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Artists overview

Refa (Ex Refugees for Refugees)

A journey along the former Silk Road

Refa brings together renowned musicians from Syria, Tibet, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and Belgium who are united by their desire to weave links between their music.  The group has developed an original repertoire at the crossroads between their different traditions.

After a fantastic five-year adventure with two albums, more than a hundred concerts in Belgium and abroad, rave reviews including the first place in the annual list of the Transglobal World Music Charts in 2016 and the Klara for best Belgian world music album in 2019, Refugees for Refugees has written a new chapter in one of the success stories of traditional music in recent years.
They will continue under a new name and a new line-up. Refugees for Refugees becomes Refa.

“In the first place, we want to be seen as musicians, as people and not as refugees,” says Syrian ud-player Tarek Alsayed. “Our previous name pushed us into a victim role.” The statement is clear: from refugees into musicians.

Line-up

  • Aren Dolma (voice) (Tibet-BE)
  • Damla Aydin (Cello) (Turkey-BE)
  • Fakher Madallal (voice, percussion) (Syria-BE)
  • Mohammad Aman Yusufi (dambura, voice) (Afghanistan-BE)
  • Simon Leleux (percussion) (BE)
  • Shahab Azinmehr  (setar, tar) (Iran-BE)
  • Tammam Al Ramadan (ney) (Syria-BE)
  • Tareq Alsayed Yahya (ud) (Syria-BE)

 

  

Albums

Videos

Press

  • The Band

Aman Yusufi (dambura and voice, Afghanistan) was born in Bamyan in 1959. He began the dambura in the traditional milieu and quickly builds a strong reputation. On a friend’s request, he wrote a song about a lady he loved. Unfortunately, she was married to an ex-soldier, who heard the song and decided to kill Aman, who had to fly away from his country.

 

Dolma Renqingi (voice, Tibet) was born in the Tibetan mountains, in the region of Amdo. That’s where she started learning to sing when she still was a child. She built an impressive musical career until her departure to India and her final arrival in Belgium. Still very active in the community, Dolma practices her voice with the dramyen lute player Kelsang Hula, who grew up in the same region than her.

 

Tamman Ramadan (ney) and Tareq al Sayed (ud) met at the Aleppo Conservatory and started playing together at that time. Bad life conditions in Syria forced them to migrate to Europe where they still play on impressive stages, even though they’re separated from the rest of their band.

 

Fakher Madallal (voice, Syria) grew up in Aleppo, where his father was a renowned singer. He now follows his steps, thanks to his powerful and accurate voice that he accompanies with percussions.

 

 

Simon Leleux (percussion, Belgium) is specialized in Middle Eastern percussions. He started playing music with what has remained his favorite instrument: the darbuka. Trained with grat masters and former student at Codarts in Rotterdam, Simon had the privilege to share the stage with musical celebrities and extremely varied projects, ranging from oriental music with Ghalia Benali to baroque music with Les Menus Plaisirs du Roy, not to forget Berber songs with Khalid Izri, ottoman music with Lâmekân Ensemble, music from the Balkans with Tcha Limberger, Nedyalko Nedyalkov, world music with Emre Gultekin/Vardan Hovanissian, Auster Loo, ….

Damla Aydın started playing music at the age of 10. She studied Turkish and Western classical music at the “Istanbul Technical University – Turkish National Conservatory of Music (ITU)”. She specializes in cello and also plays the piano. She has been teaching piano, cello and Turkish music for more than 10 years. Damla Aydın has played in various orchestras and for various recording sessions in Turkey. She now lives in Belgium since 2 years and develops her own musical projects.

Born in 1985, Tehran, Shahabeddin Azinmehr has a Bachelor’s degree in Restoration of Historical Monuments and a Master’s in Persian Music Performance. He entered the realm of music through singing, and later began learning to play the tar and setar as well. Mohammad Musavi, Dariush Talai, Mas’ud Sho’ari, Behruz Hemmati and Reza Parvizzade were some of the masters he studied under.

He has performed in several concerts and albums as an accompanying instrumentalist. His first individual album, Showq-e Mastur, is a setar solo performance.

More musicians from the album Amerli

Ali Shaker Hassan (qanûn, Iraq) started musical studies in Iraq. He moved to Cairo with his familyin 2004, where he graduates in music in 2010. In Belgium, he plays with percussionist Feras Hassan in the Forad Duo and Wassel ensemble.

Hussein Rassim (ud, Iraq) spent five years at the Baghdad Conservatory studying lute. He founded the group Solo Baghdad. He left his country and his ud during summer 2015, and ended up in Belgium. There, he integrates in the musical networks in order to start a new musical career.

Bassel Abu Fakher (cello, Syria), from Damascus, first began with classical music before starting his own musical projects. Besides playing cello, he composes and arranges music reflecting the difficulty of living and leaving a conflictual land.

Majid Zare (tabla, Afghanistan) was born in the north of Iran. At a young age he became addicted to the rhythms of the tabla, though his strict religious environment disapproved it. The prohibition to marry his Iranian girlfriend forced them to leave the country. Today they live in a reception center in Sint-Niklaas. He had the chance to meet Aman Yusufi, who was looking for somebody to accompany him on tabla.

Basel Khalil (guitar, Syria) studied at the Damascus Conservatory. Then he lived 6 years in Russia where he continued his musical training. He spent most of his life teaching classical guitar and flamenco in Syria. Having become a street musician in Turkey, he arrived in Belgium in September 2015, and he hopes to receive a residence permit to be able to teach his passion.

Norbu Tsering (voice, dramyen, flute, erhu, Tibet) was born in Nepal, where his parents ran away from the Chinese oppression. He learned traditional instruments at the Tibetan school, but it’s his mother who passed him on her passion for flute. After having received an invitation to give conferences in Europe, Norbu stayed here and performs in the Tibetan community. He’s accompanied by Norbu Pam (guitar, Tibet).

Khaled al Hafez who forms together with Tammam Ramadan and Tareq al Sayed the band Wajd.

Shalan Alhamwy (violin, Syria) was born in Homs where he grew up with his instrument. He integrated many orchestras in Syria. He then developed a career as soloist, composer and arranger, still in oriental classical music that he loves.

WOXX Magazine (LU)
Willi Klopottek

“This is not only a showcase project in political and social terms, but also offers exquisite musical enjoyment.”

Brussels Express (BE)
07/04/2019
Mauricio Ruiz

Refugees for Refugees: Music as a gift to society

HET NIEUWSBLAD (BE)
07/04/2019
Amaury Michaux

“Above all, we focus on our music, instead of our past”

De Standaard (BE)

 “With a refined instrumentation of strings, reeds and percussion, and the voices of Aren Dolma and Fakhr Madallal, the ten-member ensemble expresses sorrow and hope, folklore and art, contemporary reflection (‘After the dust’) and nostalgic memory.”

De Subjectivisten (NL)
Jan Willem Broek

“In a beautiful way they weave elements from different cultures together into one universal work full of surprisingly fitting and above all beautiful combinations….A majestic world album!”

Tropicalidade (BE)
Tim Ianna

“With this second album, the ensemble, which has been slimmed down from twenty to ten musicians,
wants to focus mainly on reconstruction and find a new perspective after being uprooted,
and the songs on Amina sound a lot more cheerful than the often melancholic and nostalgic tracks on Amerli.”

5planètes - Des mondes de musiques (BE)
03/12/2018
Etienne Bours

Réfugiés? Refusés?

Le Vif Weekend (BE)
13/12/2018
Mathieu Nguyen

“Chanter pour ceux”

En Marche (BE)
24/01/2019
Estelle Toscanucci

Refugees for refugees: nouveau souffle, nouveau son

fROOTS (UK)
01/09/2016

An album of the years and one which people will treat as a benchmark in years to come

BBC MUSIC magazine (UK)
01/11/2016

***** – It’s gratifying how much chemistry the (…) artists from very different cultures find, and the standard of performance is high.

Libération (FR)
21/08/2018
Charline Lecarpentier

«Quand on est sur scène, je ne sens pas que nous sommes réfugiés»

Le Monde (FR)
14/08/2018
Patrick Labesse

Des réfugiés jouent pour les réfugiés, au gré des marées”

TV5 Monde (BE)
10/04/2016
Paul Germain

« Le Bar de l’Europe. Tammam Ramadan »

radio Classic 21 (BE)
09/11/2016
Pierre Paulus

“L’ensemble est d’une troublante cohérence. D’une formidable union. Dans laquelle les nuances culturelles cohabitent avec harmonie et douceur. Chacun puisant en l’Autre ce qu’il a de meilleur. Loin, très loin, des discours absurdes fondés sur la peur.” 

La Libre Belgique (BE)
14/12/2017
Louise Vanderkelen

« Des Réfugiés unis par la musique. »

RTL-info/ Bel RTL (BE)
11/12/2017

« Un CD réalisé par des Réfugiés »

7sur7 (BE)
07/12/2017
Sébastien Cools

« Un album enregistré avec des musiciens réfugiés »

Télé Bruxelles (BE)
01/12/2017

« Muziekpublique lance un projet de Crowdfunding pour enregistrer un album avec des réfugiés musiciens »

Arte / La Trois (BE)
01/03/2016
Hadja Lahbib

« Tout le Baza’Art »

Le Soir (BE)
21/04/2016
Flavier Gauthier

« De la musique en mémoire d’Alep » 

La Première RTBF (BE)
29/04/2016
Didier Mélon

« Première esquisse. Dolma Renqingi & Kelsang Hula »

Larsen (BE)
01/06/2016
Benjamin Tollet

« La Musique, valeur refuge ! »

Mic Mag (BE)
03/05/2016
Stéphanie Triest

“Refugees for refugees, un carrefour musical, atypique, à la croisée des routes de l’exil.”

–  « Refugees for Refugees, la musique de l’exil » 

La Première RTBF (BE)
11/05/2016
Didier Mélon

« Le Monde est un village. Refugees for Refugees » 

La Première RTBF (BE)
14/05/2016
Miguel Allo

« Transversales. Reportage Refugees for Refugees »

La Trois (BE)
16/05/2016

« L’Invitation »

Brussels Nieuws (BE)
14/12/2015

« Gevluchte muzikanten opnemen CD » 

De Standaard (BE)
13/05/2016

« Virtuoze vluchtelingen »

Bruzz (BE)
14/05/2016
Benjamin Tollet

« Enfant terrible : Hussain Rassim »

Klara (BE)
18/05/2016

« Late Night World » 

De Standaard (BE)
18/05/2016
par Peter Vantyghem

« Oude nieuwe stemmen **** » 

De Standaard (BE)
20/05/2016

« De 5 beste cd’s van de week »

TRAD’ Magazine (FR)
Etienne Bours

Chaque pièce est un voyage en soi mais passer de l’une à l’autre montre une unité évidente, une communauté musicale faite d’éléments différents et de cette finesse orientale à nulle autre pareille.

Télérama (FR)
22/03/2016
Eric Delhaye

« Des festivals de musique ouvrent leurs scènes aux artistes réfugiés »

Radiopopulare.it (IT)
11/10/2016
Marcello Lorrai

L’iniziativa in Belgio : Un cd di musicisti-rifugiati : “La musica è molto toccante, come lo sono i contenuti dei brani interpretati, alcuni tradizional e altri originali” 

Al Jazeera (UK)
24/12/2015
Brian Ging

« The Musician from Diyala »

(International)

***** Refugees for Refugees is what it says : the musicians who play on it are all refugees who have made new lives in Belgium. Simply and beautifully, they play together. The instrumentation, languages and style across the 14 tracks are hugely varied, and that’s part of the immense charm of this enterprise.

Reuters (International)
05/05/2017

Refugee orchestra blends musical notes from Syria to Tibet

Times of India (India)
Daily Mail (UK)
The Peninsula (Qatar)
The express tribune (Pakistan)
Roznama urdu (Pakistan)
DNA (India)
UOL (Brazil)
Europa press (Spain)
DCI Mais (Brazil)
Channel NewsAsia (Asia)
Sinchew (China)
Utilma Hora (International)
Panorama (Venezuela)

Past concerts

29/10/22 Werf 44 (Schilde, BE)
10/07/22 Abdij Park van Heverlee (Heverlee, BE)
14/05/22 Migrant Music Manifesto (Bari , IT)
04/04/22 Le Rocher de Palmer (Cenon, FR)
18/12/21 CC Soignies (Soignies , BE)
28/10/21 Ontmoetingscentrum Marke (Kortrijk, BE)
18/09/21 Migrant Music Manifesto (Cologne , DE)
05/09/21 De Koer (Gent, BE)
28/08/21 Hide & Seek Festival (Brussel, BE)
18/07/21 Walden Festival (Brussel, BE)
16/08/20 Folkfestival Ham (Ham, BE)
07/05/20 Espace du bocage (La Haye-Pesnel, FR)
06/05/20 Le Rafiot (Flamanville, FR)
03/04/20 De Foyer (Brussels, BE)
08/02/20 Quintet - CC Braine-l’Alleud ( BE)
17/01/20 cc De Brouckere (Torhout, BE)
09/11/19 Sextet - Centre culturel de Verviers ( BE)
10/10/19 CC De Factorij (Zaventem , BE)
09/10/19 De Spil (Roeselare, BE)
28/07/19 Musicastrada Festival (Pontedera, IT)
27/07/19 Glatt & Verkehrt Festival (Krems, AT)
25/07/19 Cyprus Rialto World Music Festival (Limassol, CY)
13/07/19 Brosella Folk & Jazz (Brussels, BE)
03/07/19 Festival des Hauts de Garonne (Floirac, FR)
20/06/19 World Refugee Day - Flagey (Brussel, BE)
29/05/19 Teatro Garcia de Resende (Évora, PT)
28/05/19 Teatro da Trindade (Lisbon, PT)
23/05/19 Hagyományok Háza (Budapest, HU)
17/05/19 Quintet - Archipel 19 (Brussels, BE)
16/05/19 Ter Vesten (Beveren, BE)
10/05/19 Ferme du Biéreau (LLN, BE)
06/04/19 Centre culturel régional Action Sud (Nismes/Viroinval, BE)
03/04/19 CC de Comines-Warneton (Comines, BE)
29/03/19 Espace Ronny Coutteure (Grenay, FR)
28/03/19 cc Brugge (Brugge, BE)
13/03/19 C-Mine (Genk, BE)
09/03/19 Handelsbeurs (Gent, BE)
02/03/19 Maison Culturelle d'Ath (Ath, BE)
01/03/19 Salle Philharmonique de Liège (Liège, BE)
24/02/19 De Zevende Dag - VRT (Brussel , BE)
23/02/19 Sextet - Festival Paroles d'Hommes (Soumagne, BE)
17/02/19 De Roma (Antwerpen, BE)
16/02/19 CD-RELEASE Ancienne Belgique (Brussels, BE)
03/11/18 Wakker voor Vrede (Langemark, BE)
02/11/18 Start November Wereldmaand (Halle, BE)
23/09/18 Eupen Matinee concert (Eupen, BE)
15/09/18 OdeGand (Gent, BE)
13/09/18 Tempocolor : Duo Tammam & Tarek (Liège, BE)
14/08/18 Festival Les Traversées Tatihou (Normandie, FR)
30/06/18 Bonds of Culture (Szczecin, PL)
24/06/18 Fête de la Musique (Geneva, CH)
20/06/18 Jour­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­née Mondiale des Réfu­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­giés (Malmedy, BE)
09/06/18 Institut des Cultures d'Islam (Paris , FR )
12/05/18 Festival im Vogelviertel (Bielefeld, DE)
06/05/18 Quintet - Opéra de Lille (Lille, FR)
21/04/18 Cultuurcentrum Het Perron (Ieper, BE)
07/04/18 15 years Muziekpublique (Bruxelles , BE )
17/03/18 De Warande (Turnhout, , BE)
04/03/18 Centre Culturel Régional du Centre (La Louvière, BE)
02/02/18 W:hall (Bruxelles, Belgique)
01/02/18 - 150315 Festival Propulse - Botanique (Brussels, BE)
20/12/17 Opéra de Lille (Lille, France)
20/12/17 Opéra de Lille (Lille, FR)
16/12/17 30CC (Leuven, BE)
08/12/17 Africolor Festival (Bobigny, FR )
26/11/17 Wiesbaden ( DE )
10/11/17 CC Dison (Dison, BE )
19/10/17 CC Zwaneberg (Heist-op-den-Berg, BE )
12/10/17 Arenberg Schouwburg (Antwerpen, BE )
11/10/17 CC Bolwerk (Vilvoorde, BE )
09/09/17 Sint-Baafsabdij (Gent, BE )
08/09/17 PAS, Univeristeit van Maastricht (Maastricht, NL )
06/09/17 Festival Musicale del Mediterraneo (Gènes, IT )
23/08/17 - 001200 Hide&Seek Festival (Bruxelles , BE )
18/08/17 festival HAASte Töne ?! (Eupen , BE)
27/07/17 Sfinks Festival (Boechou, BE)
23/07/17 Musiques d’ailleurs, Chateau de Montaigle (Montaigle, BE )
23/07/17 Autres Rivages - Festival nomade des Musiques du Monde en Pays d’Uzès (Uzes, BE)
22/07/17 Globaltica Festival (Gdynia, BE )
16/07/17 Gentse Feesten (Gend , BE )
24/06/17 Festival des 5 Continents (Martigny , CH )
16/06/17 Kunst op de Vlucht, Bourla (Antwerpen, BE )
13/06/17 Ultima Awards, Vooruit (Gent, BE )
04/05/17 Festival van Vlaanderen (Courtrai, BE )
27/03/17 Gastvrije Gemeente, Vlaams Parlement (Bruxelles , BE )
03/03/17 B-Major ! Festival - Stadsschouwburg Brugge (Bruges, BE )
11/02/17 Le Petit Théâtre de la Grande Vie (Forzée , BE )
15/12/16 40 ans de CPAS au Square : Tammam, Fakher & Tareq (Bruxelles , BE )
03/12/16 Festival du Cinéma Mediterranéen : Tammam, Fakher & Tareq (Botanique-Bruxelles )
25/11/16 Médiathèque Le Phare (Uccle , BE )
19/11/16 Ouverture de l’année juridique au barreau de Bruxelles, Bourse (Bruxelles, BE )
20/10/16 Médiathèque Le Phare : Dolma & Kelsang, Ali Shaker Hassan al-Bayati (Uccle , BE )
09/09/16 Festival de Wallonie (Abbaye de Villers-la-Ville, BE )
03/09/16 Festival Rencontres Inattendues (Tournai, BE )
21/08/16 Festival d’Art de Huy (Huy , BE )
06/08/16 Festival Espéranzah ! (Floreffe, BE )
11/07/16 Festival Les Suds : Dolma & Kelsang (Arles, FR )
19/06/16 Jardins Botaniques de Liège : Dolma & Kelsang (Liège, BE )
08/06/16 Espéranzah ! au-delà des murs (Namur , BE )
16/05/16 Music Meeting (Nijmegen, NL )
13/05/16 Muziekpublique (Bruxelles , BE )
Management

Muziekpublique

Booking Belgium & international

Lynn Dewitte – lynn@muziekpublique.be

Louise Janssens – louise@muziekpublique.be

General contact: label@muziekpublique.be

+32 2 217 26 00

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