FLEE's new project focuses on the music of the pearl fishermen of the Persian Gulf and aims to honor the memory of the divers, their culture and their music.
The pearls of the Gulf have stoked the imagination and desire of people around the world for centuries, their magnificence matched only by the courage of the divers who found them. This project aims to honor the memory of these valiant free-divers, their culture and their music by the means of a 2XLP compilation (available separately or as part of a bundle) with undisclosed original recordings of pearl divers and inspired modern-day compositions by artists like Tomaga, YPY, Ben Betrand, Tarek Yamani or Hieroglyphic Being.
Along with that record, a 240 pages long book in Arabic and English includes essays, archive and contemporary photographs as well as commissions from regional experts and artists, questioning this century-old culture from original point of views, contextualizing the tremendously rich theme that is pearling and its music.
Edited by Olivier Duport , Alan Marzo, Carl Åhnebrink.
Contributions by Toufic Kerbage, Marc Hobbs, Charles Stang, Talal Mattar, Abdulla al Suwaidi, Major Ali (Ali Saqar Al Suweidi), Paul Mattar, Abou Saleh, Noura Al Sayeh Holtrop, Hasan Hujairi, Talin Hazbar, Monira Al-Qadiri, Alan Marzo, Olivier Duport.
