gazelleband // فرقة الغزال

Reem Anbar's story is featured in this Arabic language article on the Palestine-based Last Story website, where she discusses her route into music under occupation, her connection to the oud and her journey to Britain.

In February, Gazelleband kicked off a new concert and workshop series for 2023 with a lively masterclass at the University of Salford. The performance included music and stories from Palestine, Syria, Egypt and Iraq. Videos on the way!

Gazelleband is currently in the studio working on a project provisionally entitled Gazelleband and Friends, bringing cross-continental collaborations for our next release. Along with Reem and Louis, the recordings will include other musicians from Palestine and Europe, with a blend…

2022 was a blur! Over the last year, Reem Anbar and Gazelleband performed across Europe at festivals, concert halls, cultural celebrations, workshops and a wide variety of other events. We are currently in the studio, recording traditional Palestinian, Arab World…

As part of our hotly-received set at the finale of Liverpool Arab Arts Festival on 17 July 2022, Gazelleband were interviewed by BBC Arabic, with words and music in the festival report. For those who don't speak Arabic, we spoke…

Our 13 May performance at Dublin's New Theatre as part of the James Connolly Festival was a storming success, with a sold out venue and a wonderful, enthusiastic and committed crowd. The Gazelleband setlist contained a few surprises, with music…

Our Spring 2022 highlights include a full-house show at Liverpool University's Yoko Ono Lennon Centre, with special guest Arian Sadr on percussion, and Reem's solo gig at The Yellow, as part of the Radical Films/Radical Forms Festival in Wembley, north…

The Guardian revealed on 22 February that the director of Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, has been forced out of his post by UK Lawyers for Israel. His crime? Recognising Israeli warcrimes as ethnic cleansing and suggesting the Palestinian arts could…

Our Liverpool University concert on 9 March will feature music by the legendary Palestinian composer Rawhi al-Khammash (1923-1998), who lived and worked in Iraq after the Nakba of 1948. Having been a child prodigy performing traversed the Arab world and…

Living through lockdowns and cancellations before the eventual return of live music, 2021 was for us and many others a year of two strangely uneven halves. We are more than a bit proud of ourselves and others who helped us…

Fan clips from our 30 October 2021 concert at Auditorio Pilar Bardem in Rivas, southern Madrid, as part of the Masar Badil Palestinian resistance festival and concert.

Instrumental version of Mawtini ('My Homeland'), the unofficial Palestinian national anthem, with origins…

Gazelleband are proud to sign this statement, which has been published into a half-dozen languages and signed by Palestinian and international musicians. This boycott call represents a committed fight against the colonisation of the oud by a regime aiming to…

A limited edition, one-off EP release of improvised, arranged and composed music, recorded in summer 2021 in Manchester. After gigging in Britain and Europe, encouraged by enthusiastic audiences who wanted to hear more, Rihla I ("Journey #1") becomes the first…

On 30 October Gazelleband were joined by friends and comrades for a huge concert at the Auditorio Pilar Bardem in Rivas, southern Madrid, with a capacity crowd of thousands of pro-Palestine, leftist and music-loving attendees. As the grand finale of…

30 October marks the first Gazelleband concert in Spain, with a performance as part of the Palestinian Masar Badil (Alternative Path) conference for a revolutionary alternative. The Gazelleband contribution will include music from the radical folk traditions of historic Palestine…

Hitting London for the first time as a duo, Gazelleband performed in the stunning acoustics of the P21 Gallery during an evening of film and music. Dozens packed in to hear a conversation between oud and buzuq, with improvised music…

So that we can expand our work and cover the costs of recording and travelling to perform, we have launched a new crowdfunding page on Patreon. Following the link to learn why: https://www.patreon.com/gazelleband

On Saturday 9 October at 6pm Gazelleband will be performing at a unique Palestinian film and music event at P21 Gallery, alongside London premieres of the short films Kofia: a revolution through music (Louis Brehony, 2020) and The Urgent…

Continuing a productive period since the opening of performance spaces, Gazelleband have upcoming gigs in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and other towns in Britain. Watch this space for more details and check out our Tour Dates section for tickets!

An energetic gathering of community members came together to see Gazelleband perform at Widness Market as part of the #CelebrateHalton festival. The set list included a whistle-stop musical tour, including pieces from Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Greece and Ireland! 

Photos by…

Interview with Reem as part of the Mapping Migrant Voices project

After the most recent war in Gaza, Reem involved herself in community work, using her creative skills. 2007-2017 she worked with children and women, leading therapy and psychodrama, theatrical…

Oud player and Gazelleband founder Reem Anbar was a special guest on the Palestinian TV show Sabah al-Kuffieh (صباح الكوفية) on 26 August, talking about her experiences in music in Gaza. Full interview here in Arabic, with music at 19:20.

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We were back in the studio over the August Bank Holiday, recording six tracks and continuing filming with the crew for the upcoming documentary. Music and film footage on the way!