Yoko Ono must have felt that there was something special about the album that she'd just finished, given that she revived the Plastic Ono Band name for it. It's true that she has been making better musical choices of late, perhaps unusual for someone who wrote her first piece of music in 1955 and turned 76 this year. The fact that her last album, Yes I'm a Witch (2007), featured artists of the calibre of The Flaming Lips, Antony Hegarty and Jason Pierce of Spiritualized suggested that she was taken more seriously by this generation than by her own, perhaps. But nothing would have prepared her audience - from cynical Beatles watchers to fans of the avant-garde - for the brilliance of her new album, Between My Head and the Sky. It is probably the best album she has recorded. Better than the brittle shock of Season of Glass (1981), recorded directly after John Lennon's assassination in New York, and better than the avant pop of Fly (1971), too.
If it was John who provided the impetus for her recording career in the late 1960s, this time around it was their son, Sean. The album is released on his Chimera label and features a breathtaking band of his associates, including Yuka Honda of Cibo Matto and the electronica wunderkind Cornelius. When asked what the difference was between working with father and son, she says: "With John I could say whatever I liked, really - as regards to my music anyway, not so much his. I was very respectful of his music. And John was very respectful of my music as well. So we were independent of each other, even when we were on the same album. But with Sean I felt like saying: 'Let's do it this way', but half the time instead I would bite my tongue! I thought: 'No, I am not going to be one of those control freaks.'
"So I think I did give him a lot of space, which turned out to be very good for me too because I got all the benefit of his ideas. His musical ideas. He and his group were doing something that was current and future music."
Her vocal performance is key to this success. Her earthy ululations and surreal incantations egg the musicians on to even greater heights. One has to wonder how poor Sean felt recording his mother making such, let's say, sensual noises. She laughs at the primness of the question: "I think he's used to it! In a way, of course. He's not used to it in real life, just in my music. That's another thing you see, John and I, we didn't want to burden him with our history. John didn't even tell him that he was a Beatle until Sean found out from somewhere else and one day he came home and said: 'Are you a Beatle, Dad?'"
The resulting album is a contemporary trip around various revolutionary pop/dance flashpoints of the past 40 years. There are bracing dance-punk grooves reminiscent of Gang of Four and LCD Soundsystem (Waiting for the D Train), sleazy techno (The Sun Is Down!), squealing NYC No Wave that wouldn't sound out of place on No New York (Ask the Elephant!) and metallic psych rock (Calling). Actually, she has a good reason for resurrecting the name of her group: "On the first album that people talked about Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band in a way we were trying to break the sound barrier. We thought we would create a revolution in music. And with this album we thought we would do it again - but in a very quiet way. It is strong enough to match that sentiment."
Then perhaps she stops and thinks of all the skittering disco beats, the taut jazz influence, the punk guitars, the guttural cries and she starts giggling: "Well ... it's not that quiet."
Yoko - whose name literally translates as Ocean Child - has led a fascinating life. She was born in 1933 to one of the richest families in Japan, descended as she is from ninth century shogun nobility. Her mother, Isoko, while just a child was rewarded for good performance at school with handfuls of diamonds. But during the Second World War, when Yoko was a girl, they suffered extreme hardship because her family's wealth was confiscated to help fund the war effort. They were rendered homeless and reduced to foraging and begging for scraps of food in the countryside.
After the war, she was sent to a girls' boarding school in the US, where she lived for many years, composed her first piece of music at the age of 22. Tellingly, it was a conceptual affair, which attempted to transpose birdsong into musical notation, called Secret Piece. It was here in the mid-1950s in New York that she developed a fascination with bohemian art culture, composers such as Cage and Schoenberg and the beatniks. She insists that her gender rather than her nationality was an issue in her gaining acceptance into the avant garde art world of New York in the early 1960s: "It was always a battle being a female artist or composer or whatever. The avant garde world was not different to the jazz world or whatever in that sense. It was very macho."
This hardship and dislocation depressingly revealed itself in numerous suicide attempts and a stay in a psychiatric institution after she returned to Japan in the late 1950s. Speaking about attempting to take her own life, she said: "I was suicidal in my teens as well; it wasn't just when I came back from New York. It was always like I felt suicidal but I never, well obviously I was never successful, because I am here now. The time that I decided that I never wanted to commit suicide was right after I had my first child, Kyoko. And it was pretty amazing. It was unintentional but I just lost interest in it. It has nothing to do with Japanese society. I think it had to with being a woman, maybe. Her birth freed me from that desire though."
Her book Grapefruit - a collection of instructional art - began to take shape. For better or worse, people like Yoko were kicking over the last remaining conventions of art. It was a much misunderstood time of radicalism, whatever it has bequeathed to us in the long run. She admits that wanting to choose radical experimental art was a form of rebellion against her family's wealth: "Well, I'm sure that they wouldn't have minded if I had become a kind of accepted artist or an accepted composer in the sense of me being a classical artist. But I don't think they liked the fact that what I was doing was rebellious. It was just in my nature. It wasn't like I was intending to be rebellious, but that mode really appealed to me."
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
MADAME%20WEB
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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.”
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
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
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Europe wide
Some of French groups are threatening Friday to continue their journey to Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the European Union, and to meet up with drivers from other countries on Monday.
Belgian authorities joined French police in banning the threatened blockade. A similar lorry cavalcade was planned for Friday in Vienna but cancelled after authorities prohibited it.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Takreem Awards winners 2021
Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)
Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Raya Ani (Iraq)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)
Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)
MORE ON CORONAVIRUS & THE ECONOMY
How to turn your property into a holiday home
- Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
- Research equivalent Airbnb homes in your location to ensure competitiveness.
- Post on all relevant platforms to reach the widest audience; whether you let personally or via an agency know your potential guest profile – aiming for the wrong demographic may leave your property empty.
- Factor in costs when working out if holiday letting is beneficial. The annual DCTM fee runs from Dh370 for a one-bedroom flat to Dh1,200. Tourism tax is Dh10-15 per bedroom, per night.
- Check your management company has a physical office, a valid DTCM licence and is licencing your property and paying tourism taxes. For transparency, regularly view your booking calendar.
