Soothing sounds

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This article was published 05/10/2020 (1972 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After years of crashing on couches in apartments in New York and Philadelphia, getting by on just dollars a day while trying to eke out a career in music production, Darcy Ataman says his first dose of reality came while reading a news report in the quiet confines of a recording studio.

Ataman, a 46-year-old from Transcona, recalls the tough going of his early years trying to break into the music scene on the eastern seaboard of the United States two decades ago, where he eventually manoeuvred his way into a seat in the studio as a vocal coach and producer.

It was during his downtime in the recording studio that he began reading about humanitarian crises around the globe, he says. Particular discomfort came from stories detailing the thousands who were dying daily of the AIDS/HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa.

“It was the injustice part of it that really got under my skin and still does to this day,” Ataman says by phone from his Winnipeg apartment. “I quickly realized my position in life here is, even though I claim to be a hardworking person and I am, my position has nothing to do with brains or hard work, it’s just complete luck.

“I didn’t build any of the systems that I enjoy here,” Ataman says. “For whatever reason, for good or bad, I feel quite responsible… whenever I see some issue in the world, it’s not ‘Oh, that’s so awful,’ turn the page and let’s go to the patio.

“I have to, fortunately or unfortunately, make an effort to do something about it.”

That set in motion a series of music projects that would culminate in Ataman founding the Ottawa-based charity Make Music Matter.

In 2006, Ataman brought together a group of Canadian recording artists to write and record the single Song for Africa, in an effort to raise awareness about the epidemic. Three years later, Ataman launched Make Music Matter’s Healing in Harmony pilot program.

Grammy award-winning record producer David Bottrill recalls Ataman cold-calling him to pitch a humanitarian trip to Rwanda in 2009, one that would build on the momentum from Song for Africa and demonstrate the potential of a music therapy program for survivors of sexual violence and trauma, called Healing in Harmony.

While initially hesitant, Bottrill says it was Ataman’s passion and pluck that convinced him to put his expertise to work toward a humanitarian effort.

“Let’s just say, he kept asking, which is good. That’s what he does,” Bottrill says. “He was persistent and Darcy believes very strongly in what he does. And when he believes in that, he keeps asking people to get involved and I don’t begrudge him that.”

On that trip, Ataman, Bottrill and others in the crew supported 70 children from Rwanda in writing and recording their original songs.

“We saw what an incredibly positive effect it had on all these kids, not only for the excitement of recording with world-class producers — it was also a chance for them to tell their story,” Bottrill says.

Healing in Harmony is now offered in eight countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Guinea, South Africa, Turkey, Peru and here in Manitoba. As part of the program, participants are partnered with a local therapist and music producer to write and record a song of their own, one that expresses their creativity, emotion and experiences toward healing and recovery.

Since 2015, more than 5,000 people have accessed Healing in Harmony, and often their songs of resiliency, healing and hope are performed and broadcast in their communities.

To share their experience and artistry publicly reduces stigma and advocates for a more just society, Ataman says, as survivors call out perpetrators’ sexual violence, or call for an end to political violence and trauma.

“From a very young age, I always thought music has a tremendous power to it that I didn’t quite understand, but it moved me and I always felt special just by listening to music,” Ataman says.

“My relationship to it, I think even to my surprise, is more pure. The older I get, the more it’s about the music and nothing else,” he says. “It’s an equalizer. It doesn’t cost money to sing, so everyone can participate. If you’re living in a conflict zone, chances are you’re living in extreme poverty, and chances are you feel you have no power.

“(Music) inverts the notion of power, and that’s kind of why I like it.”

On occasion, Ataman will take a gig in commercial music production, but his focus is trained squarely on the work of Make Music Matter, even as some sessions have been paused during the pandemic. He hopes to see the program adopted in hospitals in Canada and just recently, the charity created a publishing model in which royalties will be paid to the participants and artists it works with, regardless of their country of residence or whether they have conventional legal identification.

This summer, he was recognized by the Governor General of Canada and announced as a recipient of the Meritorious Service Decoration (Civil Division), given to Canadians who have done something exceptional that brings honour to the country. The recognition was well-received, Ataman says, but the satisfaction short-lived.

“The more you’re out in the world, in these areas, the luckier you feel (and) you realize more and more the need in the world,” Ataman says. “So the more you accomplish, that goal line gets further away.

“We’re all over the world in eight countries, and now there’s a different responsibility. In our little way we’re moving the needle, now you’re doubly responsible for adhering to it.”

Bottrill, who sits on the board of directors of Make Music Matter, says he’s proud of the accomplishments of the charity and credits Ataman for the gains it has made over the past decade. “Darcy has a way of making people believe in his mission and our mission,” Bottrill says. “It was Darcy’s vision that as musicians this is a way that we could give back to the community in some way and help other people tell their story. It was his drive that really encouraged us to treat everybody who participates in our program as artists, not as victims or as patients.”

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca