Elaha Soroor, vocals; Giuliano Modarelli, guitar; Joost Hendrickx, drums; Al MacSween, keyboard
‘When I fled to the UK as a refugee, I wanted to integrate with the people who live around me,’ says Soroor. ‘But unfortunately, in the eyes of the world, Afghan identity is defined by terrorism, war, the Taliban, and uneducated, domesticated women who need help. Kefaya and I have tried to show other associations with Afghanistan, different stories, a different philosophy of life, the rich culture, my beautiful mother language [Farsi], and the diversity of our music.’
With this mission in mind, Elaha Soroor performs folk songs traditionally reserved for Afghan women. They are shot through with a deeply felt love of country, with music/production duo Kefaya bringing their own eclectic brand of magic to the feast – and managing at the same time to attract to the project a large number of renowned musicians from all over the world. A few days later, the album Songs of Our Mothers was born, and went on to win superb reviews from such prominent publications as Mojo, Songlines and Uncut. The compositions have Elaha’s passionate and expressive voice at their core, each one telling a story that, although only linguistically comprehensible to a speaker of Farsi, reflects the self-confidence and courage of a woman who is determined never to give in to hate.
Day Pass (Elaha Soroor & Kefaya + Nemanja) | EUR 15
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Foto: Alex Kozobolis