Sulaf

Sulaf plays Òran Mòr on Saturday 30 January, the live launch of her debut album ABA. It's part of Celtic Connections 2027, so it sits within that wider festival run across the city. Sulaf, born Sulafa Elyas, is a Sudanese singer and oud player who started singing in primary school and picked up the oud in high school, using music to work through emotional, social and national issues. She's won several awards for her solo work, including recognition for her International Women's Day performance at Ahfad University, and she collaborated with the Algerian Tuareg band Imarhan on the track 'Lemon Bara'. In 2021 she formed her own band, and she continues to study the oud at the Arab Oud House and modern music at the Global Music Academy in Khartoum.

ABA takes its title from her great-grandfather, and the songs draw on his Sufi poetry. It's a record that looks at loss, longing, identity and resilience, and it was shaped by an unexpected period of exile in Paris when war broke out in Sudan. The live launch will be the first time the album is played through in full, with Sulaf and her band taking those poems and that particular history and bringing them to a stage here in Glasgow.

Òran Mòr is in the West End on Byres Road, in what was once Kelvinside Parish Church. The night starts at 7.30pm, with Sulaf and support. Tickets are £24.64, which includes the booking fee.