Omar Souleyman
To Syria, with Love
MAD DECENT
7/10
Omar Souleyman is all of us. Omar Souleyman is none of us. The Syrian singer (and farmer!) often speaks about incorporating music from Kurdish, Arabic, and Turkish communities into a unique blend of Arabian folk dance music better known as dabke. But he essentially stands alone as a singular artist spreading just about any of those sounds across America. The popularity of electronic music, which is infused into all his songs, is largely to thank for the warm welcome he has received Stateside. But even if we weren’t in an EDM craze, Souleyman’s sound is so infectious that it seems he would achieve success anywhere, anytime.
And that brings us to To Syria, with Love, a sharp detour from his two previous records; more than ever before, the Björk and Four Tet collaborator is infatuated with techno and keyboards. But don’t mistake Souleyman’s reinvigorated appreciation for the thrum of dance music with an uptick in optimism, though; remarking about his six-year exile from his Syrian homeland, he recently said, “My soul is wounded and it’s like having dust in my eyes.” The point is driven home on the single “Chobi,” a thumping seven-and-a-half-minute song that slithers with sorrow and in which Souleyman sounds more exasperated than ever before. The percussive, peripatetic “Ya Bnayya” is life-affirming but hopelessly restless, with Souleyman nearly rapping.
If you thought 2015’s Bahdeni Nami moved fast, prepare to have your head and feet spinning this time around. That’s also thanks to longtime collaborator Shawah Al Ahmad, who co-wrote all the lyrics on the seven-song record. It’s an exhausting, heart-racing experience through and through.
At its core, To Syria, with Love is not a celebration of a love that exists in the present but rather a painful longing for a love that he wants back. This is not a party record. It’s the soundtrack to those anxious, exasperating moments when you’re waiting at an airport but unable to reach your destination.
