Arifa are a Turkish band based in The Netherlands who will be making their UK debut at Musicport Festival on Sunday October 20th @ 8pm.

The band have received numerous 5 star reviews for their 2 albums to date:

”Arifa strikes gold. This is music that can make you shiver with delight”

‘Arifa combines the musical heritage of Babylon, Istanbul, Bucharest and Amsterdam with electronics and contemporary improvisations. The result transcends the sum of its parts and is a journey far into the realm of imagination.’ (Songlines)

‘In its exquisite beauty this debut album holds up to the level of the best works of Anouar Brahem.’ (Volkskrant)

Ancient musical traditions from the Middle East and Balkans are blended with jazz and contemporary improvised music through a Western frame of mind.

Arifa’s secret is the creative chemistry between its four members – Alex Simu (Romania), – Sax, Clarinet & Live Laptop, Mehmet Polat (Turkey) – Ud, Franz von Chossy (Germany) – Piano and Sjahin During (Turkey/Holland) – Afro Anatolian Percussion.

Coming from Romania, Turkey, the Netherlands and Germany their music is just as diverse as their origins, moving from traditional Turkish and Balkan sounds to jazz and classical music and take the audience on a truthful and adventurous musical journey. Original compositions and ancient melodies from Arabic, Anatolian and Balkan worlds, combined with live electronics and contemporary improvised music.

“This will be a very special UK debut from a fine band we have been wanting to bring to Musicport for quite a while”. Songlines Magazine

Tickets for the full weekend are £85 (£80 concessions) with 11-18 year olds half price. Day and session tickets are also available too.