47Soul

The Palestinian collective 47Soul takes ancient Arabic dance music, melds it with modern sounds, and places it firmly in the 21^st Century. The result is what NPR describes as “music without borders, mixing old and new, acoustic and electronic…It’s one big, positive and poignant party.”

The group formed in Jordan in 2013 when four artists – Tareq Abu Kwaik, Ramzy Suleiman, WalaaSbait, and Hamza Arnaout – joined forces to create what became a new genre of music they called “shamstep.” Shamstep infuses the folk sound of dabke with hip-hop, reggae and electronica. With Middle Eastern roots going back thousands of years, dabke is an ancient yet enduringly vibrant form of folk dance still hugely popular today: lines of dabke dancers regularly weave through weddings and other celebrations in Palestinian and Arab communities around the world.

47Soul sees their music as a call to recognize “the common humanity of all people.” Their lyrics give voice to the need for freedom of movement beyond borders, social justice, and the endurance and strength of the Palestinian people; their tremendously energetic live shows have won them fans around the world.

VFMF Artistic Director Fiona Black says: “It’s an honour to bring this Palestinian group to our festival. Against all odds, 47Soul are touring this year and it’s exactly the right time to give these artists an opportunity to share their music with us. It’s bold, exciting, danceable – and will stay with you a long time.”

– EM