Maariv Newspaper
March 5, 2006
Tal Peri
Title: The Ambassador
Subtitle:
WINNING THE PRE-EUROVISION ISN’T THE ISSUE FOR SHLOMO GRONICH AND LUBNA SALAME.
* WHAT EXCITES THEM IS THE COOPERATIVE CREATIVITY – IN EVERY SENSE (AND ON PRIME
TIME) * SHARED IDEA WITH A MUCH OPTIMISM
Gronich:
It isn’t about whether the song “Mother Earth” takes the [pre-Eurovision Contest] prize, although that would be very nice. But it’s the opportunity to expose, on prime time, the message that lies at the heart of my collaboration with Lubna. We know each other six years, since the time when I composed a song with lyrics by the late Ehud Manor for Peace Child Israel organization and Lubna was one of the vocalists. We have a band together called ADAMAI, which brings together Arab and Jewish musicians. And yes, the cooperation between us all isn’t always easy and costs us, like now, when the Hamas was elected to power and things look bleaker than ever. There are even moments when I say to myself: “What am I doing here?”
Salame:
I believe that dafka (especially) at a time like this, for the sake of the peace process it is important to sound a different note…I hope and I believe that at the moment of truth, the beauty of the song and the content will cross the bridge of prejudice.
“Mother Earth” is the most Israeli song there is. Not a good imitation of the
pop culture, or European or American hip-hop. We stayed committed to our artistic
ideas and so both Lubna and I are willing to take whatever the outcome will
be”, says Gronich.