Sounds of Refuge

John Falsetto and Mohamed Sarrar met as fellow actors in award-winning play The Jungle, which tells the stories of residents of the Calais refugee camp. Sounds of Refuge is no different. The album evolved from informal dressing room jams, but it soon took on a life of its own that took it all the way to Abbey Road Studios.

Falsetto and Sarrar are both refugees themselves, from Zimbabwe and Sudan respectively, and Sarrar lived in the Calais Jungle himself: there is no doubt that these songs come from the heart. Falsetto's mbira (thumb piano) lays the foundation of the album, building layers of bright and clear tones for his and Sarrar's vocals to lie upon. The sound is rounded off by Sarrar's djembé and darbuka (drums), piano from Duncan Webb and occasional spoken word from Syrian actor Ammar Haj Ahmad.

The result is strongest when the Zimbabwean and Arabic styles come together, especially with Sarrar's singing, but that doesn't happen often enough. Instead, most of the album tends towards a very gentle, middle-of-the-road feel, with little to surprise or stand out. The project is definitely interesting and worthy of attention, but the music is lacking in adventure.