Calid

Before historic Afghanistan was ravaged by decades of war and corruption, there was a thriving subculture of singers, songwriters, and poets in the Central Asian country. Drawing on memories of that era, inspiration from the Afghan diaspora, and a passion for rediscovering traditions thought to have been lost, artists such as Khalid Wardak are reviving the nation’s music from its cultural slumber. Now based in Hamburg, he celebrates – as Calid – the minimalist reinterpretation of ancient scales and styles of instrumentation, which translate wonderfully into a modern context without negating their historical heritage. With little more than his voice and guitar, the songwriter creates a particularly reverent – and indeed, a downright blissful – atmosphere in which the listener is meant to lose themself – no matter where, no matter when. His debut EP, “Nowroz 1405” (2026), has already established the DIY artist as a sensitive arranger of this pastoral music, with which he will treat us to an evening full of spine-tingling moments this September.