It's been a tumultuous few years for dabke-techno king Omar Souleyman. In 2021 the Syrian singer was arrested in Urfa, the southeastern Turkish city where he had been living and running a bakery since fleeing the Syrian civil war in 2011. He was accused of being a member of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia. , which authorities in Ankara consider a terrorist organization and an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Suleiman was held for just over 24 hours before being released without charge.
Aside from touching on themes of exile on recent albums, Souleyman's music has never been overtly political (a choice that has sometimes drawn criticism from fellow Syrians). But growing up as a Sunni Arab in Syria's culturally diverse al-Hasakah region, he absorbed Kurdish, Assyrian, and even Turkish and Iraqi influences, often singing in Kurdish and collaborating with Kurdish artists such as former longtime keyboard player Rizan Sa'id. . Since leaving Turkey after his arrest, Suleiman has found a new home in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdish region, and it is in this ancient city—which, unlike the repressive regime in Turkey, has offered him solace within its diverse cultural milieu—that he dedicates his fifth studio album.
Erbil, his third full-length on Diplo's Mad Decent (and one of more than 500 albums in total, if you believe that), celebrates the new experiences and friendships Souleyman encountered there. For non-Arabic speakers this is difficult to know, because the label does not provide lyrics or translations—a notable omission, considering Souleyman's international audience. But in some ways this follows the same patterns that have characterized his trajectory since he first emerged from relative obscurity in Syria and was introduced to the rest of the world. For many, Souleyman may be the only dabke artist they ever come across. Disembodied and inscrutable behind his dark sunglasses, he projects an aura of purity and distance.
Since Souleyman's international success in 2007 with his collection Sublime Frequencies National road to Hasake, has amassed hundreds of millions of views on YouTube and has become the face of dabke in the Western world, collaborating with artists ranging from Björk to Gorillaz and Four Tet. On Erbilhe sticks to the time-tested formula that has propelled him thus far: his soulful baritone gliding over a cascade of swirling sizzling lines, (mostly) electronic simulations of instruments like the oud, mijwiz and arghul and rock-solid beats that cause ecstasy.
