Maldives

Re-uploaded by request 2/24/2023.

 

Zero Degree Atoll formed in 1987 with childhood friends Nashid & Mohoj collaborating with fellow music aficionado Ahmed. Their debut song “Reethi Handhuvaru”, about the natural beauty & serenity of the Maldives, was produced together with Worldview International Foundation & the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Maldives. The video for the song was shown on Television Maldives to raise environmental awareness among locals. Through this song & video the band gained national recognition. The trio then embarked on a musical journey of discovery & experimentation that would result in them being linked by a strong bond lasting to this day.

In 1988, the band began to work on their first album, traveling across the Maldivian isles & living in local communities, immersing themselves in island culture & music. They recorded various sound bites that made up the natural rhythms of laid-back atoll lifestyles. These sound bites paid tribute to the traditional & cultural distinctiveness in local routines like the cadent clinging of oars on water & the swishing of winnowing rice. These were then inter-spliced into the band’s music resulting in an album that rang with early morning bird calls, the thumping of coconut husks, & the dancing of waves ashore.

The very essence of Zero Degree Atoll’s inherent national charm lay in their encompassing of traditional poetry & archaic chants as well as the inclusion of the locally esteemed bodu beru (meaning big drum) in their songs. The attention garnered to the complex nuances of the mother tongue has led to the band being one of the most sought-after live acts in the Maldives, as well a vastly popular act for visiting international audiences.

 

Zero Degrees Atoll – Dhoni, Zero Degrees Atoll Records, 1996.

Tracklist –

Falivalhu

Kalhusoru

Hus Fuloak

Fashan

Thakurah Baheh

Kalhu Bulha

Miskithum Vakaru

Marufali

Nameh Neigh

Envaguvi

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‘Please’ is a campaign to help people with disabilities in the Maldives. 

 

These children & young adults do not have sufficient services available to them. They are treated at best as second-class citizens. ‘Please’ aims to create awareness amongst the general public. They are also trying to raise funds for CDC (children development center) in Care Society. They put on this show in October 2009 in Malé at the Olympus to help foster awareness & raise much needed funds.

Various – Please Campaign Music Festival compilation, October 4^th, 2009.

Tracklist -

Aadheys – Appi & Zahu

True to Myself (Ziggy Marley cover)
Unknown
Coming into Los Angeles/Easily (Arlo Guthrie & Red Hot Chili Peppers cover)
Up Up & Away (Kid Cudi cover)
Banana Pancakes/Flake (Jack Johnson covers) - Moonstone

Reckoner (Radiohead cover)
Paranoid Android (Radiohead cover)
Abadhah dhaandhen gaathugaa
Lucky (Radiohead cover) (raw audio)
Ulhefa - 1984

Echeh Kalhé (20th Century BC Band cover)
Thin bas
Asuru vaarey

Vagu – The Agents of Orange

On the Winds of Sweet Death
Nation of Sodom – The Damned Ones

Enjoy,

NØ