The Kurdish Syrian refugee has enriched the Irish music scene and embodied a powerful message since 2016
Mohammad Syfkhan: ‘It is my duty to offer this beautiful country everything I can. I wrote a song called I Love You Ireland’When the best-Irish-albums-of-2024 lists are written in December, high up on them should be a thrilling debut record by a Kurdish Syrian refugee, released on a tiny independent label.
Syfkhan’s style is dabke, a style of folk dance, popular in the Middle East, that’s groovy and rhythmic. As well as the bouzouki, he plays another traditional instrument, the saz. His record features a mix of folkloric tracks and classic songs such as One Thousand and One Nights, all from the Middle East and north Africa.
Three of their sons settled in Germany; Mohammad and Huda, after arriving in Ireland in 2016, were resettled with their young daughter in Leitrim. “The source of my inspiration is my suffering that I experienced with the loss of my son, my escape from my country and taking risks,” says Syfkhan. “I tried to gather my strength and write, play and sing … Music comes from pain, from love, from suffering, from happiness.
What does Syfkhan think of Ireland? “Every country has its own traditions, heritage and history, but the Irish public has taste,” he says. “It loves music of all kinds. It is not restricted to one country or another.” He likens Ireland “to a beautiful garden in which flowers from all countries have gathered”.
Mohammad Syfkhan: ‘It is my duty to offer this beautiful country everything I can. I wrote a song called I Love You Ireland’
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