Sunday 26 September 8pm

The Tricycle are delighted to host Asian Music Circuit’s first UK festival of Herati music and culture from Afghanistan.

This concert aims to open a door onto the multifaceted and very rich Afghan musical heritage and bridge the gap in the knowledge and understanding of a country which is too often only associated with conflict, poverty and the Talibans.

Situated in a fertile valley in western Afghanistan, the ancient city of Herat is nationally recognised as a pre-eminent fount of creativity in literature, music and the visual arts. As an important trading centre, Herat has continuously absorbed new musical ideas. While taking in new influences from Iran and India, Herati musicians always maintained the essential flavour of their own local culture, which is founded on romantic and melancholic Persian-language love songs and laments.

Even during the time of the Taliban ban on music-making of the late 1990s Herati people were defiant, taking great risks to gather in secret places to make music, saying they could not live without this fundamental aspect to life.

The musicians will perform a mixture of Herati vocal and instrumental music, along with the Afghan classical music that has been performed in Herat since the 1930s.

Musicians include: Nasim Rahim Khushnawaz, Afghan rubab; Ustad Gada Mohammad, Herati dutar; Naimatullah, Herati vocal; Muhammad Aziz , classical vocal and harmonium; Yusuf Mahmoud, tabla; and female vocalist Mina Amani.

Tickets: £12