Oh Björk. It’s only two months into 2011 and already you’ve out-awesomed approximately 98% of the world’s musician’s plans for the year. As you may recall, Björk recently participated in a karaoke contest for some Icelandic holiday about elves and saving the environment or something. Well now she’s collaborating with much-buzzed-about Syrian performer Omar Souleyman to create what a press release declares “the first-ever major western pop release to feature Syrian dabke and Iraqi choubi music.”
For those unacquainted with Souleyman, recently the dude has been riding his own unique blend of traditional Arabic music with synths and dance beats across the globe, while the always intriguing American label Sublime Frequencies has also made some of his recordings available to Western fans. The as-yet-unnamed Björk/Souleyman collaboration does not have a release date, but will be available as a limited 12-inch, CD, and digital download later this year.
Omar Souleyman dates:
03.05.11 - Perth, Australia - Perth International Arts Festival
03.06.11 - Melbourne, Australia - North Cote Social Club
03.09.11 - Brisbane, Australia - The Hi-Fi
03.11.11 - Adelaide, Australia - WOMADelaide at Botanic Park
03.12.11 - Sydney, Australia - Annandale Hotel
06.02-05.11 - Austin, TX - Chaos in Tejas Festival
06.09-12.11 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Festival
08.05.11 - Katowice, Poland - OFF Festival
08.06.11 - London, UK - Field Day Festival
09.08-11.11 - Isle of Wight, UK - Bestival
• Björk: http://bjork.com
• Omar Souleyman: http://www.myspace.com/omarsouleyman
