Harmonia Mundi
Sivan Perwer : Min Beriya Te Kiriye (TÜ,2003)*°'
Sivan Perwer with no doubt, has a great powerful voice. He became the voice of the Kurdistani people after he started singing in the Kurdic language in Turkey but therefore was obliged to leave Turkey. Also nowadays he is the bardic voice that keeps Kurdish traditional songs alive, and makes his own songs, seeking recognition for the Kurdish people, their language, and their own expressions. I’m not sure how much presenting Sivan Perwer as coming from ‘Kurdistan’, like the label does, isn’t a somewhat dangerous marking, because the matter still is to a degree explosive. The area of Kurdistan lies in Turkey, but also partly in Syria, Iran and Iraq. We in Belgium are somewhat lucky that all our struggles for identities in the end became a foolish and too complicated matter and resulted in compromises with a very complicated history. So there is not really much sub-culture left for separation at any time, so instead we try to continue and develop our way in compromising. But before recognition of someone's identity amongst another one, this is only possible with equal trust and dignity, when equal economic and human conditions have become a comparable foundation. If this isn’t the case yet, any struggle for some group’s own identity will have to deal first with the aspects of impatient more primitive nationalist discrimination from either party. Often more generalizing recognition isn't possible because one party had all this power, while the other party does not just have a goal just to share or to cooperate with this, but also wants equally 'all power', which makes any evolution whatsoever impossible. I find it always a shame when countries split because of this. I’m glad a country like Israel is destined to become one day such a multi-cultural cooperative country as well, because the religious centre for various big religions lies on the same spot.
I prefer of course to stimulate artists who work with a focus on their culture as being and coming and developing an open evolution, with increasing abilities to work with anybody to achieve a common heritage. It is not easy to understand for someone outside the matter to see how much the struggle of Sirvan Perwer is an opening up struggle or could be interpreted otherwise. I only know that his expressions are powerful and seem to come from an inside power, and from a personality which is able to express his thoughts and Kurdish struggles in his music. I heard whenever some left-wing Turks come to hear him he adds a Turkish song to the repertoire. So that shows a positive spirit.
This release comes from a live recording, except for the bonus studio track.
