Kefaya + Elaha Soroor

Songs Of Our Mothers The sound of a long walk to freedom. Though her name doesn’t get top billing, Soroor is the star of this set, which takes traditional Afghan folk songs and gives them thoroughly modern settings. The singer, who rose to prominence at home on the Afghan Star TV talent show, fell foul of the forces of darkness (in a country where female entertainers are routinely threatened) after she sang songs attacking stoning and promoting women’s rights. She escaped and is now almost impossible to pin down musically, sounding as at home singing Farsi-language reggae, Indian jazz, Maghrebi pop or post-punk. Kefaya, the multicultural band she has been part of for several years, delight in tracing her journey, crossing sonic borders into Iran, Armenia, Turkey, Greece and North Africa. Her pre-relocation stuff – even her Afghan Star audition is online – is always interesting, but this is a whole new level. David Hutcheon