Chapter 07
Twenty-Four Recordings and Performances from Iraq
8 min
The sequence below is not a ranking and does not claim to cover every community. It is designed as a journey: long-form maqam, urban song, community and regional routes, instruments, recording history and several present-tense scenes. Keep the versions and dates visible. When a streaming service offers only a compilation, search by artist and exact title before accepting the year on screen.
1. Muhammad al-Qubbanji - "Al Jawqa Al Iraqi Ara Atharihm, 1"
Start with the catalogued shellac performance and give it full time. Hear the qari establish poetic authority before the ensemble becomes active. The catalogue names Yusif Zarur on qanun, Saleh Shummail on jawzah and Yusif Patao on santur, turning a general ensemble into three audible musicians. Surface noise belongs to the old disc and transfer, not the music's character.
2. Yusuf Omar - Maqam Rast
Yusuf Omar makes long form feel inevitable. Follow his changes of register, the weight placed on line endings and the way the chalghi responds. Do not count minutes. Mark the moment when a return suddenly feels like arrival.
3. Farida Mohammad Ali and the Iraqi Maqam Ensemble - "Maqam Hamayoun & Pastah Min Farktak Lel Youm"
Farida's lower register and direct diction command the ensemble. Listen to the contrast between the extended maqam and the more regular closing song. Santur, jawzah and percussion do not decorate her; they negotiate the route with her.
4. Muhammad H. Jrifani and Mullah Adnan Ensemble - "Mukhalif - Maqam Iraqi"
This 1970s recording places lead voice, chorus, clapping and khashaba in a compact documented performance. Hear how collective response changes the scale of the music. The track also reminds us that one maqam name can live in more than one instrumental setting.
5. Nazem al-Ghazali - "Ya Um al-Uyun al-Sud"
Move from long form to portable urban song. Al-Ghazali's diction and melodic lift remain unmistakably Iraqi while the arrangement welcomes a broad radio audience. Listen for how quickly the voice establishes character.
6. Salima Murad - "Qalbu Salak"
Murad's authority comes through vocal weight, verbal clarity and an ability to turn an urban song into drama. Seek a well-documented transfer rather than an anonymous upload. Keep composer and ensemble credits when they are available.
7. Zakiya George - "Ya Bulbul al-Rawd"
An early recording can make the singer seem distant, but George's phrasing survives the narrow frequency range. Hear how a strong line enters against the ensemble. Her Assyrian background and Baghdadi career belong in the same history.
8. Salima Murad with Saleh and Daoud al-Kuwaity - "Ya Sleima (Dhub wu tifatar)" (1932)
Murad recorded this early Saleh al-Kuwaity composition with the brothers in Baghdad. Listen for the compact two-beat cycle, the leap in the vocal line and the refrain's direct address. Performer and composer credits make the song collaborative craft rather than anonymous heritage; the brothers' later migration does not sever it from Iraqi recording history.
9. Munir Bashir - "Maqam Nahawand"
Now reduce the ensemble to one oud. The first lesson is spacing. A note decays, silence gathers pressure and the next attack changes the room. Hear plectrum direction, tremolo and the difference between ornament and structural movement.
10. Dakhil Hassan - "Ana Gharib b-hal-balad"
Leave the solo-oud stage for a southern rural voice. Hassan's line stretches speech toward lament without losing verbal weight. Hear the grain, breath and lengthened cadence before attaching the recording to a broad marsh or tribal image.
11. Abdurrahman Kizilay - "Altin Hizma Mulayim"
This Iraqi Turkmen selection begins in Kirkuk and travels through later Turkish circulation. Follow the recurring refrain and the fixed 10/8 movement, then attend to the Turkmen text. A widely travelled song can retain a precise locality without becoming the property of only one modern state.
12. Daye Xeme - "Qewle Shexe Heseni Sultan e" (Khanke, 2010)
This public scholarly recording gives Nineveh a named Yazidi performer and text. The qewl's melodic recitation carries religious knowledge; it is not a field-recorded mood. Hear the changes in vocal height and pacing while respecting the sacred context named by the performer and collection.
13. *Iraq: Iqa'at* - "Iqa'at - Collective Improvisation"
Shift attention entirely to rhythm. Follow how players distribute high and low attacks, claps and rests. Collective improvisation is not noise around a pulse; it is a negotiated architecture whose parts continually redefine one another.
14. Abdulrazzak Talal and the Mullah Adnan Ensemble - "Fann Khammari" (Zubair, Basra)
The Iraq: Iqa'at anthology names both singer and ensemble and locates the performance in Zubair. Listen for call and response, clapping and the social lift produced by five small goblet drums. Those credits place the sound firmly within Basra's own musical history.
15. Ali Mardan - "Katan Katana" (1980 recording)
Mardan's Sorani voice offers a major route into Kurdish song associated with Iraq. Follow the compact pulse and verbal pacing rather than treating the melody as landscape. The dated recording makes a firmer starting point than an anonymous retrospective compilation.
16. Hassan Zirak - "Kermashan"
Zirak's recorded legacy crosses the Kurdish regions. The date shown on a digital release may refer to a modern reissue, so do not use it as biography. Hear the concentrated vocal line and the way place enters through title, language and memory.
17. Ashur Bet Sargis - "Khobba d'Yimma"
Sureth-language song and diaspora production meet in a named Iraqi Assyrian artist's work. Listen for the vocal contour and arrangement rather than using the track only as evidence of identity. Language carries memory through modern studio sound.
18. Yehezkel Hai El-Beg - "Exodus Chapter 15 Verses 1-26" (1959)
This unaccompanied recording preserves Iraqi Jewish biblical chant after migration to New York. The absence of instruments concentrates attention on text, melodic formula and breath. Liturgical context matters; it is not simply an exotic vocal solo.
19. SOM3A - "MA ANAM" (2025)
Begin the current sequence inside Baghdad. Follow clipped Arabic delivery, pauses in the beat and the way the track addresses a local rap public. It answers the earlier diaspora route without pretending that one city or artist represents Iraqi hip-hop.
20. Aseel Hameem - "Weshkali" (2026)
Hameem's voice remains the centre of a compact contemporary pop single. Hear how sustained syllables push against programmed rhythm. The track places an Iraqi woman singer inside the current listening path through exact music, not a paragraph about representation.
21. Alan Qaradaghi - "بمبەرەوە" (2025)
Qaradaghi's Sulaymaniyah catalogue supplies a current Kurdish-Iraqi pop selection. Follow the Sorani phrasing and repeated hook, then compare its concentrated form with Ali Mardan and Hassan Zirak. Difference of production is part of the history.
22. Al Uzza - "Nasnas" (2025)
Hadad's Baghdad-based one-person project brings black metal and ambient sound back inside Iraq. Hear distortion, density and sustained atmosphere before reading the genre tags. The release is dated December 2025, so amplified music does not end with an older exile narrative.
23. Oger Adwar - "Wardeh" (2025)
Return to Ankawa through a contemporary Assyrian recording rather than a generic community label. Dawod Barkho's lyric and melody and Waleed Zaya's arrangement place named collaborators behind the voice. Hear how language and keyboard-led production share the foreground.
24. Archive Khanah - *Coloured Cassettes* (2025)
Finish in Sulaymaniyah with an experimental project published by SPACE21. Edits, noise, electronics and juxtaposition turn recorded material into composition. The album leaves Iraq in the present tense, with local infrastructure and artistic decisions rather than an instruction to search for whatever comes next.
A practical four-day route
Hear one complete maqam by Yusuf Omar and one by Farida Mohammad Ali. Read translations only after the first pass.
Day two: follow Baghdad recording history
Move through Salima Murad, Nazem al-Ghazali and the al-Kuwaity brothers, keeping singer, composer and ensemble credits together.
Day three: leave the capital
Hear the Mullah Adnan Ensemble from Zubair, Dakhil Hassan, Abdurrahman Kizilay, Ali Mardan, Daye Xeme and Oger Adwar. The route crosses southern, Turkmen, Kurdish, Yazidi and Assyrian sound without treating any one item as a regional summary.
Day four: arrive in 2025-2026
Move through SOM3A in Baghdad, Aseel Hameem, Alan Qaradaghi in Sulaymaniyah, Al Uzza in Baghdad and Archive Khanah on SPACE21. These dated recordings do not promise that a venue will have the same programme tonight.
For live music, use current institutional programmes. In Baghdad, check the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, the National Theatre and named Ministry of Culture events. In Basra, inspect university and city cultural calendars. For Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, confirm official festival programmes and the artist list. Never assume that an old travel article describes tonight.
Frequently asked questions
Questions about Twenty-Four Recordings and Performances from Iraq
1. What is Iraqi maqam?
Iraqi maqam is a repertory and performance tradition centred on an improvising qari, Arabic poetry and a responsive ensemble often called chalghi al-Baghdadi. A full performance follows a recognized route through melodic and rhythmic sections; it is more than a scale or a short song.
2. Which instruments are used in Iraqi maqam?
Santur and jawzah are especially characteristic, joined by percussion such as dumbak or tabla and riqq or daff. Ensembles vary by period and stage. The important feature is how the instruments respond to the qari and shape the movement from flexible declamation toward measured rhythm.
3. Is all Iraqi music Arabic?
No. Arabic is central, but Iraq also has Kurdish, Iraqi Turkmen, Sureth/Syriac, Armenian, Yazidi, Mandaean and other musical pathways. Jewish Iraqi repertories remain essential to the country's history. Each route needs a named language, performer, locality and occasion.
4. Why are Jewish Iraqi musicians so important?
Jewish Iraqi composers, instrumentalists and singers were central to Baghdad's modern music, radio and urban song. Saleh and Daoud al-Kuwaity are major examples. Migration in the early 1950s changed where this music was produced and remembered, but did not remove it from Iraqi history.
5. Who are the essential Iraqi oud players?
Jamil Bashir and Munir Bashir are foundational twentieth-century figures. Later routes include Omar Bashir, Naseer Shamma, Rahim AlHaj and Khyam Allami. They differ greatly, so begin with one complete recording from each rather than a generic oud playlist.
6. What music is associated with Basra?
Basra is strongly associated with percussion-led khashaba performance, southern vocal forms and Gulf-facing musical routes. Look for named ensembles and dated recordings. Basra's sound is not simply a faster version of Baghdad music; group rhythm and social response organize it differently.
7. Where can I hear live music in Iraq?
In Baghdad, check current programmes from the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, the National Theatre and official cultural institutions. In Basra, university musical arts events can be useful. Erbil and Sulaymaniyah have festivals and concerts. Always confirm the artist, date, venue and admission shortly before attending.
8. How should I listen to old Iraqi recordings?
Separate the performance from its release history. A streaming year may describe a reissue rather than the original session. Keep singer, composer, poet, accompanists, recording date and release date distinct. Surface noise and narrow frequency range should not be mistaken for the sound musicians intended.
9. Did war define modern Iraqi music?
War, dictatorship, sanctions, invasion and displacement changed institutions and lives, but they do not explain every musical choice. Iraqi artists also write love songs, dance music, abstract compositions, metal, hip-hop and pop. Hear craft first, then use conflict history where it genuinely clarifies the work.
10. What is the best first playlist for Iraqi music?
Choose six contrasting selections: a full maqam by Yusuf Omar, Farida Mohammad Ali with a chalghi ensemble, Salima Murad, Munir Bashir on oud, a named Basra khashaba performance and one Kurdish or Sureth-language song. Let each finish before adding contemporary pop, metal, hip-hop and experiment.
