Syrian musical legend Omar Souleyman and his revolving crew of musicians have been a staple of folk pop in their home country for years, which might well be due to the fact they have released more than five-hundred studio and live cassette albums, a great feat by all accounts. For those not familiar with Omar’s music: it is an amalgamation of Syrian, Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish styles and is driven by Arabic keyboard solos and frantic break-neck speed rhythms. His first hit in his home-country was with Jani in 1996 and over the years his popularity has steadily risen through the circulation of his own particular brand of music (called Shabi) passed hand to hand through the villages of Syria. With his album Wenu Wenu produced by Kieran Hebden, it seems Souleyman is perfectly-placed to take Syrian music hurtling into the future.
