Lorin

With the Kurdish question still a festering sore in Turkish politics it's hard to discuss this album in purely musical terms. But for singer Mizgîn, politics went looking for her, not the other way around. This is an all-out affirmation of pride in Kurdish culture, language and music, but it is also an international collaboration with musicians from Turkey, Afghanistan and the Balkans. Its strength ultimately resides in Mizgîn's voice. Whether set off against string arrangements or left alone in an a capella statement, it's the passionate delivery, the rich colours and the love for Kurdish language that strike the listener. She answers Anders Honoré's soprano saxophone in a jazz-inspired arrangement of the lilting traditional ‘Dayê’ (Mother); the instrumental background is provided by Kardeş Türküler, one of the most important Anatolian folk bands, on ‘De Dilo’ (My Heart). Reminiscent of the traditional, ornate style of the Kurdish dengbej (troubadours) the song ‘Şahîno’ has a simplicity of arrangement that allows the singer to stretch into extended vocal variations, answered again by the soprano sax. Rarely have traditional styles of singing been so successfully updated in an album that, despite the general dramatic tone, offers the listener a succession of changing moods, all thanks to the variety of the arrangements.