Voices and Music from Palestine
Bashar Murad
Bashar Murad vocals and keyboards
Isam Elias synths
Einar Stefánsson drums & playback
in collaboration with Festival delle Culture
Music has always played a crucial role in the almost eighty-year-long tragedy of the Palestinian people: whether traditional, hip-hop or electronic, music has contributed greatly to the defence and development of a collective identity. If the dramatic history of the Palestinian exodus, conflict, occupation and exile has strengthened rather than weakened the people’s sense of belonging to a land and a history, the pre-1948 upheavals and the current diaspora have allowed the Palestinian world to develop a capacity for resilience and to forge links with other cultures. It is an experience that aligns Palestinian music with the typical features of contemporaneity, such as the hybridisation of languages, cultural ubiquity, and the constant tension between tradition and innovation, between the local and the global.
Bashar is a Palestinian artist, singer-songwriter and director who produces pop music from a global perspective. His music challenges stereotypes, highlights social issues and explores themes such as gender equality and diversity.
Whether performing in a wedding dress or singing about gender diversity, Bashar always takes risks and encourages critical thinking.
