Omar Souleyman's fifth studio album pays tribute to Erbil, the city in Iraq that provided him solace and embraced him during recent turbulent times. Moving to Erbil brought a wealth of new experiences and friendships, which are best celebrated in cheerful songs dedicated to a new chapter in his life. The eight tracks of Erbil demonstrate how the Syrian wedding singer, now a worldwide icon of electronic music, is once again collaborating with his regular keyboardist Hasan Jamo Alo, for an increasingly ambitious and forward-thinking techno-meets-dabke sound.
Besides his relocation to Erbil, Iraq, the recent years have seen Omar Souleyman receiving the GQ Middle East ‘Men of the Year’ award in 2022 (with a cover), impressive performances in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the broader Middle Eastern region, as well as a return to the US after a long hiatus of six years, with shows in Los Angeles and New York. Meanwhile, his tour continued unabated across Europe and the rest of the world.
Souleyman, who has collaborated with Björk and Four Tet, began his career as a prolific wedding singer and released almost 500 live albums before the civil war broke out in his native Syria in 2011. He then moved to Turkey and in 2013 released his debut studio album Wenu Wenu, produced by Four Tet, via Ribbon/Domino, which NPR described as “…a jam so palpable, exciting, and intense that the mysterious matter of earthly boundaries seems hardly worth contemplating.” His second album Bahdeni Nami (2015, with several producers including Four Tet, Gilles Peterson, and Modeselektor) received widespread critical acclaim, as did his two releases on Mad Decent: To Syria, With Love (2017) and Shlon (2019), cementing Omar Souleyman’s position firmly within the global electronic music scene.
Souleyman has strengthened his growing status as an icon in world and electronic music by building an extensive international audience, after numerous performances and appearances at major festivals such as Glastonbury, Bonnaroo, Pitchfork Paris, and Roskilde. In 2013, he performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Norway.
