When the sounds of war stop, positive notes can be heard. In Northern Ireland and Kosovo, music is giving voice to new stories. Songwriters and performers speak of lives that have changed or flourished in 25 years of relative peace.
Music also has the potential to repair damage and bring different cultures closer together. New arrivals in cities like Belfast and Pristina are bringing their own songs and traditions. At its best, post-conflict sound is about artistic connections, empathy and harmony.
Amita RAVIKIRAN performs at Oh Yeah Music Centre. Belfast, Northern Ireland. © Stuart BAILIE
Amita Ravikiran came to Belfast in 2010. She is from Mundgodi, South West India.
She sings in several languages, mostly Kannada, but also Hindi, Marathi, Awadhi, and Punjabi. Very often, she accompanies her singing with a traditional one-stringed instrument called the ektara.
She has just recorded her first single in a studio in Belfast, Start Together. It is a traditional Indian wedding song for the “mençancient hunger and the intimate bond between sisters". In the Kannada text, a local community helps the bride to prepare for her big day. Amita titled it "Embracing tradition with each note".
She is also an academic, and has completed her Masters in Folklore and Heritage. Since arriving in Northern Ireland, she has worked in community relations and arts sessions, even setting up a women's choir before the pandemic.
She works on a project in Belfast called Beyond Skin, a pioneering organization that works to develop, through music, "a more peaceful, equal and intercultural society, çfreed from racism and sectarianism".
“When I came here,” says Anita, “I had trouble communicating with others. I had knowledge of music inside me, but I didn’t know how to present it. And Beyond Skin gave me freedom. Artists need freedom. They were pillars for me. They allowed me to sing. ç"Anywhere I wanted. Because of the organization, I met so many artists."
Darren FERGUSON (Beyond Skin. Belfast, Northern Ireland. © Stuart BAILIE
“I'm still blown away by the artistry of Amitas,” says Darren Ferguson, who founded Beyond Skin 20 years ago. "The influence hasn't faded and when she bursts into song it always feels like I'm hearing it for the first time. With Beyond Skin, she has used her skills to make the world a better place. This has shaped, changed and saved lives".
Darren leads an influential and diverse mission, working with up-and-coming artists from countries such as Iran, Somalia, Ukraine and Afghanistan. Often, these individuals have fled war zones, or societies that have banned secular music. Darren and his team give these outcasts a welcome and a sense of purpose.
"Each one has some kind of tragic story in one way or another," says Darren, "but it's a story of resistance and trying to start again... It's always about people who have gone through a lot of challenges."
Beyond Skin workshop. Belfast, Northern Ireland. © Stuart BAILIE
One of Darren's talents is his ability to bring new musicians together with those already in Belfast, including members of the Protestant band:
"We've done projects where you have a band of musicians on stage who have completely different political views. But they're on stage and they perform together and they celebrate." ç"What have they done together?"
An endless passion for refugees
Rita Ora and Dua Lipa, world-renowned singers and actresses, are originally from Kosovo. Their early lives were marked by conflict and displacement. Rita Ora became a refugee in the United Kingdom, while Dua Lipa was born in London. After the end of the war in Kosovo (1998-99), she moved with her family to Pristina, as an 11-year-old.çare.
Rita Ora: "Singer and actress, fled the war in Kosovo and studied here after arriving in Great Britain in 1991." #iamarefugee. Red plaque erected in 2016 by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Migrants as part of the 'I'm a Refugee' series at St Cuthberts with St Matthias Primary School, Warwick Road, Earls Court, London. Image by Spudgun67 used under license.
Rita Ora has often spoken about feeling like an outsider during her childhood in the UK. She left Prishtina because of the persecution of Albanians during the breakup of Yugoslavia. Together with her family, she moved to England in 1991. Rita Ora grew up in Notting Hill and went to the Sylvia Young Theater School.
In an interview for ELLE in 2022, Rita Ora spoke about her life as a refugee, and how music helped her face her challenges.
"I think the main challenge was that I felt like an outsider, like I didn't have a place to belong. Yes, that was the hardest thing for me, but howç I've said it before, music has helped me a lot with my feelings"
"Even when I was listening to music, or when I was acting, this was my way of connecting with the world. That's the power of music: it allows us to connect with people that we wouldn't otherwise, it gives us a sense of community and the feeling that we're not alone on this planet."
Rita Ora underlines her pride in her origin, saying that while London is her home, Kosovo "is very close to my heart".
"For the rest of my life I will feel an endless passion for refugees, because I am one and always will be."
Dua LIPA at Sunny Hill Festival 2022. Pristina, Kosovo. Photo used with permission. © PhotoDardha
Meanwhile, Dua Lipa has spoken about duality in her cultural life. More than negative, it highlights the benefits of spending an important part of life in two countries:
"I always had the idea that I am from two countries at the same time.
"I understood the duality of my background since I was little. People always asked me where my name came from.
"I was very proud of that, but when I was younger, I wanted my name to be Hannah — you know."çthere is 'normal' or English”.
When Dua Lipa moved to Kosovo, she discovered The Castle, by Albanian author Ismail Kadare, set in a 15th century conflict.
"What I remember from reading the book is that it was very difficult to read, it is a big book, but it was an introduction to my Albanian roots. It was a decisive moment in my life, that changed things for me."
Since Kosovo was a state in transition with the conflict that had just ended, many young people did not have the opportunity to follow their dreams, but "I was very determined about it", says Dua.
Welcome to Sunny Hill
Music can help change negative perceptions of a country that has just emerged from conflict. It can even bring economic benefits. A report of UK Music report found that in 2023, 345,000 tourists attended parties, festivals and concerts in Northern Ireland. These music tourists helped to spend £135 million, and 1.1000 jobs.
The city of Belfast tried to capitalize on this cultural asset, successfully obtaining UNESCO City of Music status in 2021.
Sunny Hill Festival 2019. Pristina, Kosovo. Photo published by Sunny Hill Festival used with permission.
Sunny Hill Festival, the biggest music festival in Kosovo, is named after the neighborhood in which Dua Lipa's family lived in Pristina, Sunny Beach. It started in 2018, putting Pristina on the music festival map.
With each event, Sunny Hill Festival plays host to 100,000 music fans from around the world. Famous artists such as Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus, J Balvin, Calvin Harris, Martin Garrix, Afrojack, Hardwell, Stormzy, Skepta, AJ Tracey, Action Bronson and Gashi have performed there. Last summer, Sunny Hill Festival announced two new events, one in Pristina and one in Tirana.
Miley Cyrus at Sunny Hill Festival 2019. Pristina, Kosovo. Photo published by Sunny Hill Festival used with permission.
Dua Lipa's father, Dukagjin Lipa, created the festival with the idea of promoting Kosovo and helping tourism in the region.
But in 2018 it was difficult to convince big artists to perform. The following year, the "New Rules" star asked her friends Miley Cyrus and Calvin Harris to headline the festival. These two performed for the first time in the region there.
This changed how other artists and their management teams viewed the festival.
"We really go beyond the limits when it comes to performers", Dukagjin Lipa told BBC News, adding: "When I talk to artists, I invite them and say: 'Trust me, you will have the best sound system that can be bought".
Its latest data show that about 40% of visitors come from outside Kosovo. The figures are influenced by the diaspora, as those with family ties from Kosovo bring their friends.
Agreement with deadline
Music is a tool for reconciliation in Mitrovica, northern Kosovo. The Serbian population lives mainly in the north, while the southern part is inhabited by Albanians. A river separated the two parts. Protected by NATO, the Iber River symbolizes the divisions that remain in Kosovo. However, the organization Community Building Mitrovica (CBM) was formed in 2003, with the aim to "restore the trust and friendship that the war and politics destroyed among the citizens throughout the municipality of Mitrovica, through contact and dialogue".
Musical performance as part of Mitrovica Rock School. Mitrovica, Kosovo. Photo used with permission.
Together with the non-governmental organization Musicians without Borders, CBM managed the original Mitrovica Rock School project, teaching the youth of the south and north of Mitrovica the art of rock music. More than 1000 young people have been part of the Music School from Mitrovica, thus producing some of the most ethnically mixed bands in South-Eastern Europe.
CBM continues to organize art collaborations, and together with the Music School of Mitrovica, organizes sessions to bring together the youth of Mitrovica.
According to the executive director, Afërdita Sylaj, the themes that emerge from these sessions are positive, and the young musicians have good reactions.
"With the songs, they are careful. The lyrics are more about the future, and not so much about what happened."
Snowdrop song
Lyudmila Makey has recently arrived in Kosovo. She left her native Ukraine after the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022. After traveling through 4 countries, she arrived in Pristina on April 17. She was supported by the initiative "Journalists in Residence - Kosovo", and continues to write about Ukraine from her new city of residence.
Lyudmila MAKEY. Pristina, Kosovo. © Stuart BAILIE
She uses art as a way to express herself. She opened an exhibition of sunflower paintings, which was held at the Museum of Kosovo. Singing is another important expression for him.
"Ukrainian song is part of our culture, and part of our soul. In Pristina, we have a small community of Ukrainian journalists. Sometimes, we meet students and journalists, and tell them about Ukraine and, of course, about our culture, even by singing. I sing my favorite song, "Chervona Ruta". It's about the poppy. Men give this flower to women when they fall in love with them," she says.
In an extraordinary way, Lyudmila sang in public at the International Vocal Festival, on October 11, 2022. She shared the stage with the world famous soprano, Arta Jashari, This was an extraordinary moment of the performance of the Kosovar folk song, "Luleborë".
Lyudmila says:
"It was the first time I sang in Albanian. When I came to Pristina, I did not understand Albanian at all. But, I took some courses, and now I know a few words. I know, for example that 'Lulebøre' means a flower under the snow. I was inspired by the snowdrop, because it reminded me of my past life, the happy life."
"I wanted to express my feelings for the people of Kosovo. Therefore, I did. And I was inspired. I was very happy. I thought about Ukraine and my family, my children. Music is more than just words. It is an expression of the soul, from the heart."
Many people in Northern Ireland and Kosovo will agree with Lyudmila's sentiment.
There may be obstacles in bridges and so-called "walls of peace" that divide communities, but music has the capacity to overcome problems. It has a unique, rejuvenating power.
Author: Stuart BAILIE and Gent MEHMETI
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This article is part of a series co-authored by Kosovo and Northern Ireland journalists who were part of the peace journalism project, initiated and organized by the Kosovo Journalists' Association, in partnership with Shard Future News, and funded by the British Embassy in Pristina. The facts presented and views expressed are those of the authors and are independent of each donation.
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