Of course we try to surprise you every week with unprecedented music from all corners of the world, including that of our own country. On our stage you can hear bagpipes as well as the Arabic table harp, the qanun, you can dance to Congolese rumba or to polyphonic voices from Provence. That in itself is a clear statement. We want to show that there is more in the world than what you usually hear on your radio or receive via your smartphone.

But sometimes it goes even further. As part of Chaabi Habibi – the multi-year Brussels project initiated by Laila Amezian that supports female folk musicians from the Moroccan community – and in collaboration with Darna, the Moroccan Kabareh Cheikhats break through traditional gender roles in a self-liberating show on Thursday. The group pays tribute to the cheikhats; the free but marginalized women who denounce the injustice and create a very intense atmosphere with their voices and dance that touches the entire audience. The interpretation of the men who perform with Kabareh Cheikhats goes further than just the musical repertoire. They highlight a culture that is often neglected by some of the Moroccan youth, while at the same time breaking through taboos that are still very much alive today.
It is a spectacle in which the bodies of the men liberate themselves from the predefined patterns; a space in which the actors and musicians discover the woman within themselves and show them without fear with great pride to reveal hidden identities. As a source of inspiration they chose the music played by the women who want to shake up the patriarchal society.

A week later the Afghan ensemble Anim arrives. Anim stands for Afghanistan National Institute for Music, founded by Ahmad Sarast. In Kabul you could study both Western classical music and traditional Afghan music in that institute since 2008. The country has a rich musical tradition, but the reign of terror of the first Taliban regime (1996-2001) had left deep marks. Making music and even listening to it was haram in the eyes of the Taliban and therefore prohibited. That is why Ahmad Sarast and his colleagues started a search for the remaining masters and instrument builders – who often lived all over the world, but also for historical archives and recordings. Gradually they re-established a musical tradition on instruments such as the rubab, lute and national instrument of Afghanistan, akin to the Indian sarod.

In 2014, the Zohra orchestra was created within the institute, a real orchestra with girls between the ages of twelve and around twenty. With tours through Switzerland, Germany, England, Portugal and Australia, the orchestra was an example of emancipation in Afghanistan.
When the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, the entire school was at risk. While Kabul’s airport was closed, thanks to the support of international organizations such as UNHCR and the United Nations, nearly 300 musicians were evacuated via Qatar to Portugal, where the school in exile was reopened. Led by Ustad Murad Sarkhosh, who heads the Institute’s traditional music department, Anim comes to Brussels with a selection of students from Portugal: Huma Rahimi (sitar), also a member of Zohra, Ramez Sufar (rubab), Bilal Asifi (harmonium ), supplemented by tabla master Ustad Ibrahim Ibrahimi. Anim brings a concert of hope and resistance.