About the Project

The Afghan Music Project (AMP) is a mixed media social venture, seeking to raise awareness of Afghan culture through music. All proceeds from the project will fund Afghan music teachers in Kabul who will teach music to Afghan youth, particularly young women. Explore the links below to learn more about the project.

Music in Afghanistan
Over the last three decades, Afghanistan has been decimated by war and cultural genocide. From the Soviet Union's brutal invasion in the late 1970s to the destructive civil war and oppressive rule of the Taliban in the 1990s, Afghanistan has seen only darkness and despair for over a generation.

As the country attempts to rebuild itself, it faces the daunting task of resurrecting its rich culture. Twenty-five years' of music censorship has left many Afghans, particularly younger generations, without important references to classic folk traditions. Furthermore, war has forced many musicians and teachers to permanently emigrate to other countries, taking with them their vital knowledge of Afghan music.

The Afghan Music Project seeks to bring Afghan culture back to its people through music education.

Afghanistan's Rich Musical Past
Classical Afghan music weaves together the past and present of diverse ethnic groups, resulting in a pulsating expression of emotion across Afghan society. Songs of love, longing, and celebration are prevalent in societal events, particularly during the major rites of passage. Another equally important form of cultural expression, poetry, finds its perfect partner in musical form. Many Afghans consider themselves poets and their abundant written expression is delivered through music in an emotive and meaningful way.

Throughout its history, Afghanistan has been seated at the crossroads between influential cultures. Exposed to the world's musical forms from as far west as Greece to the eastern edges of China, Afghanistan developed a dynamic music culture.

As early as the mid-1800s, Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, had established itself as a center for classically trained professionals. Over the generations, these professional musicians evolved from exclusively entertaining royalty to playing at tribal and family celebrations, regardless of the pedigree of the group...and music began to permeate all of society.

The legendary Kharabat Street in Kabul, a place where musicians flourished in a mysterious and joyful gypsy culture, allowed for free expression and enjoyment of Afghan music. Exotic and rapturous sounds emanated at all times from this musical ghetto at the base of the nearby silent mountains. Passersby would be treated to different styles of music at each home they passed. The more adventurous would arrive early in the evening and stay until early in the morning. Sadly, uninterrupted war has nearly destroyed this living musical heritage site.

Music Censorship in Afghanistan
During the horrific times of modern Afghanistan, the people have turned to music for solace to conjure memories of a more peaceful time. However, due to recent music censorship, musical reflection often had to take place within the privacy of one's own mind.

During Soviet occupation, the Communists censored music that it deemed unfit for the new government. Traditional music suffered greatly as it represented the great Afghan past, not the future of Soviet rule. Under the more extreme Taliban regime, music was simply and forcefully banned. Since music was a form of non-religious expression, it was perceived as a vice, and the Taliban decreed that it should be eliminated. The 'Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue' burned instruments, ripped out music tape, outlawed public performances, and punished all violators, sometimes with death. Afghans recall how the Taliban destroyed centers of music such as Kabul Radio, including the instruments and archived tapes of the great traditional music masters.

The Taliban was particularly brutal towards women. Under Taliban rule, women were treated as property with no human rights, and subjugated to an existence of imposed silence and dark shadows. Female musicians who tried to play their craft were sometimes treated with the harshest of punishments.

In this environment, Afghan music was slowly exterminated. With the fall of the Taliban, hope returned with the freedom of expression. But even now, remnants of the recent past remain, with some fundamentalist factions trying to suppress music.


AMP Background and Cause
The rich sounds of Afghanistan and the tragic plight of its people inspired two UC Berkeley graduate students, Adam Gouttierre and Chris Becherer, to travel to Kabul, Afghanistan in the summer of 2005 and record folk musicians on location amidst kidnappings, protest riots, and civil unrest. The result is the Afghan Music Project, an 11-song album of traditional Afghan music.

All proceeds from the project will fund Afghan music teachers in Kabul who will teach music to Afghan youth, particularly young women.

Through this program the Afghan Music Project ensures that:

1) The rich musical tradition of classical Afghan music is passed from an older generation to a younger generation.
2) The level of female participation is high and emphasized.
3) Teachers can earn a living on what they love to do, educating young people.
4) Students can earn a livelihood sharing their skills with the people of Afghanistan.
5) Music becomes fun again, shared in a free and open manner.


The Recording
The Afghan Music Project was recorded at the Radio Killid Studio in Kabul, Afghanistan in Summer 2005.

The AMP players were led by Ustad Ghulum Husain, a master rubaab player. Due to the ongoing uncertainty of the political situation, the female vocalist asked not to be photographed and to be known only as ZamZama.

The recordings include seven instrumental and four vocal songs. The vocal pieces were sung in both Dari and Pushto. The instrumental pieces highlighted the sounds of the tabla, sarinda, tambur, and harmonium, in addition to the rubaab.

The rubaab, or 'Lion' of Afghan instruments, is the unofficial national instrument of Afghanistan. It is a big-bellied lute which has a long history of enchanting virgin ears.

To listen to or buy the recordings, click here.


Credits
The project was made possible by the Center for Afghanistan Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Clausen Center at the University of California at Berkeley.

The AMP team would like to express deep gratitude to Abbie Raikes, The Gouttierre Family, The Becherer Family, Esmael Burhan, Abdul Raheem Yaseer, Anwari, Najeeba Ayubi, Radio Khallid, Gafar, Aji Mohammed, Noor Ulah,John Soden, Engineer Mir and Fatima Siddiq, Jocelyn Hoppa, IODA Music Alliance, and Ryan Lynch.

The AMP team would also like to thank the Shiffbaver Family, Tom Skapars, Brian McMullin, Christian Oestlien, Nathan Dintenfass, Diana Adair, Mason Byles, Sana Khareghani, Sabrina Ko, Mina Girgis, Devin Poolman, Lovi Randhawa, Azhar Hashem, Nima Badiey, DJ Amar, Cheb i Sabbah, Dean Rich Lyons, Ute Frey and the UC Berkeley Digital Media and Entertainment Club.


To experience more, please read or watch The Kite Runner, or see the movie Osama.

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