was then a composer, but in a way this is the most satisfactory medium for him."
It is an attractive proposition: having set up the installation over the course of a year the artist can retire back to his home country and let the birds do the work, with no musicians to pay or egos to massage.
Admittedly the project has suffered the occasional mishap due to several eggs being laid, which is more dramatic than it sounds. "I think the eggs are taken away and 'fostered' by other birds," explains the steward. "You can't really have chicks in here because the birds might get protective and start swooping at people."
Human composers rarely do anything quite so dramatic, but could be forgiven for feeling protective of their own work when faced with the proposition that birds do it just as well. The label boss Thorsten Sideboard reckons we should tread carefully before offering record contracts to random animals, however: the hand of man is still very much in evidence here.
"The installation has got quite an illusionary quality to it, because I actually think the parameters are very close: the pallet that they're working within. People come in and are mystified because it's birds and you think it's so random, but really there's a lot of preparation that went into it. You couldn't recreate it yourself just by putting birds in a room with a guitar."
But, he continues, mischievously, "when I came out I did go straight to a pet shop, bought some birds and locked them in the studio for a few hours".
He probably avoided zebra finches though. Small labels see enough red bills already.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
INDIA SQUADS
India squad for third Test against Sri Lanka
Virat Kohli (capt), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Vijay Shankar
India squad for ODI series against Sri Lanka
Rohit Sharma (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul
Bawaal%20
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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPAD%20(2022)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Leaderboard
63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)
66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)
67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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The%20specs
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The Bio
Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959
Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.
He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses
Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas
His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s
Buxani grew the UAE business over several sectors from retail to financial services but is attached to the original textile business
He talks in detail about natural fibres, the texture of cloth, mirrorwork and embroidery
Buxani lives by a simple philosophy – do good to all
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Name: Colm McLoughlin
Country: Galway, Ireland
Job: Executive vice chairman and chief executive of Dubai Duty Free
Favourite golf course: Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club
Favourite part of Dubai: Palm Jumeirah
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
And%20Just%20Like%20That...
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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