Sahra Halgan is an emblematic artist from Somaliland, singer and cultural activist. On her latest album Waa Dardaaran, her group is completed by Maël Saletes on guitar, Aymerik Krol on drums and Graham Mushnik on keyboard. Together they create a global Somaliland music with seriously funky drums and hypnotic guitar. With both traditional songs and original compositions, Sahra Halgan aims to set both dance floor and inner worlds in motion.

Granddaughter of a singer and poet, she turned to singing and music as a teenager, in defiance of tribal and family conventions. Her first album, as a trio, was released in 2015. On this new record, with its genuine vintage sound, the piercing heat of Sahra’s voice transcends unwavering grooves and hypnotic riffs. Aimed as much at the dance floor as at our consciousness, this new repertoire includes original compositions, traditional

pieces, and songs from the golden age of the Somali stage. “Waa Dardaaran” is the polite form of address used towards the powerful and venerable as a prelude to making any request.

She soon found herself working as a singing nurse for the rebels fighting for Somaliland’s liberation. She also started Hiddo Dhowr, Somaliland’s first music venue, which would become a meeting place and cultural center after the fall of the dictatorship.

In 1992, she arrived in Lyon, France as a political refugee, working in a café and performing with the Sahra Halgan Trio, a group she started together with other refugees. Today, she is back in Somaliland. For many in the region, her unique voice with its powerful vibrato is synonymous with the freedom struggle. But instead of resting on her laurels, Sahra Halgan wants to use her music to spread the word about Somaliland—a self-proclaimed state not recognized internationally.

ALICE at Stairway

While the concert hall at Nørre Allé 7 is getting a new ventilation system, ALICE is relocated to the music venue Stairway in Vanløse throughout 2023.