The Kurdish-Syrian singer and bouzouki player’s first record of entirely original compositions is out November 23rd on Nyahh Records, featuring a full band and string arrangements from Naseem Alatrash.
Mohammad Syfkhan has announced his second album, I Love You Ireland, out Friday November 23rd via Nyahh Records on vinyl, CD and digital.
It marks a significant step for the Kurdish-Syrian artist, his first record made up entirely of original compositions, and the first with a full band behind him, including string arrangements from Syrian cellist and composer Naseem Alatrash.
The result draws on a timeless Middle Eastern and North African sound in the tradition of Fairuz or Umm Kulthum, driven along by a fast Kurdish dabke tempo.
The title, much like debut album I Am Kurdish, carries real weight for Syfkhan, personal and political at once, a way of saying thank you to the country that took him and his family in. Track ‘Ah Yu Donia’ marks his first time publicly addressing the loss of his son, killed during the war in Syria, questioning why he was taken and sitting with the difficulty of making sense of that violence.
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‘Al Huriya’ marks another first, his first use of an Irish reel rather than a Middle Eastern rhythm, another way of thanking the musicians and community he’s found in Ireland since 2011.
Syfkhan began playing music in 1980 while studying nursing, and after qualifying in 1983 moved to Raqqa, where he built a career as a professional singer and formed his own group, the Al-Rabie Band, playing weddings, festivals and concerts across Syria and mixing Kurdish, Arabic, Turkish and Western songs with his own material. He continued playing music alongside working as a surgical nurse until war broke out in 2011. His family were forced to flee, with three of his sons resettling in Germany while Syfkhan, his wife and young daughter found safety in Ireland.
I Love You Ireland tracklist:
Side A
- Kul Aljamal
- Esmuki Jamil
- Al Huriya
- I Love You Ireland
- Bulack El Hob (Home Recording)
Side B
- Ah Yu Donia
- Bulack El Hob
- Zahra
- Al Huriya (Home Recording)
I Love You Ireland is out Friday November 23rd via Nyahh.
I Love You Ireland was recorded by Rian Trench at The Dock Arts Centre, Carrick-on-Shannon in September 2025, and mixed at Meadow Studio. Home recordings were made by Natalia Beylis. It’s produced by Willie Stewart, co-produced by Rian Trench, and mastered by Aidan Foley at Master Labs.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
