Sahra Halgan Trio is an act from Somaliland, an independent nation (unrecognized internationally) in eastern Africa that broke away from Somalia in 1991. Sahra Halgan is one of Somaliland’s best known performers and Faransiskiyo Somaliland is her first album widely available outside her country.
Musically, Sahra Halgan’s current style seems to have connections with the desert blues sound of the Tuareg and even the music from the other end of Africa. Her Somaliland roots sounds consists of Sahra on vocals and handclaps and French musicians Aymeric Krol on drums, kamalengoni (a West African instrument) and backing vocals; and Mael Saletes on guitars and backing vocals.
The Faransiskiyo Somaliland physical version includes the music CD and a fascinating DVD titled Sahra Halgan Returns to Somaliland by director Cris Ubermann. The film, with English-language subtitles, provides details about the history of Somaliland, the devastating war, how Sahra Halgan was forced to live in exile in Europe for 20 years until her return to her homeland. The documentary also features various aspects of current life in Somaliland. Sahra Halgan now lives in Hargeisa, Somaliland’s capital.
Faransiskiyo Somaliland features the captivating Somaliland sound of Sahra Halgan, a rising artist in the international world music scene.
Buy Faransiskiyo Somaliland in North America
Buy Faransiskiyo Somaliland in Europe
About Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has been writing about world music and progressive music for many years. He founded the websites worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. Angel co-produced “Musica NA”, a music show for Televisión Española (TVE) in Spain that featured an eclectic mix of world music, fusion, electronica, new age and contemporary classical music. Angel also produced and remastered world music and electronic music albums, compilations and boxed sets for Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Music of the World, Lektronic Soundscapes, and Mindchild Records. He was also the executive producer of the first Latino feature film made in North Carolina titled “Los sueños de Angélica.”.
World Musical Central
