Artists
The voices of Kurdish music, from the nineteenth-century dengbêj masters to today’s most streamed singers. Every profile is written by our editorial team and lists its sources.
Şivan Perwer
The most influential Kurdish voice of the modern era.
Singer, modernizer of Kurdish musicCiwan Haco
The pioneer who married Kurmancî song with jazz, rock and pop.
Contemporary Kurmancî singer and poetMem Ararat
The quiet poet of today’s Kurmancî song.
Master dengbêjŞakiro
Called the king of dengbêj: the most celebrated voice of the tradition.
SingerRojda
A leading female voice of Kurmancî song and kilam.
Singer, international stage artistAynur
The voice that carried Kurdish song onto the world’s concert stages.
Singer, composer, film directorNizamettin Ariç
Composer and film-maker who gave Kurdish song a cinematic breadth.
Wedding and govend singerHozan Dîno
One of the defining voices of the Kurdish wedding floor in Europe.
Contemporary singerRewşan Çeliker
A refined contemporary voice bringing Kurmancî song to new stages.
Soranî pop iconZakaria Abdulla
The defining Soranî pop voice of the 1990s and 2000s.
Folk and Hewramî-rooted singerAziz Waisi
A beloved folk voice bridging village tradition and the modern stage.
Classical Soranî singerAdnan Karim
The keeper of the classical Soranî song and maqam tradition.
Legendary Soranî singerHassan Zirak
The most prolific legend of Soranî song.
Legendary dengbêj, father of the traditionEvdalê Zeynikê
The nineteenth-century master remembered as the father of dengbêj.
DengbêjKarapetê Xaço
The Armenian dengbêj who became a guardian of Kurmancî kilams.
Pioneer of recorded Kurdish songMeryem Xan
The first great female voice of Kurdish music on record.
Harpist and singerTara Jaff
The harpist who gave Kurdish melody a new ancient instrument.
Legendary female singerAyşe Şan
The tragic queen of Kurdish song.
Singer, voice of Kurdish-Armenian brotherhoodAram Tigran
The Armenian singer who gave his life to Kurdish song.
Classic singer of the early recording eraKawîs Axa
The first great Kurdish voice captured on record.
Classic radio-era singerMihemed Arif Cizrawî
The golden voice of the Kurdish radio era.
Beloved Behdînî singerTehsîn Taha
The defining modern voice of the Behdînî song.
Master of the Kurdish maqamElî Merdan
The father of the Kurdish maqam school.
Singer across Kurmancî and SoranîXêro Abbas
A bridge voice singing in both great Kurdish dialects.
Contemporary singer of the kilam revivalŞahê Bedo
A leading voice of the current kilam and stran revival.
Master dengbêjDengbêj Reso
The master’s master of the Serhed dengbêj school.
Father of modern Rojava songMihemed Şêxo
The melancholy master who shaped the modern Rojava sound.
Queen of the wedding repertoireŞehrîbana Kurdî
The most recorded female voice of the Kurdish wedding floor.
SingerGulîstan Perwer
A powerful voice of the exile generation, famous in duet and alone.
SingerBeytocan
The warm, wounded voice of Botan, mourned across Kurdistan.
Group, modernizers of the koma soundKoma Amed
The group that gave Kurdish choral song its modern city sound.
GroupAgirê Jiyan
The group whose Adarê became one of the most sung Kurdish songs.
Contemporary pop artistBrader
A streaming-era voice making Kurmancî pop for a new generation.
Tembûr virtuoso and composerCemîl Qoçgirî
The tembûr as concert instrument: a virtuoso between traditions.
Master dengbêjDengbêj Huseyno
One of the great pillars of the Serhed dengbêj school.
DengbêjDengbêj Kazo
A beloved voice of the Serhed kilam line.
DengbêjDengbêj Zahiro
A master of the generation that carried the kilam into the tape era.
Behdînî singer, cult legendErdewan Zaxoyî
The tragic young legend of Behdînî song.
Behdînî singerÎsa Berwarî
A defining voice of the Behdînî folk repertoire.
Classical singer, guardian of heritageMezher Xaliqî
The dean of classical Soranî song and its institutional memory.
Classical vocal masterŞehram Nazirî
A world-renowned classical voice rooted in Kurdish Kirmaşan.
Kamancheh master, composerKayhan Kalhor
The kamancheh virtuoso who carries Kurdish melody onto world stages.
Family ensembleKamkaran (The Kamkars)
The first family of Kurdish classical and folk music.
SingerNasir Rezazî
One of the most popular Soranî voices of the exile generation.
SingerMerziye Feriqî
A beloved female voice of Soranî song, gone too soon.
SingerHama Jaza
A Silêmanî voice beloved for pure, old-style Soranî song.
Pop singer and performerÇopî Fetah
One of the defining female pop voices of Başûr.
Singer, presenter, campaignerDashni Morad
The pop voice who turned fame into environmental campaigning.
Pop artistHelly Luv
The pop provocateur who put Kurdish music in world headlines.
Zazakî singer and revivalistMikaîl Aslan
The leading voice of the Zazakî musical revival.
Singer, guitaristAhmet Aslan
The intimate modern troubadour of the Dêrsim tradition.
Rap pioneerSerhado
The pioneer who proved Kurmancî could carry rap.
Rap artist and entrepreneurXatar
The Kurdish-rooted heavyweight of German rap.
Rap artistAzad
The Kurdish-born veteran who helped shape German street rap.