Omar Souleyman

Syrian vocalist playing dabke, keyboards, electronic beats and performing vocals. Omar Souleyman was born in 1966 in the north-east of Syria, in the village of Tell Tamer He started his career as a part-time wedding singer in his native al-Hasakah Governorate He emphasises the influence its culturally diverse milieu has had on his style: "My music is from the community I come from – the Kurdish, the Ashuri, the Arabic, they're all in this community. Even Turkish because it's so near, it's just across the border. And even Iraqi."