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Omar Souleyman, ATP Nightmare Before Christmas

Live Reviews

A bizarre but captivating experience.

11th December 2011, Butlins, Minehead / By Danny Wright
Omar Souleyman I don’t know whether it’s because it’s the last night of the festival and everyone wants to go out on a bang, or that he’s so different to anyone on else on the bill or, maybe it’s just because he is damned fantastic, but the crowd at Reds go absolutely crazy for Omar Souleyman.

Having only heard him on record before I was told to expect something magnificent live – and I wasn’t disappointed. From the start of this pulsating set dancing stretches back rows and rows. Big grins are plastered across faces with near non-stop clapping, cheering and crowd surfing. It is dabke-induced pandemonium.
In his trademark sunglasses and red and white-checkered keffiyeh, Souleyman commands the stage, walking from side to side staring at the crowd. When he’s not singing he tucks his mic under his arm and beckons the crowd to get involved, with short handclaps and swinging beads around his hand.

It makes for a bizarre but captivating experience. The pace doesn’t drop for a second - if you haven’t heard his stuff it’s a mixture of Syrian street party music and synthesised beats. Tonight’s set is made up of Jazeera Nights material (which is itself a compilation of his stuff, so, hey, that works) with Rizan Sa’id the orchestrator – his synthesizer creating the backdrop for Souleyman’s showmanship.

You’d expect translating music that was formed in the heart of Northeastern Syria to a freezing night in Minehead to be a difficult feat – but Souleyman does it effortlessly. It’s summed up towards the end of the set by the surreal sight of a man in a rabbit onesie crowd surfing past me, eyes closed and smiling. This is one of the most positive and life affirming sets you will get to see. Rating: 8/10
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