X1 to Netanya
By
Jonny Steele
X1 to Netanya is the new single from vocalist and beatboxer
Jonny Steele of The Scribes. Now, you will all know that I have featured The
Scribes a number of times on the blog, but this will be the first appearance by
on of the crew on a solo.
I want to approach this review a little differently as I am
sure it will provoke some deep feelings along the way so, please join me…
Before I get into the song itself lets just have a quick
look at the title and see what that says about what you are about to hear. If
you search X1 on the net you will find two main results pop up, the BMW X1 and
a number of Bus Timetables. These might seem unrelated but, these are both
forms of transport, and that idea of a journey is key here. Now search for
Netanya and its meaning and things begin to take shape. Netanya is a city in
Israel and also a girl’s name, which in Hebrew means ‘god has given’. Now put
this all together and you will see that Jonny is focusing on the terrible
events which are all over the news as Israel wages war on Hamas in Gaza and how we see it so far away in the UK.
X1 to Netanya is produced by One Soul and has a laid-back
soulful vibe of keys and drums. The overall sound is a reflective one that
brings your focus to more spoken word approach from Jonny Steele. The
intelligent lyricism and wordplay soaks into all aspects of your awareness as
the emotive tone of the words flow. This brings the plight of the Palestinian
people well and truly into the light, just as the many peaceful protests are
doing but, more than that it also asks why, with all the pain and suffering that
is happening, do our own government chose not to call for a ceasefire in this
war. In fact, it you truly look at what is happening, it causes you to question
everything because, in the past, wars of this nature have been called ‘ethnic
cleansing’ but, because this war started as an apparent retaliation to a
terrorist attack, that somehow validates what is going on. I do not condone
acts of terrorism and never will, so don’t get me wrong here. But is this war
truly what is needed? What about the historical plight of the Palestinian
people, try to find Palestine on a map, look on-line and you will find it is
not even labelled. The problem is a lack of balance in what is reported in the
media, listen to the voice of the people and you will begin to see the truth
behind all this.
I don’t want to get off track here as I do try to stay
neutral in what I write on the blog but, Jonny Steele has chosen to put into
words what so many of us are feeling and thinking, on what is going on so many
miles away and the lack of any acknowledgement by the UK Government. It was
only a matter of time before these thoughts and feelings were put into the
words and to music and Jonny has done this subject justice by bringing it into
the open and in such an emotive way.
X1 to Netanya is a powerful and thought-provoking piece that
truly asks what we as a united peoples are prepared to accept as we look upon
the injustices that go on around us and, what are we willing to accept when it
comes to the inaction of those we apparently voted to stand up for the people?
Jonny Steele is one voice that echoes the voices of the many
and puts that voice into a medium that crosses borders and asks us to stand
together as one for those who are not given a voice.
X1 to Natanya is out now and I encourage you to listen and
truly feel the message between the lines here.
Till next time,
Steve.
LINKS
To stream the single and for all things related to The Scribes:
Jonny Steele on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/jonny_steele_/
One Soul music on Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/omarineosoul
VIDEO
X1 to Netanya (Video by SG Media)
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