I’m very happy to announce the first in a series of collaborations in residency at the Green Note, Camden.

Ud and Elsewhere @ The Green Note, Camden, London, UK

An exciting and exclusive series of collaborations by London based Iraqi Ūd player Khyam Allami focusing on music from the Middle East, the Mediterranean and elsewhere. A perfect way to spend an autumn Sunday. Second and last Sunday afternoon of the month. Each session will feature two sets with two different groups of musicians performing different repertoire.

Sunday 12 September 1pm-5pm
Khyam Allami & Nicoletta Demetriou
w/ Lucy Railton (Cello) and Elizabeth Nott (Percussion)

Click here to buy tickets, very limited capacity.

After a hectic year of travels and major performances at WOMAD and the Royal Albert Hall as part of the Proms, Khyam will kick off this series of collaborations with a set of solo Ūd followed by a set with Cypriot singer Nicoletta Demetriou.

Click here to listen to some recordings

Following their beautiful session for BBC R3′s World Routes earlier this year, this is their first proper live performance. They will be joined by Lucy Railton (Cello) and Elizabeth Nott (Percussion) and will be appearing LIVE on BBC London 94.9 (Radio) the night before on Saturday 11 Sep with DJ Ritu between 8 – 10pm. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p001d7yl

PLEASE NOTE:
Doors and kitchen open at 1pm in case you fancy a nice lunch. Green Note cuisine comes highly recommended by Alejandro Toledo! Music starts at 2:30pm.

Thank you!

As a way of saying thank you for all your support, I couldn’t think of a better way than with music.

The Sound of Disquiet EP is two tracks Andrea and I recorded a couple of days before playing WOMAD 2010. We’d like to thank Crawford Blair at Angell Sound, London for letting us make the most of his masterful ears!

Click here to download both tracks and cover art in a zip file (33MB).

We hope you enjoy them. Please do share them as we have shared them with you!

Khyam

Listen and download from the soundcloud player.

Watch the YouTube videos

A couple of new recordings will be made available as free downloads in the coming days. Sign up to the mailing list on the right to find out who, what, how, where, why and when!

Thanks
Khyam

A million thanks to all of you who wrote and commented with such kind words about the performance at the BBC Proms on Monday. Your continuous encouragement and support means the world. THANK YOU!!

If you missed it you can still listen to it on the BBC iPlayer.

Photo by Chris Christodoulou

Photo by Chris Christodoulou

Now that the fireworks display of the BBC R3 World Routes Academy is over, it’s time to start working even harder and try to keep this fire burning bright. There are many projects and ideas simmering in both my sub-conscious and email inbox. More information about a few of them very soon.

In the meantime, here is a link to some photos of sound check and performance at the Royal Albert Hall taken by Lara Kantardjian: http://www.pbase.com/larakstudio/royal_albert_hall_concert_shoot__outtakes

And some links to the reviews published in the last couple of days:

The Guardian – The Evening Standard – The Telegraph – BBC Arabic

Please join the mailing list on the right to be entertained and kept up to date on upcoming events. More very soon and thanks again!

In today’s Guardian Film & Music supplement you will find an auto-biographical article by yours truly, with a nice photo by my good friend Lara Kantardjian.

If you are too lazy to pick up a print copy or just don’t like paper anymore you can also read it online here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/aug/05/khyam-allami-ud-iraq-proms

Thank you!

It’s a few days to go till Prom 33 at the Royal Albert Hall and in the run up to it, these days have turned into an Iraqi music/’Ud extravaganza!

Yesterday I was LIVE on BBC R3′s In Tune with Ilham Al Madfai. You can listen again on iPlayer here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006tp0c

Straight after I ran to the Free Word Centre in Farringdon to perform at the British Institute for Human Rights launch of a photography exhibition in which I took part.
http://www.bihr.org.uk/policy-and-public-affairs/human-rights-photography-project
http://www.freewordonline.com/

Below are details of all related radio and TV programmes and appearances. Hopefully you can tune in to some of them. All broadcasts are available online, including those which are live. Those from BBC Radio will also be available on BBC iPlayer for 7 days after broadcast.

In the meantime, if you haven’t yet ordered your tickets please do so as soon as you can! http://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/bbc-proms-2010/prom33/default.aspx

Wish me luck, remind me to eat and breathe, and see you all soon!!!
Khyam

Friday 6th August
23:45 UK time (GMT+1) – BBC Radio 3 – World on 3
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t26zs
Interview with Khyam Allami and a selection of his Iraqi music favourites plus, Iraqi Maqam singer Farida Mohammad Ali recorded live in Covent Garden, London last month and Ilham Al Madfai and Khyam Allami recorded live in Amman, Jordan earlier this summer.

Saturday 7th August
15:00 UK time (GMT+1) – BBC Radio 3 – World Routes
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t6tlk
The final programme dedicated to the World Routes Academy which documents Khyam Allami’s three week trip in the Middle East. Featuring exclusive sessions by Khyam Allami with various musicians recorded in Syria and Jordan, including a couple of collaborations with Ilham Al Madfai.

21:00 UK time (GMT+1) – BBC Arabic TV
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/tvandradio/2009/06/090629_tv_livestreaming.shtml
LIVE TV interview and session from Khyam Allami and Ilham Al Madfai

Monday 9th August
19:15 UK time (GMT+1) – BBC Radio 4 – Front Row
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t8j15
Interview and session with Khyam Allami

22:00 UK time (GMT+1) – BBC Radio 3
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t6vhr
LIVE broadcast of Prom 33, Ilham Al Madfai and Khyam Allami, from the Royal Albert Hall, London

In the run up to WOMAD this weekend there is lots going on so I thought I’d fill you in.

If you aren’t joining us at WOMAD this weekend, please tune in and listen to our performance LIVE on BBC Radio 3. We will be on stage this Sunday 25th July at 13:00.

BBC Radio 3 – WOMAD Live 2010: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00szxsf

The new issue of fRoots magazine includes a Root Salad feature and the new issue of Songlines magazine includes a Backpage feature written by me about my trip to Damascus earlier this summer.

You can hear one of the tracks from the live session I recorded there in the latest Songlines free Podcast 70. The composition is called Naghmat Tahrir and features Taoufik Meerkhan on Qanun. It was recorded at the Mustafa Ali art gallery in old Damascus as part of a session for BBC R3′s World Routes.

The full session and more will be broadcast on Radio 3 on August 7th. More information about that later.

Lastly, if you haven’t yet booked tickets for the concert with Andrea Piccioni and Ilham Al Madfai at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms, please book them soon. All the good seats are almost gone! http://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/bbc-proms-2010/prom33/default.aspx.

Many thanks and wish us luck for WOMAD!!

With his good looks and corkscrew hair, Khyam Allami could be mistaken for a rock musician – indeed, he does currently play drums for the prog-influenced outfit Knifeworld. But it’s as a dazzlingly accomplished oud player where his growing eminence resides, a reputation enhanced most recently by being named as the first recipient of the BBC Radio 3 World Routes Academy mentorship, a new initiative that places promising young musicians in collaboration with wise musical elders. That he’s chosen to link up with legendary Iraqi singer (and past WOMAD performer) Ilham al-Madfai confirms Khyam’s continuing fascination with the music of his forebears. Born in Syria to Iraqi parents, he’s been an adopted Londoner since the age of nine, but – as his beautiful and lonesome oud playing demonstrates – he’s still immutably connected to his motherland. Extra flavour comes courtesy of the equally eminent master percussionist Andrea Piccioni.
(Biography written by Nige Tassell 2010)

I’ll be appearing on the Cerys Mattews show on BBC 6 Music tomorrow (Sunday 13th) between 10am-12pm. Listen live online at this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00llg30

We have put together a great show which features a live session of Cypriot Greek music sang by Nicoletta Demetriou and accompanied by me on Ud and Jacob Olley on Nay. You will also hear three features about music in Beirut, Damascus and Amman which feature interviews with Ghazi Abdel Baki from Forward Music, Ud player Tareq al-Jundi and Majd Hijjawi from Eka3.

You can tune in online here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006tnmp and the programme will be available on BBC iPlayer for one week after broadcast.

Hope you enjoy it.