»Saz und andere Klänge der Gastarbeiter:innen« (De)

There’s a word for what happens when someone picks up a saz: »hüzün.« It is sometimes translated as »longing« or »melancholy,« but these are not quite accurate. For hüzün is not an individual state of mind but a social experience and practice – and thus central to the community of Turkish- and Arabic-speaking migrant workers and their children, which is the subject of this conversation between two people who almost always hold a saz in their hands. Ata Canani became familiar with the instrument at an early age, writing his first songs on it as a teenager. Petra Nachtmanova, a native of Poland who grew up in Austria, came across it when she moved to Berlin-Kreuzberg. Their backgrounds are quite different, but their paths cross on the fretboard. Their conversation about the saz and the music of migrant workers will be hosted by Dr. Çiçek Bacık. The author, Germanist and Romance scholar founded the literary platform Daughters and Sons of Gastarbeiters.

Photos: A.A. (Petra Nachtmanova), Frederike Wetzels (Ata Canani), Neda Navaee (Dr. Çiçek Bacik)