QAF

This record gives voice to the stories and sentiments of the dislocated. Ghawgha fled her native Afghanistan, undertaking an odyssey that saw her at sea aboard a migrant boat and imprisoned in Greece and Turkey. Her music is infused with the drama and pain of these experiences. Poetry gave Ghawgha her break. A video of her singing the poem ‘I will kiss you amid the Taliban’ went viral in 2019. On QAF she continues to take inspiration from poets. ‘Muliyan’ uses Persian poet Rudaki’s work to evoke the fading feeling of home, moving the listener with mournful melodies backed by maudlin harmonium. The album is a necessarily heavy listen, but tracks like ‘Beautiful from Kabul’ leaven the lamenting. Its propulsive percussion, defiant vocal hook and dreamlike electronic pedals point the way to hope.