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Music

Mohammad Syfkhan – I Am Kurdish

A very pleasant release from Mohammad Syfkhan, a Kurdish musician currently based in Ireland.  From the Nyaah Records Bandcamp site:

“Mohammad’s own brand of ecstatic music takes elements from Middle Eastern and North African music to create an atmosphere of joy, love and happiness. The songs on ‘I am Kurdish’ have been recorded and mixed with the view to make them to suitable for listening to at a small get together or to be played on a big rig at night clubs. Either way, it is a record that will make people dance.”

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Music

Biensüre – Biensüre

We at MYNTH are elated that our friends at WeWantSounds have another spicy platter on offer from their label. This one comes to us from the Marseille-based band Biensüre.

From the label’s press release:

Biensüre’s influences are varied and transcend generations and borders. Ranging from the Anatolian pop scene of the 70s and 80s with key figures like Erkin Koray and Barış Manço to 70s Jazz, Disco and early electro, their music is at the intersection of several musical continents. Obviously, Hakan’s close connection to traditional Kurdish music is at the heart of the group’s music, embraced by all the other members. In addition, Anselme, who is of Armenian origin, brings his own influences to the mix playing such instruments as The Saz, an Anatolian luth found in the whole region, which he had only seen in family photos dating back to the end of the 19th century, before his family was forced to flee Istanbul during the genocide. “The story of my family is that of Hakan’s today in a way” he notes , “that of an exile forced to cross borders by oppression. It’s like a transgenerational mirror”.

Blending these influences to their pulsating disco beats, Biensüre show the breadth of their inspirations and their desire to build bridges between distant cultures. Their first release is scheduled for Oct 2022 as a self-titled 7-track album presenting their hypnotic and fascinating music to the world.

For more information on this release, consider clicking here for information directly from the label.

Categories
Music

Mohammad Mostafa Heydarian – Songs of Horaman

Mohammad Mostafa Heydarian is a Kurdish tanburist who hails from Kermanshah, in the Iranian region of Horaman.  His playing reminds me of a lot of the instrumental music coming out of the Sahel, blended, naturally, with Kurdish rhythms and adding a psychedelic haze to the music.

Though I’m not keen on paying €1,000 for a download, the cassette version is certainly worth a purchase.  It would probably do Radio Khiyaban, the magnificent label who released Heydarian’s work, to consider making these recordings available for upload once the cassettes go out of print.