A visit to a musical instrument museum with her toddler son inspired El Perro del Mar’s Sarah Assbring to recalibrate her pop sensibilities and work on what would become KoKoro. It was a “please-touch” museum where they could play the instruments, and Assbring fell in love with the percussion used in Indonesian gamelan music, and with harps from Asia and Africa. KoKoro looks outward, both musically and lyrically, to the world, and rather than a tender clinch, it’s a wholehearted bear hug of global pop sounds. Assbring will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new feature on her.
Assbring: This photo book is so much more than just a book with pictures. It tells the story of a photographer, Göran Assbring, my uncle, who was killed in Eritrea in 1983. Göran became a martyr for the Eritreans and their fight for a liberated country. Children born the same year as he died were named after him. Kalle Assbring, Göran’s son, now a photographer himself, has tracked down these children and through this, he’s tracked down his own hidden past. But it’s not just about the past. It’s about the refugees today and their journey towards Europe and the dream of a free life. It’s about the circles on the water that one man and his fate can create. I’m very glad this book has finally seen the light of day.
Photos after the jump.
—photos by Kalle Assbring
