In a glance, the shiny blue sky of my childhood

“My Sunset-Land, ROJAVA” is retelling the tale of a heart-sore nomad (a Kamanche) from Kurdistan, where tunes are born in her every brief stop she takes for a nap while passing the unwanted confines of the torn land of the Kurds. Every morning before sunrise settles, Kamanche abandons the spot leaving a newborn Strān (song)…

The song “Viyan” retells the life of a Kurdish Iranian woman, Viyan Peyman (Gülistan Tali Cinganlo), a teacher, a singer, and a storyteller (Dengbêj). Leaving school and all attachments behind, she joined the story of resistance fighters in Syria and lost her life to defend Rojava in 2015.

“Tears of Şingal (Sinjar)” remembers another dark event in the 21st century, the genocide of Yazidis in Iraq, where over 5000 civilians have been massacred leaving hundreds of liberating resistance fighters fell on the ground.

Says the Kurdish poet Abdulla Pashew in his piece

“Unknown soldier”

People bring flowers to the unknown soldier’s tombs.
If tomorrow
One comes to my homeland [Kurdistan]
And asks where the anonymous soldiers’ tombs are?
I would say my dear:
Every riverside
On the steps of every mosques
Near any home, church, or cave entrance
On the big rocks of any mountain
On the trees of any garden of this land
Everywhere on the ground, under this sky
Please bow down
And leave your bucket flower. 

Credits:

Releases June 19, 2020

Music & Kamanche: Shahriyar Jamshidi
Recording and mixing: L. Stuart Young
Mastering: Fedge
Recorded at: Revolution Recording
Artwork: Zehra Doğan
Photographer: Jef Rabillon
Video: HÎra Çavken & Mitchell Fillion
Layout: Roxana Khoshravesh

Released in June 2020