Finding Home

Born in Damascus but now based in the UK, Youssef has set out to explore and expand the range of the qanun, the 78-stringed zither, which may be one of the most distinctive Middle Eastern instruments but it has never been played quite like this. Her last album, Syrian Dreams, rightly won a Songlines Music Award in 2018, and now comes an even more adventurous set, in which the qanun is accompanied by anything from acoustic bass and percussion to cello, keyboards and strings. It includes her commissions for Opera North and the British Museum, but is, she says, a ‘spiritual search for what means home,’ and is remarkable not just for the range of influences but for the intensity and emotion in her compositions and playing.

She starts with the sturdy ‘An Invitation to Daydream’, with qanun backed by a wash of synth, and then emphasises the Middle Eastern influences with ‘In My Mother’s Sweet Embrace’, and the thoughtful, meditative ‘Samai of Trees’ (based on an ancient Arabic rhythmic style). On the percussive tracks ‘Jasmin Bayati: To an Earth Angel’ and ‘Soul Fever’ she switches towards funk and jazz, while on the charming and gently upbeat ‘Silver Lining’, the qanun is joined by piano and strings. An album well worth checking out.