The new single Sharaf by Sahra Halgan – Somaliland’s iconic singer and freedom fighter – is a thunderbolt, announcing her return with third album Hiddo Dhawr. The cultural activist blends age-old Somali traditions with a raucous repetitive guitar riffs, handclaps and a relentless beat of a tambourine. Hiddo Dhawr is released on March 29th on the new label DANAYA.

Following brutal civil war in her native Somaliland, Sahra arrived in Europe in 1992 as a political refugee and she eventually settled in France. In 2012, she returned to Somaliland opening a new space to revive Somaliland’s culture – Hiddo Dhawr is the next testament to her people and culture.

Steeped in the region’s traditional sounds, the forthcoming album draws on melodic patterns of Ethiopian pop and the garage-rock influenced guitar riffs of desert blues.

Sahra has toured the world with her band and raises her country’s flag at every occasion. Somaliland declared its independence in 1991 and has its own government, police force, and currency, though it remains unrecognised by the international community.

Hiddo Dhawr is Halgan’s third album, following the success of  2015 album Faransiskiyo Somaliland and 2020 album Waa Dardaaran. Once again she has joined forces with French bandmates Aymeric Krol (founder of French-Malian band BKO Quintet) on percussion, Maël Salètes (Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp, L’étrangleuse) on guitar, with new member Régis Monte also adds his vintage organ and proto-electronics.

Somaliland is a territory in the North East of Somalia (East Africa) and is formerly a British colony. Somaliland only existed as a sovereign entity for five days after gaining independence from the British in 1960, and was quickly absorbed into the newly independent Republic of Somalia. Following several years of economic growth and vibrant artistic expression (a period  known as the Golden Era), the Republic plunged into a deep crisis marred by internal tensions and violent repression. In the late 1980s, Sahra joined Somaliland’s secession movement, providing first aid to the injured fighters and comforting them with her songs.

“People were contributing what they had to the war, and all I had was my voice,” Sahra recalls. “Music is part of my life, it is in me. It calms my soul and gives me hope. It’s the only thing that I know.” 

The single is out now digitally via https://sahrahalgan.bandcamp.com/ and the album is released on March 29th on the new label DANAYA.

The band are: 

Sahra Halgan – Lead Vocal
Aymeric Krol – Drum and Percussions – Backing Vocal
Maël Saletes – Guitar – Backing vocals
Régis Monte – Keys