Structured like a Sufi Hadra, Yunis’ performance invokes collective memory and transformation through layered sound design and live improvisation, rooted in Zar, takhmira, and ecstatic ceremony that The Quietus describes as “an inspiring exercise in Neo-devotional music”. Having previously performed at The Pompidou Centre, Le Guess Who? and Nyege Nyege festival, this commission will bring him to the UK for the first time for a mini-tour of shows in April.
The project will support Music to Come’s agenda of developing projects with inspiring international artists who don’t regularly get platformed in the UK, with a particular interest in platforming Arab/diaspora voices in the current sociopolitical climate. This goal is shared with Another Sky Festival, with Yunis’ appearance there at Cafe OTO forming a particularly neat intersection.
