Syriana release new EP ‘H​ā​rim’ to raise funds in support of earthquake aid

In 2010 Syriana album The Road to Damascus presented a musical reflection by Nick Page and Bernard O'Neill of their take on the geopolitical landscape surrounding Syria at the time.

Sadly their assertions that a third cold war was being initiated in that region were proved to be true and the conflict and upheaval that followed destroyed much of the rich cultural heritage of the region and dispersed millions of its people.

Now in 2023 a forthcoming new Syriana album 1325 Ibn Battutah plots the three decades that a lone traveller journeyed from Morocco to Syria, Turkmenistan, India, Africa and Spain and once more home to Tangiers. Sadly Nick Page passed away before its completion but it will be released later this year.

The catastrophic earthquake that hit the border areas between Turkey & Syria in February 2023 has devastated villages and towns throughout. Two of the artists that are featured on the new album come from this very area and have lost family and friends. In an attempt to raise much needed financial aid for this crisis, Syriana are making three tracks from the forthcoming album available for a special Real World Records Bandcamp release. You have the option to pay what you like for this EP, and we encourage you to donate generously, as all proceeds will go towards humanitarian aid in the regions affected by the earthquake.

The first track ‘Al Karak-Kole Kizin Sarkisi’ features the singing of Olcay Bayir, a London-based Turkish singer of Kurdish origin.

The second track ‘Gharnatah, the Fountain of Tears’ is an instrumental track featuring the Saz playing of Umit Ceyhan, a France-based musician and record producer.

The third track ‘A Gift to those who contemplate’ features the voice of Umit Ceyhan singing a traditional song accompanied by his daughter Amelie Ceyhan.

Download the ‘H​ā​rim’ EP via Bandcamp

Listen

Nick 'Dubulah' Page and Bernard O'Neill. Photo credit: Rick O'Toole.

H​ā​rim by Syriana is available exclusively through the Real World Records Bandcamp page. All proceeds will go towards supporting humanitarian aid in the regions affected by the recent earthquake.

Further Listening

  • The Road To Damascus

    Syriana

    Released 17 September 2010

    Syriana is more than just a band. It's a concept. An attitude. A perspective. A place where themes of tolerance, liberty and hope come wrapped in Arabic rhythms and played through a Western filter. Where free musical interaction is a given - despite the ironies bestowed by political reality. It's a project without a single dominant instrument. In Syriana the whole really is greater than the sum of its parts.

By Online Editor

Main image: Syrian shepherds. Photo credit: Larissa Korobova.

Published on Fri, 03 March 23

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