'Promoting our culture is every Kurds' responsibility'

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (Kurdistan24) – “Yad” (recollections) is the title of the new album released by Sweden-based Kurdish composer, singer, and songwriter Chia Madani.

Consisting of nine songs, “Yad” uses expert musicians from Kurdistan, Tehran, and the diaspora.

Born and raised in Mahabad, Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhelat), Madani was in the eighth grade when, despite his interest in education and good grades, he left school and joined the Peshmerga to fight for his “occupied home.”

For five years, he experienced the tough life as a young freedom fighter and was deprived of formal education.

He believed what he learned in the Kurdistan Mountains from the simple Peshmerga shaped his personality and prepared him for life challenges.

In 1991, he arrived in Sweden and decided to return to school. However, to earn an independent living, he was once again forced to leave school and work.

Years later, Madani was able to afford school, and he did not stop studying until he received his higher education.

After receiving his high school diploma, Madani gained his Bachelors Degree in Computer Science and later graduated with a Masters Degree in Computer Sciences from Stockholm University in 2007.

He now works as a computer technician at a Swedish company.

Both a technician and an artist, Madani said serving his homeland to the best of his abilities is a priority for him.

He is focused on contributing to the Kurdish cause, promoting and supporting Kurdish art and culture which he thinks “is every young Kurds’ responsibility,” he told Kurdistan24.

Madani collected the works and life stories of various Kurdish artists and has built websites for them to create an online archive of Kurdish Music.

Unfortunately, his plans had been halted when the Islamic State (IS) invaded Iraq.

About his days as a Peshmerga, Chia recalls all the noble yet unknown Peshmerga he met, broke bread and drank tea with. People who he said influenced and inspired him.

“Up there, on the mountain top, the matters people in the cities and towns consider big problems seem trivial,” he said.

Balancing both sides of his brain, an artist and a computer technician devoted to promoting Kurdish music, Madani is a rising star in Kurdish culture.

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Editing by Karzan Sulaivany