The Middle East usually only comes into our consciousness here in the West in the context of war but a gig on Monday night will be a great occasion to find out something about the cultures of the people who live there, the singers and musicians rather than the generals and the politicians.
Putting the International into the Belfast International Arts Festival is what promises to be a glorious night of music, both exotic and familiar at the Duncairn Arts Centre on the Antrim Road.
On Monday November 11, Beyond Skin is presenting an evening of folk sounds and stories with a collective of world-class musicians weaving Persian, Kurdish and Irish instruments and vocals.
The one-off event will feature santoor player Behnam Ghazanfaripour, Swar Ahmed (oud/saz/vocals), uilleann piper and storyteller Cormac Ó Briain (Buzz to his friends), singer Nasim Heidari, singer/songwriter Conor Pelan and special guest Sara Fotros who plays the daf drum.
The evening will also feature a special art presentation by Seba Brohm.
I was lucky enough to get speaking to Sara Fotros, the Iranian-born daf player who is a special guest on the evening.
Doing the required research beforehand I had, of course, to look at videos of this instrument - and the sound it makes mind-blowing. Check it out.
Sara herself began playing when she was 17 or 18.
“I started with an Iranian instrument which is called tombak, a hand percussion instrument mostly played with the fingers but after one year I really fell in love with another instrument, the daf, which I first heard sitting in my father’s car.
“I hadn’t heard this sound before but it stayed with me. I really liked the sound and it had a deep effect on me as a teenager.
“I really liked the combination of really deep sounds and very sharp sound and I loved this contrast between both in an instrument that was so big.
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“As a kid, I was always taping my finger on table or something. I don’t know where this comes from – maybe I have some sort of ADHD – but I’m happy that I translated it into something where I could make a louder noise and disturb others,” she laughs.
The daf is a frame drum, like a bodhrán but which makes a completely different sound. It is said to be older than Islam and Sufism, a mystical movement within Islam itself.
You can find different sized instruments similar to the daf in various parts of Iran. The reason behind this is might be that when Islam took over the Middle East after 610AD, musical instruments were banned. Some, like the harp made their way to Russia or to Spain but as it’s mostly played in Kurdistan and in Dervish ceremonies, the daf was preserved.
Today, it is played in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Tajikistan and elsewhere but there is also a big Kurdish influence.
“The rhythm that I play is based on Kurdish dance,” explains Sara.
“I started listening to a lot of the Kurdish repertoire and most of the groups that I had the chance to work with play Kurdish music but there are different musical dialects throughout Kurdistan.
“Like the Kurds from Turkey – I had the privilege to work with them closely in London – or the Kurds from Syria, from Iraq.
“So the music that I have more knowledge and experience of is Kurdish but Kurdistan is a huge region, like each part of Iran, they have their own musical languages and dialects but there are also some melodies that they share.
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“For example, music in Kurdistan is completely different from music in the west of Iran or in northern Iran. Even the instrument that they use is completely different because of the culture or even the weather can have an effect.
“They cannot use some instruments in the south of Iran because of the humidity so the instrument they use is different,” she explains.
Sara’s career began when she was lucky enough to find a good teacher and started to learn and practice.
After a year, her teacher told her she was ready to perform in bands and to teach other students privately.
At the time, Sara was studying electrical engineering at university in Iran but such was her love for music and teaching she became like full-time musician.
“And then in 2011, I decided to come to the UK to study a Master’s degree for sound engineering - but I changed my mind and went to a college to study music and music technology instead!” she says smiling.
She did go back to Iran but decided to return to London where she has been based ever since.
As she says, it’s not easy to rely on music to make a living, so as well as playing and teaching, last month Sara took up a new post as a software engineer at Just Eat!
At Monday night’s gig in the Duncairn, there will be stories as well as music and song, something Sara is very happy about.
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“The good thing is that when we go on stage, when we are invited to a festival like this one in Ireland for example, for me it’s an opportunity to share my story and to be able to connect to people so they can, I hope, learn more about my experience - and how different it was for me to be able to pursue my goal.
“Not just because I am from Iran. Things are different in Iran. It’s difficult, but it’s not impossible. So I’m very proud that I could find a way to be able to pursue my passion in music, instead of just saying, ‘oh, this is a bad thing about my country’.
“I don’t like this feeling because to me it feels like I’m being disrespectful,” says Sara.
