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WORLD MUSIC INSTITUTE


continues its 2016-17 Counterpoint series with
 

Omar Souleyman


The farmer-turned-wedding-singer from Syria is now
an electronic music hero with a cult following that includes Björk

 

Thursday, May 11, 2017, 8:00 p.m.


(Le) Poisson Rouge 

158 Bleecker Street, Manhattan

Tickets: $30 in advance / $35 day of show
www.worldmusicinstitute.org

From WMI Artistic Director Par Neiburger:

“Our Counterpoint series is about pushing boundaries and breaking down cultural divides, and there are few artists in the world that are better examples of this than Omar Souleyman. Few Dabke artists could count Björk, Four Tet, and Modeselektor as admirers and collaborators. At a time when we need music to remind of us how connected we all really are at the end of the day, this former wedding singer from Syria who sings about love shows us a bright path forward.”
“The Syrian musician continues to use his art as a bridge
between Eastern and Western cultures.” — Noisey
Counterpoint
Thursday, May 11, 2017, 8:00 p.m.

Omar Souleyman

(Le) Poisson Rouge 

Hailing from Syria and living now in Turkey, Omar Souleyman’s music is rooted in Dabke, a modern Levantine Arab folk circle dance of possible Canaanite or Phoenician origin. Called an “unexpected preacher of love,” Souleyman has become a worldwide sensation in modern world and electronic music circles, though he began his career as a wedding singer in Syria.

Not many could have foreseen that a wedding singer from Ras al-Ayn, Syria with over 500 albums under his belt would become a cult hero amongst world and electronic music connoisseurs. But there is an undeniable bond between the legacy the 50-year-old delves in—a synthesized version of Dabke—and so-called acid house. Artists like Björk, Four Tet (who produced his breakthrough album Wenu Wenu), Modeselektor and Gilles Peterson are honored to have worked with Souleyman. With so much strife in the modern world, Souleyman continues to sing about the theme of love. 

Souleyman's music was first brought to Western audiences through releases on the Sublime Frequencies record label, whose co-founder Alan Bishop performed on the Counterpoint series earlier this year.

ABOUT WORLD MUSIC INSTITUTE'S

COUNTERPOINT SERIES

World Music Institute’s Counterpoint series showcases contemporary artists who push the boundaries of what “world music” can mean as the divisions between cultures become less prominent in the 21st century. 

The series began in October with a performance by ambient icon Laraaji at BAM Café, followed by a DJ set by Alan Bishop, co-founder of the Sublime Frequencies record label.
UPCOMING COUNTERPOINT PERFORMANCES:

JEN SHYU
June 29, National Sawdust
The experimental jazz musician/dancer/scholar premieres a
major new solo ritual music drama