The Wedding Singer

Omar Souleyman is a wedding singer from Ras Al-Ain, located in northeastern Syria near the Iraqi and Turkish borders. Interviewing him at the moment is fraught, thanks to what is ostensibly a civil war in the region, and the initial reply from his media connection is sobering: “Things have gotten very bad in Omar's town about two days ago… your press contacts, please ask them to be patient. Now their lives are in danger. They are both okay and they send me word somehow everyday that they are okay, where they are and what is going on.”

A couple of days later the response comes through and Souleyman as always appears unruffled and somewhat humbled by the attention. “There is great unrest here in Syria,” he offers, “however, I took my family to the village, where it is calm and quiet. We will stay here until the troubles end and we can get back to resume our lives peacefully.“

After performing at weddings in his homeland for years, Souleyman's story in the West began when Mark Gergis, a California-based musician, heard one of the cassettes on a trip to Syria. He started collecting them, then took the music back to Seattle label Sublime Frequencies. which subsequently released Highway To Hassake. Since then he's released four official albums, collaborated with Bjork and toured the world, including performances at Melbourne's Northcote Social Club and the WOMADelaide festival a few years back.

“I was very surprised by the audience's reaction to the music,” he states. “And incredible joy streamed through me and I also felt so proud that these people, who don't understand the words I am singing, were still touched by their meaning, their power and their genuine feeling, so that they moved and danced. It was a stunning concert and I am looking forward to performing in Australia again.”

Interestingly for such a prolific artist, Souleyman didn't begin singing until the age of 30, encouraged to pursue the vocation by those around him.

“They liked my voice (and I thank God for this precious gift) and asked me to perform for them time and time again. I started to play weddings and record cassettes and very quickly my reputation spread and I was contacted throughout Syria, later also from Turkey and the Arabic world to come and sing.“

Souleyman's sound is remarkable, and with his home town collaborator, Rizan Sa'id they create the most insane energy you can imagine – a fusion of regional folkloric music and banging electronics. With the microphone, Souleyman's a non-stop party machine, effortlessly revving up the crowd, his experience as a wedding singer readily apparent.

“I still play weddings,” he offers. “I love the atmosphere at weddings. In our part of the world, weddings are very, very long. I sing for hours and the people attending all dance. Old and young. When I see that people forget everything and just move ecstatically then I don't feel the strain of such a long performance anymore. It is similar when I play abroad. I burst with joy when I see that my music affects the people and they forget themselves, forget the language barriers and surrender to the rhythm.

“I want to see the audience move,” he continues. “I want to see the rhythm affecting them and taking over bit by bit. I love it when I can make people react this way and I feel defeated when I don't succeed in that.”

Omar Souleyman plays the following shows:

Wednesday 5 December - The Hi-Fi, Melbourne
Thursday 6 December - Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Friday 7 December - Meredith Music Festival
Saturday 8 December - Queensland Art Gallery
Sunday 9 December - Brisbane Powerhouse