Joy Keys chats with Sudanese Singer Alsarah

Alsarah, is a Sudanese born singer, songwriter and ethnomusicologist. She studied Music with a concentration in Ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University. She worked with The Sounds of Taraab performing classical Taraab music from Zanzibar and Kenya ranging from the 1940s-today.

Alsarah & The Nubatones came together out of a collective love for Nubian music and a genuine belief that Soul transcends all cultural and linguistic barriers. Inspired by the pentatonic scale they blend a selection of Nubian 'songs of return' from the 1970s-today with original material and traditional music of central Sudan. The Nubatones is comprised of Alsarah, Haig Manoukian, Karine Fleurima, Rami El Aasser, and Mawuena Kodjovi

To hear more about Alsarah, please visit:www.soundclould.com/alsarah. She is also featured on Sudan365 album: http://www.sudan365.org/read-more.771.html

Hisham Haj Omar  is a filmmaker and youth activist with Girifna. Girifna (“We are fed up” in Arabic) was established two days before the voter registration process was to begin for the country's first multiparty vote in nearly a quarter-century. They use orange as their color and the V-for-victory sign as a logo.Part of Girifna's mission is to encourage Sudanese to learn about their rights and start demanding them through nonviolent protest. Hisham Haj Omar, helped build Girifna's multimedia Web site. Girifna members carry cellphone-size video cameras to their activities so they can post images of the excited crowds, and often of the police interrupting their activities. www.girifna.com