142 seconds is all it can take to destroy hope. We may think we are masters of our destiny, the Captain who steers their own flotilla along the steam tossed rivers and seas but in reality we are the whim of other people’s decisions and the Earth’s volatile nature; we are trapped between those that care and those that have no compassion. For the people of Amatrice, compassion and help is something they desperately need and as with any humanitarian project, the world of art steps up to be counted.
Time is fleeting, Time gives no warning of what the Earth is about to do and for thousands of lives shattered by the Earthquake that devastated the town of Amatrice in Italy, the moment the clock struck 3.36.42 on August 24th, Time has stood still, that moment engrained in their minds and in 142 seconds their world was destroyed.
There is always a demand for time, for patience, for money and in many ways that pressure on us all is such we can feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation; there is always after all one more crisis, one more terrifying spectacle of the way Human lives can be traumatised and shattered.
Using the voices of some of the finest and quite often underrated musicians or sets of artists, The Amatrice Project has been set up to help the people of the area torn apart by the Earthquake and in taking the songs so generously given by Dave Foster of Panic Room, Mr. So & So and the Steve Rothery band, the wonderful song Amitriptyline, Ghost Community’s acoustic version of Rise Up, Howard Sinclair’s Living In The Aftershock, Matt Steven and Steve Cleaton’s live version of the brilliant song The Wait, Third Man Phenomenon, the impressive Scott Midlane with his gracious performance of the song Broken No More and the versatile and distinguished musician Tony Turrell with the enchanting and glorious sounding Questa Era La Mia Casa, the songs capture a part of what life beyond our own borders is actually like; that this is the true meaning of sharing a planet.
As the songs progress, as each one takes their own moment to be encased in the amber of drawing attention to the world beyind the borders we have drawn around us, that life, despite what some may think, does not stop at Dover, or indeed the Westminster village, but the aftershocks of what happens around the world will be remembered and those who stood up to be counted also thanked.
A fantastic idea highlighted by truly great music, a champion cause and heralded by like minded people and artists.
The tracks can be downloaded from www.theamatriceproject.bandcamp.com.
All proceeds will go directly to the Municipality of Amatrice.
Ian D. Hall