Rizan Said

A solo concert by composer, musician and producer Rizan Said, built on the dabke sounds of Syria, at Cafe OTO in Dalston, London. The event is co-presented with Kou Records.

Rizan Said is a composer, musician and producer whose work spans the Syrian recording industry and screen music. Rizan has been responsible for hundreds of productions for Syrian labels, and has written compositions and themes for television and cinema. Songs credited to Rizan as composer include Bas Asma Mni, recorded by Sarya Al Suwas, and Nadran Aalaya, by Asi El Hellani. For Syrian television, Rizan composed and produced the music for the drama Al Hosrom Al Shami.

Rizan originates from Ras Al Ain, in the Jazeera region of northeastern Syria, and currently divides time between Ras Al Ain and Sweden. Rizan showed early ability on percussion and reed instruments, before synthesizers became widespread in Syria in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During that period Rizan released music on the Syrian cassette album circuit, working with the producer Zuhir Maksi. Rizan has also played, toured and recorded for a long time with Omar Souleyman.

Rizan's first solo album, The King of Keyboard, came out on Annihaya Records in 2015, and a second solo album followed on Akuphone Records in late 2019. Solo performances have brought original dabke dance sounds from Syria to European festivals and concerts. The show takes place at Cafe OTO, a restaurant and bar in Dalston that mainly hosts free jazz and experimental music, including free improvisation.