On June 6, four friends – Immanuel Lokwei ’12, Howe Pearson ’12, Matt Hurwit ’12, and Jesse Humm ’12 – are embarking on a trip to Lokwei’s homeland, the Turkana District of northwestern Kenya, to “hopefully relieve some of the suffering in our world,” as they put it on their website. While there, they plan to establish a relief center that will provide a source of both employment and aid to the region which has been afflicted by chronic droughts in recent years. They also plan to help out at a local orphanage and create a soccer club.
The group seeks to raise $6,000 in order to finance their projects in Turkana. In order to help reach this goal, they began compiling an album of music by Wesleyan students and bands over winter break. Released online on April 19 as a free download with an optional donation, “Musicians Helping Hands” is the deeply optimistic result. Here just in time for spring, it is stripped down yet strikingly professional as it seamlessly combines the festive with the introspective. The 16-track compilation includes a variety of genres and features members from every class year as well as graduate students. On Wednesday, Humm sat down to answer some questions about its making.
Argus: What inspired this project?
Jesse Humm: My first day at Wesleyan I met Immanuel Lokwei. We went to that barbecue that everyone goes to. He didn’t have a place to stay that first winter and first summer so he went back to my place, and we became really close friends. Then in the second summer we were basically like, it would be a really cool idea if I came to Kenya. It started out as just going there, but then we decided that we wanted to make an impact in his community, especially because of the recent droughts.
A: Did you guys play at all on the album?
JH: Matt Hurwit [plays] the first song on the album. Funny story behind that song – he actually wrote that with his little brother [age 11] and then changed up the lyrics a bit. Howe plays guitar on some stuff, but it’s mostly a compilation of other peoples’ music.
A: It features a plethora of genres, from folk, to rock, to reggae, to big band. How do you see them all fitting together?
JH: I see them all as uplifting in a way. We also really worked hard to make a flow to the album. We started really high energy and then kind of went more towards a calm mood and then ended it off with more energy. It has an album flow, even though it’s a compilation.
A: What kind of support have you received from the Wesleyan community?
JH: We’ve gotten the artists to donate their songs. Buru Style’s going to play a concert [this Saturday, May 1] and we’re going to raise some funds with them through that. Also, we’re up to almost $700 in donations, and the majority of that is coming from Wesleyan students, which is really inspiring.
A: You write about your love of soccer on the album’s website. Do you view your loves of soccer and of music as related in any way? Did soccer influence the music at all?
JH: I wouldn’t say that soccer influenced the music at all but I would definitely say that soccer and music cultures are very similar in that it’s people coming together just to have a really enjoyable time and just kick it.
A: You talk about how your trip will “further offset the problems that have been brought to the village by corrupt businessmen trying to capitalize on the dire situation of the people.” In stark contrast to such a business ethic, you’ve chosen to give your album away as a free download with an optional donation a la Radiohead’s “In Rainbows.” Was this juxtaposition a conscious one?
JH: Absolutely. We kind of wanted people to give from their heart, and not so much because they were forced in any way. The majority of our project has been trying to get people on board because they want to and not because they have to. Right now, as everyone knows, we are in really tough times and we don’t want people to feel pressured in any way. Gaining support from your own heart is kind of the best way to go about this.
A: Anything else?
JH: I just got in touch with the woman who runs the orphanage and she’s really excited to have this. There’s a lot of help that these kids need. It would be really cool to go there and not only to be able to work with them but also to give them something.
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