Dialogue Music group:  Family Is Internationalizing Kurdish Music

By SALA KURDA

STOCHOLM, Sweden: In the country where the Kurds’ right to self-determination was abolished almost a century ago, today a music band made up exclusively of the members of a Kurdish family is working hard to introduce Kurdish music to the Swiss

The mucisions are a father, his three daughters and a son, making a group named Dialogue wants to communicate with the larger public through the language of music.

Members of Dialogue call each other Haval, Kurdish for friend, and released their first album three years ago. The album included a Kurdish song, Jaane Jaane, sang in English in order to “let non-Kurds know who we are.”

Gulsafa is the group’s vocalist. Asked why Dialogue is made up only of members of a single family, she said, “if the band’s members are related or close to each other, they can better endure hardships. The unity of our family can become an example for the unity of our (Kurdish) nation too.”

Kurds are the largest stateless ethnic group in the world with their country, Kurdistan, divided over Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. The largest Kurdish population lives in Turkey where the government still strictly limits Kurds political and cultural freedoms 

Commenting on the message of the group’s music, Gulsafa said Dialogue does not perform art for the sake of art only.

“We want to show the world the oppression and persecution that our people have been through,” she said.

Musa, Gulsafa’s father told Rudaw, “we have good relations with the Swiss and play in their school festivals, and cultural nights, events and introduce Kurdish music to other peoples.” Musa’s three daughters study in music school.

The group rocked the Swedish capital, Stockholm, last month by their energetic and national music. They play music, sing and dance in their concerts.

Asked why they call each other Haval, Gulsafa said, “It won’t sound very serious if I would call Haval Musa ‘dad’ on the stage when I am introducing him. So we are now used to calling each other Haval and that’s  how we also call each other at home.”

Dialogue’s music has a European influence on it as well. Guldam, one of the other female member of the group, said, “We have grown up with Europeans and their music but have not lost our folkloric Kurdish music as well… we don’t want to forget the spirit of Kurdish music and want to become examples for other young Kurds in Europe.”

“We want young Kurds to know that Kurds have also modern music and want to become an example in that sense for the Kurdish youth.”

Guldam likes classical music more while her elder sister Gulsafa likes pop and rock music. But on stage, their music is a collection of classical, pop and revolutionary genres.

“We sing political songs because we want the plight of our people to be shown to the outside world. Our youth are struggling and bleeding for freedom in our country. So, we will never forget that and let the whole world know about it,” said Guldam.

The group’s members have gone on tours in Turkey’s Kurdistan in order to better understand the feeling and spirit of their Kurdish music.  Dialogue’s members have not been to Iraqi Kurdistan yet, but wish they can one day play there too.

“Unfortunately nobody has yet invited us to go there (Iraqi Kurdistan), otherwise we would be happy to go there. It would be an honor for us to become a bridge between Europe and all parts of Kurdistan. We are determined to break down boundaries as much as we can,” said Guldam.

The group’s members are also planning to sing in other major Kurdish dialects beside upper Kurmanji. Upper Kurmanji is the dialect mostly spoken among the Kurds in Turkey and Syria. Most of the Kurds in Iranian and Iraqi part of Kurdistan speak lower Kurmanji or Sorani dialect.