8 July, Gala Hala Summer Garden, AKC Metelkova Mesto  

ELAHA SOROOR & KEFAYA (AF/GB)

'When I fled to the UK as a refugee, I wanted to integrate with the people who live around me,' says Soroor. 'But unfortunately, in the eyes of the world, Afghan identity is defined by terrorism, war, the Taliban, and uneducated, domesticated women who need help. Kefaya and I have tried to show other associations with Afghanistan, different stories, a different philosophy of life, the rich culture, my beautiful mother language [Farsi], and the diversity of our music.'

With this mission in mind, Elaha Soroor performs folk songs traditionally reserved for Afghan women. They are shot through with a deeply felt love of country, with music/production duo Kefaya bringing their own eclectic brand of magic to the feast – and managing at the same time to attract to the project a large number of renowned musicians from all over the world. A few days later, the album Songs of Our Mothers was born, and went on to win superb reviews from such prominent publications as Mojo, Songlines and Uncut. The compositions have Elaha's passionate and expressive voice at their core, each one telling a story that, although only linguistically comprehensible to a speaker of Farsi, reflects the self-confidence and courage of a woman who is determined never to give in to hate.

NEMANJA (HR)

Nemanja's main mover is Luka Šipetić, a musician and songwriter from Pula, who kickstarted the band in 2019 with the album Tarot Funk. It certainly landed in our hearts and minds with a bang, with songs that took their inspiration from Afro and Thai funk, Cambodian psych and Anatolian rock. The record received much praise throughout the region and beyond, prompting Luka to put together a band that went on to appear, among other places, at the Ment festival in Ljubljana. Shortly after that he released Cosmic Disco, with its striking single Dāw Yĕn, which confirmed Nemanja's place as one of the very best outfits following the trail blazed by the celebrated Altin Gün. On Cosmic Disco, Šipetić celebrates life by drawing inspiration from the Tibetan Book of the Dead (!), with the music bringing us back to the golden age of disco, from the Lebanon to Yugoslavia, and launching Šipetić firmly into the future. Get ready for a live cosmic disco party in the summer garden at Metelkova!