SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish musician Gashtyar Kawa is carving out a distinctive sound by blending the microtonal traditions of Kurdish music with contemporary genres such as synthwave.
Hailing from Sulaimani, Kawa draws on local heritage while experimenting with electronic textures and modern rhythms. His songs, including Drkan, Parwanatm, Yar, and Nur, fuse traditional melodies with synth-driven arrangements.
“I feel like it’s a blend. It is not absolutely modern… and it’s not absolutely traditional,” Kawa told Rudaw English on Saturday during the inaugural Kurdish Studies Forum at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS).
The forum, organized by the university’s arts and culture center Kashkul, aims to foster dialogue, research, and cultural exchange on Kurdish history, literature, and the arts.
One of Kawa’s main challenges has been adapting Western instruments, which are built on the 12 notes within an octave, to the microtonal intervals of Kurdish music, where melodies often use tones in between the notes.
“Most of the instruments of modern music are not microtonal,” he explained.
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“I had to somehow customize those notes, and I think it was the most challenging thing for me.”
Despite the obstacles, Kawa says listeners have welcomed his style.
“The most surprising thing was the non-Kurdish audience, how they could perceive the microtonal even though it’s not part of their culture. They could actually get it, they could enjoy it. I didn’t expect foreigners to perceive that music in a really good way.”
Kawa produces, mixes, and masters his own tracks and often directs his own music videos, which he admits is demanding but rewarding. “The audience is very, very welcoming and they love what I do. This is really motivating.”
Looking ahead, he is preparing a ten-track album built around what he describes as a new maqam, the modal system of scales used in Middle Eastern music. “It’s based on a new scale that I invented myself, a blend of Kurdish and Western models,” he said. “It is a very unique one.”