The audiovisual artist Shaahin Peymani and his family share a long history of migration from Iran to Germany and back. Here he maps the route from his German grandmother’s migration diary alongside one of his own compositions.

The audiovisual artist Shaahin Peymani and his family share a long history of migration from Iran to Germany and back. Here he maps the route from his German grandmother’s migration diary alongside one of his own compositions.

A round-up of the cosmopolitan classical musical culture in Iran. Starting with music scholars of the Qajar era (1796–1925) and ending with the global music scene of the 21^st century, from both the diaspora and from home.

A poetic encounter with the different family histories of poet Tanasgol Sabbah and bassist Reza Askari. Weaving together experience, memory, and narrative, this piece switches between languages, and allows uncertainty about what is said and what is imagined.

Kamwangi Njue traces the story of political (i.e. conscious) music in Kenya, drawing on his own biography. He asks: Can conscious music achieve the impact it seeks when it has to play in the same sphere as popular music made purely for entertainment?

Conscious Kiswahili rap gave the youth a voice of protest towards the turn of the millennium. Today, more mainstream popular musicians have joined in, making music with direct critical messages.

Listen to this playlist of artists from Nairobi, Kenya. It traces different genres and schools and it features music released between 2001 and 2022.

Listen to this playlist of artists from war-torn Kharkiv, Ukraine, and their current releases. Curated by Andrii Symonovych from Kyiv, during the invasion by Russia, 2022.

Listen to this playlist of artists from Palestine and their current releases.

Since the advent of COVID-19, Algerian youth, artists, and studios have taken to TikTok to sell and promote the latest raï hits. One unique way for young people to engage in musical sociality is through so-called «sonic gifts».