Afghan Sonic Futurisms

Farhot

Farhot's highly acclaimed solo albums Kabul Fire Vol. 1 and Kabul Fire Vol.2 skillfully combine elements of traditional Afghan music and pop culture. His productions do not serve any orientalist clichés, but are rather an expression of his deep interest in his Afghan roots. As part of the opening celebrations of the country focus on Afghanistan, Farhot will offer an insight into his transmusical excursions during one of his exceptionally rare performances.

© Firas Colin

Artist-producer and founder of Kabul Fire Records, Farhot has been successfully producing and releasing music for over a decade. His productions - and even more so his own releases as an artist - bear his very own musical signature, without his output being limited to a specific genre. Nevertheless, it is undisputed that Farhot's work is firmly anchored in the tradition of hip hop. His career began with the first Nneka album, he is one half of the producer duo "Die Achse" (The Axis) together with long-term partner Bazzazian and his impressive oeuvre includes a number of mostly international artists such as Giggs, Kano, Isaiah Rashad, Talib Kweli, Selah Sue, 113, LOC, Haftbefehl, Xatar. Most recently, Farhot released his second album Kabul Fire Vol. 2 - critically acclaimed, this musical tribute to his homeland Afghanistan was hailed as Album of the Month by The Guardian UK.

Masta Sai

© Masta Sai

DJ Masta Sai was resident DJ of the regular Zembîl series at SO 36 in Berlin. Today, you can find her regularly at the Tasty Party of SchwuZ and at the Gayhane at SO 36. With her traditionally anchored and pan-cultural "Best Berlinistan Garam Masala Sound", she provided musical accompaniment to the first Afghan Surf Championships in Portugal in 2015. As the first German-Afghan DJ, she is a pioneer in the Berlin club scene with her wide-ranging musical spectrum of S.W.A.N.A. and South Asian dance beats. As the name "Masta" already suggests, she puts the audience into a euphoric dance fever with her sounds.

Taman Noor

© Taman Noor

Taman Noor was born in Kabul in 1975. His family had to leave Afghanistan in 1979 because of the impending invasion by the USSR. Bremerhaven in northern Germany became his new home. While he studied cultural studies and English in Bremen, he organised various mostly small parties. Some were big enough to establish contacts in Hamburg and Berlin, for example with the Teichmann brothers, whom he accompanied to Kabul in 2011 on a Goethe-Institut project lasting several days. This changed his perspective on the country's history since the mid-1970s. Hedonism became increasingly secondary for him, intercultural communication with all available means more and more important - gladly also with a party afterwards. He continued this in Berlin from 2010, among other things through Afghanistan evenings at the former Kater Holzig, as a member of an international organiser group (Border Movement) and as a DJ at German-Afghan cultural events. He currently works as a vocational and educational counsellor for refugees. Interculturality and communication generally play a central role in his dealings with his counterparts.