Love From Syria

Love From Syria is a sound piece created in collaboration with Syrian refugee families who I met during a residency at the Kings Arms project in Bedford in April 2018 as part of a commission from Bedford Music In Detention. During the residency, the group shared many traditional Syrian songs and stories, which I recorded.

This piece is derived from two individual recordings of a husband, Mahmoud, and his wife, Yaman, singing the traditional Syrian Love song, "Lamma Bada Yatathanna". We explored singing the song through echoes and delay effects. I then time-stretched the audio to make a seven minute track. Each minute represents a year of the Syrian war.

The piece seeks to reflect their feelings about the last seven years, as expressed in their own words; intense fear. Depression. The breaking of personalities as well as our homes and towns.