As most of you are probably aware, President Trump signed an executive order that essentially banned travel to the US from seven majority Muslim states including Syria, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Yemen and Libya. In the last few days, there have been protests around the world calling for the removal of the ban. Luckily, the order was retracted by a US judge.
We are living in an increasingly divided society with divisions created from cleavages such as class, race and gender. In turbulent times like this, turning towards music is not such a bad idea. The power of music is its ability to draw together individuals from all walks of life. Whether that be celebrities like David Bowie or Bjork dancing with club revellers to drum and bass in the dimly lit basement rooms of Blue Note in the 90s- to watching Ata-Kak, a Ghanaian artist who has recently seen success in the West after spending a period of 25 years in the shadows- music unites us all. I will take this opportunity to list a few artists, labels, mixes that I think you should check out.
The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians
First, lets take a look at the Orchestra of Syrian Musicians, an amazing and talented group of 50 odd musicians who have been performing together for more than a decade. Eight years ago they had the opportunity to tour around the world with Damon Alborn and were even featured in the Gorrillaz track ‘White Flag’. Since then, the reality of the Syrian civil war meant that they have been scattered around the world. It was only until 2016 when they would be fully reunited with each other again. They performed at Glastonbury where I could hear them from my tent allowing for a great start to the day. The story of the Syrian Orchestra reuniting is heartwarming and does well to demonstrate the universal language of music. Below I have linked a video of Faia Younan, lead singer of the group giving a mesmerising performance.
Omar Suleyman (Syria)
Omar Souleyman, perhaps the most intriguing and inspiring story of an artist from a Syrian village who’s traditional form of Dabke music has proved to be a success across the globe. Originally a wedding singer in the northwest of Syria— Omar Souleyman’s craft has now seen him perform at festivals around the world and events like the 20th Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Sweden. Artists such as Caribou and Four Tet have provided him with platforms to play his music whilst also producing for him too. The outpouring of love Omar Souleyman has received is again further proof that music has no borders.
Dur Dur Band (Somalia)
A musical group formed in Somalia in the 80s during Mogadishu’s flourishing creative and musical scene, this outfit performed regularly around the horn Africa. Their music is full of funk and features soulful interjections. The instability caused by the civil war had meant that in 1990, the members left Somalia which had meant that the band was disbanded. The good news is that Awesome Tapes from Africa or Canadian Brian Shimkovitz has re-released their original 1987 cassettes on his music on his record label. Since then, their music has received critical acclaim— it’s hard not to enjoy this.
Radio Garden (global)
Every time you spin the globe on this website, Trump dies a little. Radio Garden is a fantastic project funded by the Netherlands Institute of Sound and Vision. This genius website allows users to listen to any radio station from around the world. It features stations from all the seven countries Trump arbitrarily has an issue with. The last station I listened to was in Tblisi, Georgia where the DJ was playing Dizzee Rascal— you can have endless fun with this. Check it out here radio.garden/live/
Jakarta Records (Sudan, Libya, Yemen)
I have always been a big fan of Jannis’ series of Habibi Funk mixes. Jannis, a DJ based in Berlin often goes on trips to Africa or the Middle East to find and collect tapes and records to add to his ever-growing repository. It makes sense then, that he has a few words to say about the ban list.
In his own words:
Just 2 days ago I was sitting in a cafe during my recent trip for Lebanon and Egypt when Donald Trump announced his ban of muslim people visiting the USA marking another climax of xenophobia, anti muslim and anti Arabic narrative (الترجمة العربية أسفله). At the same time I was in Cairo, a colorful, energetic and vital city that despite the cities and countries problems has not much in common with the stereotypical narrative of the Arabic world that is so largely told in the Western media. I’m aware that in times of these music is just a tiny piece of the puzzle to tell a different story but given that this is what I’m working with I felt it was the right time to drop another mix of music from Arabic tapes, vinyl and master tapes. Music that is very different to what a lot of people might expect.
To wrap up I will point out a couple of different platforms and outlets that will allow you to discover gems from across the world whilst raising Trump’s blood pressure at the same time. There’s Worldwide FM, a radio station recently launched by radio 6 DJ Gilles Peterson and boiler room co-founder Thirstian. Record labels like Folkway Records and Strut Records are all uniquely impressive. By sharing this music you are utilising the power of music. Specifically, its ability to unite cultures from around due to the inescapable fact that we all enjoy dancing to a cool beat. Happy listening.
Loaded Sounds 
