Leads Projects Benefiting Casualties of Japan Earthquake & Hurricane Irene
Music is an instrument for healing and recovering from injuries of the past.
This is being raised to a higher level by solo performer Machan Taylor of Ulster County in the Hudson Valley by using her musical prowess to not just help herself cope with personal ills but towards assisting the physical restoration of those affected by natural disasters.
Machan, who personally bore the brunt of Hurricane Irene, is leading two musical projects for the benefit of victims of the earthquake in Japan last March and Tropical Storm Irene, both which happened in 2011.
Machan is in a loss of words to explain what drove her to lead the project. “I was just overcome with a compulsion to do these projects. It was a tremendous amount of work, but I’m so glad that I did it and it’s been very fulfilling. I feel very good about it,” she says.
A Japanese-American, Machan led the compilation of performances from fellow artists who trace their roots in Japan like Jackie Greene, Rachael Yamagata, and Keiko Matsui, among others, for the CD entitled “Offerings: The Motherland Project”. Proceeds will go to victims of the earthquake and tsunami which caused about 20,000 deaths and a crisis on a nearby nuclear power plant.
“My roots are in Japan,” Machan emphasized. “My family is in Tokyo. My earliest impressions of the world were in Japan. … I was just plagued with nightmares.” She and her mother were both born in Japan and have relatives living there.
The CD is available for digital purchase and can be looked up at the Motherland Project website. Sales will benefit the Japan tsunami and earthquake victims.
Machan’s other project will help those afflicted by Tropical Storm Irene, which according to Central Hudson & Gas Corp., is the second-worst storm in its 111-years of operation. Irene hit the Hudson Valley hard in August leading to substantial damage to property a power outrages for several days. Destruction was even more pronounced in the counties of Greene,Ulster and Delaware.
Machan and her husband and Gov’t Mule keyboardist and horn player Danny Louis, were directly affected by the power outrage. In a Woodstock concert in September, the couple was able to raise a total of $10, 711 for Irene’s victims.
The Irene project lists a total of 22 songs from musicians in the Hudson Valley that include, among others, Amy Helm and her husband Jay Collins; Medeski, Martin & Wood; The Wood Brothers; and Marc Black. Proceeds will go to the Hudson Valley Artists Relief Fund, which Machan set-up together with the nonprofit organization Soundscape Presents based in Kerhonkson.