Forabandit

Forabandit is a meeting between the French troubadour and the Turkish agik tradition – the music of travelling bards. It features Occitan singer (and mandocello player) Sam Karpienia, Turkish vocalist (and saz player) Ulaş Özdemir alongside the excellent Iranian tombak and percussion player Bijan Chemirani. It’s one of those projects born out of the easier international contacts and festival circuits that have developed in recent years – in this case the Sublime Ports initiative, linking Marseille and Istanbul.

The name Forabandit is taken from the Occitan word forabandi, meaning ‘to be put aside’, as both Occitan and Alevi views have been seen as heretical by those in power in France and Turkey. So in the opening song, ‘Neydik Biz’, the words of Clovis Hughes, a revolutionary in the Marseille commune of 1871, are joined by lines from aşik Emekçi who fought a similar struggle in 20th century Turkey. The aubergine smoothness of the Turkish lyrics contrast with the sandpaper rasp of the Occitan. The standout song is surely ‘Donen Dönsün, which combines lyrics by the 16th century Alevi martyr Pir Abdul Sultan with Occitan verses about history being written in the blood of ‘forabandits’ who sacrificed their lives for their faith. The music is powerful too. I saw Forabandit at Babel Med in Marseille and the trio put on an impressive live show.