DISCOVERED

KEFAYA & ELAHA SOROOR

Songs Of Our Mothers BELLA UNION

9/10

A thoroughly modern, multicultural masterpiece. By John Lewis

IN a curious way, Songs Of Our Mothers is the sound of urban Britain now. It’s like the Babel of sounds from a dozen inner-city immigrant communities that have been reassembled into a coherent whole. It’s an album fronted by a young refugee, singing in Farsi, backed by a British band with roots around the world. It’s the kind of thing that could be a complete mess, but it works on every level and grooves like hell.

The band, Kefaya, are a truly global collective, led by Giuliano Modarelli (a guitarist from Milan) and Al MacSween (a pianist from Burnley). The pair met on a jazz course at Leeds College of Music, where they immersed themselves in the city’s thriving reggae scene and in Indian classical music. Both have spent the past decade collaborating with musicians from around the world – Cuban violinists, Palestinian and Kurdish singers, Indian tabla players, London gospel choirs