Omar Souleyman is the Syrian-based singer/composer whose unique take on dabke – that foot stomping folk music found in various forms throughout the middle east – combines the traditional musical idioms and poetry of Iraqi, Kurdish and Turkish traditions with the jacked up, electro-pulse of Western club music.  Souleyman’s distinctive rough growl of a voice combined with his frenetic electro-Jazeera sound have made him an unlikely international star, with festival appearances across Europe and North America, and public endorsements from the likes of Bjork (who requested Souleyman’s presence on her forthcoming album), Pitchfork, and the hipster intelligentsia at large. In his native Syria, Souleyman has released hundreds of cassettes and CDs, while in the rest of the world his output consists of three albums released by those fearless cultural archaeologists over at Sublime Frequencies. Souleyman appears in Vancouver at Bar None on Tuesday, July 5th.  Be there, and don’t forget to bring your keffiyeh.

Your music blends traditional Syrian/Arabic folk music with synthesizers and electronics. How did you develop the electronic sound of your music? My love still belongs to the traditional sound of music and the traditional instruments that have been played in Syria over the centuries; but old things are displayed in museums. I don’t believe in standing still. I therefore explore new technologies and insert them in my music to give new life to traditional music and to address a modern audience.

I read that prior to becoming a musician you worked as a mason. What compelled you to become a musician? Are you a musician full time or do you do other work as well? I have had a passion for music and I pursued it all my life. But it was not until I became more known in the region of Hassakah and Aleppo that I was able to stop doing anything else for my living and rely and concentrate on my music only.

Which format is more popular in Syria – music on cassette or on CD? Today it is mainly CD; maybe 5 persons out of 100 still listen to cassettes, so they are disappearing more and more.

You’ve had three albums released in North America, all on Sublime Frequencies.  How many albums have you had released in Syria? Who releases your music in Syria, or do you release it yourself? I have over 500 cassettes released in Syria, some of them released by small production companies in Aleppo or Damascus or a music shop in Hasskah. These cassettes are quite varied, you will find music with Syrian elements, Turkish elements, Assyrian, Iraqi etc…

Can you describe your working relationship with your collaborators Rizan Sa’id and Mahmoud Harbi?  How do you two work together? As for Mahmoud, I love his poetry, and I used to set many of his poems to music. But he is not the only one I rely on for texts. I very much work with other poets and use texts that I find appealing and think that my audience will respond to. As for Rizan, I am convinced that we complete each other, we develop each other. We have been working together for 14 years now. It doesn’t take more than a glance to understand each other. This is something special.

You’ve become an international touring musician, embrace around the world. Do you like to tour? I like to tour. It is very interesting for me to get to know new countries, new people. It is interesting to see how they react to me, to my clothes. I love the reaction of the audience in the concerts. There is such an interaction between me and the public when I am on stage. It drives me on and on. And when I leave the stage after the concert, people are awaiting me to talk to me, to take a picture with me and tell me about their impressions from the concert. All this makes me happy and encourages me to go on.

Could you describe Dabke to me a bit? I’ve read that it is considered “working class” music in Syria. Do you consider yourself a Dabke singer or is your music something distinct? I am certainly a dabke singer. It is not only working class that listens to Dabke. You will find it in all festivities in Syria. Dabke has a fast, lively rhythm that carries away the listener and makes him want to move, be happy so sooner or later everybody lines up and gets going…

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Genie, Basketball and Omar Souleyman play at Bar None on Tuesday, July 5th.  Tickets are available at Zulu Records and on Clubzone.

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Zulu Records veteran and tunage aficionado Daniel Colussi is the Music Editor of Scout Magazine.