Coming up in the beginning of February is a music festival called London Remixed Festival which is an annual melting pot of music and performances. Part of the festival this year is a side event called Folk Of The World which will act as a fundraiser for, and in association with, the UK based Refugee Kitchen charity.

The before mentioned concert aims to celebrate the diversity and rich cultural heritage refugees and asylum seekers can bring with them crossing the borders of this world. A part of the concert program is a group of musicians who call themselves Everyday People and who share the experience of having to leave their home in search for safety. Everyday People is a project by the Music Action International charity and it includes musicians from Syria, Iraq and Turkey. The project helps teenage refugees break out of their often isolated and bleak circumstances through making music and motivating creativity.

I contacted Dila, who co-produces the event along with Joe Buirski, and asked her a bit more about the event and their background. She told me that both her and Joe’s roots are in music and production. She is in two bands, Dila V and the Odd Beats and Band of Burns and Jow plays the double bass in a band called Cut A Shine as well as managing Two For Joy, a production company. Both of them organize festivals and music events around the UK.

“We got invited to host a room at London Remixed Festival together and our main aim was to celebrate the beauty of refugee cultures arriving to this country and allow people to celebrate them.”

I asked Dila what was the best part of being part of such an event and festival and she told me it was both the healing and the unity the music provided, not only to the audience but to the refugees as well that get to express themselves in new ways. “Often audiences come up to us and ask what is this music, never heard anything like it before, that is my biggest reward when I get to present them with eastern or african music that they’re experiencing for the first time.”

When asked if she wanted to shout something from the rooftops Dila responded: “Come to our event, show solidarity in these difficult times, let’s change perceptions and celebrate the new arriving cultures rather than alienate them!”

London Remixed Festival will take place 2nd and 3rd of February and tickets are available through Eventbride.

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗻! 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮, 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂!