Kurdish music takes wing in postwar Iraq

ARBIL (Iraq) May 11 - Niyaz Zangana loads a selection of CDs on sale in his shop into a high-decibel sound system to show what Kurds are listening to in post-Saddam Iraq.

Zangana, manager of the popular Zang record store in Arbil, stocks a wide range of Middle Eastern music, as well as the obligatory Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez albums. But the music blaring from the speakers is a Kurdish dance track.

``Before, Arab music was the most popular, but now even the latest albums aren't selling,'' he says with a smile, turning up the volume. ``Many more people are buying Kurdish music.''

Young Kurds, traditionally attracted to better-produced Arabic, Turkish or Farsi records, are starting to favour new Kurdish artists exploiting new technology and postwar freedoms.

``Young people prefer to buy Kurdish music because of everything that's happened,'' Zangana said.

``The politics is important and new equipment has been imported. Now we have professional recording studios.''

Among the Kurdish public, local music is the flavour of the moment for reasons both patriotic and aesthetic.

``My favourite music is Kurdish. It's changed since Operation Iraqi Freedom,'' said student Waad Efan, referring to the US-led war that toppled Saddam Hussein a year ago.

``There are more styles,'' the 17-year-old said, buying the latest album from a well-known Kurdish crooner.

Another young music fan said his favourite song had been released by a local artist after twin suicide bombings in Arbil on February 1 that killed more than 100 people. It urges Kurds to unite and ``defeat the enemy''.

At the Chwar Chra recording studio, musician Halbas Salah said change had begun in 1991 when Kurds gained control of northern Iraq, allowing the import of equipment and instruments.

``We started to make good Kurdish music. A new generation of Kurdish singers came through with new styles,'' said Salah, 24, who plays the violin.

``This has an effect on the music's popularity with young people. After the liberation of Iraq many of these artists wanted to express what they felt about the (Saddam) years.''

Studio staff said it was hard to meet the surge in demand, despite access to modern mixers and computers. ``We're sometimes working night and day. Lots of songs are being produced at the moment,'' said Akho Omar who handles post-production.

Kurdish music has several distinct styles, from traditional dance to mournful ballads inspired by a poison gas massacre in Halabja in 1988. Some Kurdish songs, banned in certain countries, are closely linked with Kurdish national issues.

Like many aspects of Kurdish culture, Kurdish music suffered during Saddam's iron rule. Professional artists had no access to recording facilities and aspiring musicians were discouraged from receiving further education in Baghdad.

``We're now doing many things we couldn't do under Saddam. Even music festivals weren't allowed,'' said Bekir Khaled, music director of the Arbil Fine Arts Institute. ``All aspects of our music have been freed so the sound is more developed.''

Industry bosses say a new prosperity in Kurdish areas has also helped the music market. Higher salaries mean people can afford original recordings rather than pirated copies.

New albums sell for about $2.50 and the average artist can expect to sell around 5,000 copies in the Kurdish areas.

``Day by day our sales are increasing,'' said the director of one of the biggest Kurdish recording labels, saying his turnover has risen around 20 percent since the fall of Saddam.

He said the music also appealed to Kurds abroad, where CDs fetched about four times as much as in Iraq.

Artists now shoot music videos, which are replayed on Kurdish satellite television channels to boost sales. CDs are packaged abroad and printed with artwork before being reimported.

On Kurdish city streets, the most important thing is the new availability of a long-overlooked genre.

``Saddam never allowed the Kurdish to have their own music. Now Kurds in the south and Baghdad can listen to it as well,'' said Ivan Mohammed, owner of the Golden Sound record shop.

``Before 1991 we didn't even have recording studios. Now we have freedom.'' - Reuters