After the 2023 special edition dedicated to Ukraine, we realized that art and music in particular are a powerful tool for threatened people to defend their culture. We decided to give space to those voices who are silenced and struggle to be heard. In Jazz, female artists are historically underrepresented and now more than ever we want their voices to be heard. The 2024 Stockholm Women´s International Jazz Festival  is dedicated to artists from Iran and Afghanistan. Female jazz musicians who represent all women voices of their original countries, who are now silenced by law and are fighting to be heard (#womanlifefreedom).

“Bridges” is the new section of the Festival that will close the evening, and is dedicated to a project between Swedish and international artists, in the spirit of building dialogues and connections.

The evening will be introduced by the Iranian ethnomusicologist and curator Yalda Yazdani, from The German University of Siegen. She will open the evening with a short talk and some videos from her movie project “Female voices of Iran” and “Female voices of Afghanistan”.

Semente Cultural Productions continues its aims to support not only the ones who are generally under-represented on stages, but now more than ever, those whose voices are silenced and whose culture is threatened (#womenforpeace).

Continues for this year our collaboration with Fasching Jazz club, for the 3rd year welcoming our Festival on its historic stage in the heart of Sweden's capital.

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Semente is honored to collaborate with Shamsia Hassani, the first female graffiti artist  of Afghanistan, for the print-work chosen as image on our official poster. A young Afghan woman, emerging from clear water, holding a piano keyboard shaped like wings. A powerful image, like all Shamsia´s outstanding artworks which depict Afghan women's sorrow and desperation, under Taliban dictatorship, but always bearing a glimpse of hope for a change that sooner or later will come.

https://www.shamsiahassani.net/

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A limited number of this original print-work, numbered and signed by the artist, will be on sale that night. The money collected will be donated to an international association who works to support women's rights in these countries.

As members of Europe Jazz Network, we join the #womentothefore campaign, which aims to advocate for a fairer and more balanced creative music sector throughout several initiatives on specialized media, during the whole month of March.

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PROGRAM

Simin Tander Quartet (AF/DE/NO)

GolNar Trio (IR/CA/AT)

Bridges

Hannah Tolf  (SE) and the Milk Factory (BE)

SIMIN TANDER QUARTET

Line up:

Simin Tander (AF/ DE) - voice, composition

Harpreet Bansal (IN/ NO)- violin

Tord Gustavsen (NO) - piano, electronics

Samuel Rohrer (CH/PT) - drums

The award- winning, German - Afghan singer and composer Simin Tander is one of the most amazing voices in Jazz today. Simin draws a fascinating route to her Mid-Eastern heritage by also singing in Afghani / Pashto, the language of her late father. Simin´s unique approach to vocal improvisations remains a trademark of hers. Creating her own language, far away from the usual scat-singing and full of life-enhanced freedom. After two highly praised solo albums, she received the “German Annual Record Critics ́ Award“  for her ECM album with Tord Gustavsen. Furthermore she has sung for UNESCO, UN Women, DW World and Unicef, bringing awareness to the current situation, especially on women and children, in Afghanistan. Sharing the often unknown richness and beauty of the Pashto language and poetry. Her current album "Unfading" combines rich songwriting with female poetry from Afghanistan and elsewhere, paying homage to strong female voices across cultures, performed by a quartet of 4 exceptional musicians.

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GolNar TRIO:

Line up:

Golnar Shahyar (IR/CA) - Voice, Piano, Synthesiser

Mahan Mirarab - Guitar, Fretless Guitar, Electronics

Amir Wahba - Percussion 

In 2008, the Iranian/Canadian vocalist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Golnar Shahyar settled in Vienna. She has since become known as one of Europe’s most interesting contemporary vocalists, as well as a producer of her own music and a collaborator in dance, theatre, and Opera projects. She is a tireless advocate for social justice in all its forms and makes this passion an integral part of her music. Her debut album “Tear Drop”, released in November 2022, was nominated in the German Jazzpreis for the best debut album of the year (international). Shahyar’s music, an extraordinary blending of languages and styles, draws equally on the traditions of South/West Asia and North Africa, and the contemporary music of Europe and the Americas; her music-making is a political act itself. Golnar’s voice is an exquisitely honed instrument, evocative and astonishingly flexible. For this special evening, she will share the stage with her long-term collaborators and two of the most prominent musicians in Vienna's jazz, improvised, and classical scene: Mahan Mirarab and Amir Wahba.

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HANNAH TOLF  (SE) & the MILK FACTORY (BE)

Line up:

Hannah Tolf   - voice and effects

Edmund Lauret - guitar

Stijn Engels  - piano and acoustic guitar

Viktor Perdieus -tenor saxophone

Quentin Manfroy - flute

Kobe Boon - double bass and electric bass

Benjamin Elegheert - drums

The Milk Factory, founded by guitarist Edmund Lauret and pianist Thijs Troch, both representatives of that adventurous Ghent music scene that has been causing (inter)national furore for several years now. Although quite a few of the band members are known for their raw in-your-face jazz, it was clear from the start that The Milk Factory would opt for an entirely different aesthetic. Simplicity and modesty was preferred to virtuosity and exuberance. After three complete instrumental achievements, the band felt ready to release a vocal album for the first time. They sought and found the perfect partner for this in Swedish singer Hannah Tolf. After an extensive residency in and on behalf of Bozar (Brussels), they finished a brand new record. The result was “Vandrare", which was released in April 2023 by Belgian jazz not jazz label W.E.R.F. records. Hannah Tolf sings, composes and improvises on the interface between acoustic and electronic music, between pop and jazz, the familiar and the unexpected. This already makes her an intriguing addition to the band, one that can redefine its beloved twilight zones with that combination of dreaminess, intimacy and openness.

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