- Editor: Nadeen Ghoneim
- Image Credits: Louis Brehony
A Manchester-born musician with Irish roots, Louis Brehony found his true calling in Palestinian music, a struggle he wasn’t born into but carries in his soul.
The plight of the Palestinian people as they seek freedom from Israeli occupation and their will to establish an independent, sovereign state, drove Brehony to co-found Gazelleband to hold solidarity concerts, to author the book Palestinian Music in Exile: Voices of Resistance, and direct the award-winning documentary Kofia: A Revolutionary Through Music, all to amplify Palestinian voices and document resistance in exile.
Brehony, who currently lives in Cairo, wears many hats: activist, musician, researcher, educator and global scholar of Palestinian music.
His time in Egypt has been dedicated to music research and public events, including a talk on his book at the American University in Cairo (AUC) and a buzuq performance at the Noir art zone based on the music of Syrian “Prince of Buzuq,” Muhammad Abdel Karim, and Palestinian resistance songs.
Political consciousness was always a part of his upbringing, he shares. Shaped by his family’s discussions on anti-apartheid efforts in South Africa and resistance to the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s government, he learned of the austerity measures taken against the poor and working class.
He points to Ireland’s own history under British rule to draw the parallel with Palestine: “The Irish people produced a culture of resistance against this occupation in ways not so different from the way the Palestinian people have,” he said.
“The Irish issue was always there,” he adds.
He became politically engaged around the time of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, and through this avenue of activism, he quickly learned about Palestine, which he described as “political education in the streets.”
The Palestinian struggle, which began prior to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, is not merely a political one—of the oppressed fighting their oppressor. At its heart is the struggle to keep Palestinian culture and heritage alive through its traditions, food, and music.
For Brehony, activism and music thus were never far apart.
As it happens, music had been a constant thread throughout Brehony’s life, beginning with his grandmother instilling a love for the arts in him and his siblings.
A music teacher, pianist, and opera singer, not only did she teach them piano lessons, she also turned music into a daily life companion.
“The dictatorship of my grandmother expecting us to perform at social gatherings,” Brehony laughs, recalling how she would arrange a concert for her friends, always pulling her grandchildren into the performances.
His parents added to that musical diversity, exposing him to other musical genres. His mother was into heavy rock, while his father played guitar and favored punk rock.
This early immersion in music sparked his interest in collecting song lyrics as a kid.
“I still remember the lyrics of certain dubious songs I heard in the early ’90s on cassettes and tapes, pausing to write them down,” Brehony told The Caravan.
Palestinian music came into sharper focus for him when he attended a performance and workshop by Palestinian vocalist Reem Kelani at the European Social Forum in London. Described by the British media as an “unofficial ambassador for the culture and music of Palestine,” Kelani’s way of presenting the Palestinian cause through music was eye-opening for Brehony.
“It opened the door or a window to finding out more about Palestinian music,” said Brehony.
This experience led him to explore Palestinian bands like Sabreen and musicians like Mustafa Al-Kurd, viewing their music as a “soundtrack,” and to understand the history of Palestine and its liberation movement.
Brehony’s academic journey anchored his passion for Palestinian music. He pursued his undergraduate dissertation on the subject and continued to consider himself a fan.
A trip to occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank in 2013, where he met Palestinian musicians like vocalist Reem Talhami and multi-instrumentalist and composer Basel Zayed, solidified his academic focus, leading to a PhD at King’s College London from 2014 to 2018 on exiled Palestinian musicians in Europe.
His deep connection to Palestinian music inspired him to start performing as well. Encouraged by musicians he met during his music research, such as Gaza’s first female oud player Reem Anbar, he took up the buzuq, a long-necked string instrument rooted in the wider Levant region and associated with Kurdish and Turkic music.
“This instrument allows me to explore the music I’m passionate about in more detail, not just Palestinian music, but the music of the wider region and the maqam system [system of melody types that defines pitches and patterns in Arabic art music] that spans the Arab world,” said Brehony.
Music would also play its hand as Brehony and Anbar fell in love and married.
The duo formed Gazelleband, a band that sometimes includes other musicians and has become a significant presence at solidarity gatherings and demonstrations, particularly since the onset of the genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023.
This passion for Palestinian music resulted in the book Palestinian Music in Exile: Voices of Resistance, which grew out of extensive research and was published by The American University in Cairo Press in 2023. It is expected to be translated into Arabic in 2026.
The book draws on Brehony’s research into Palestinian exile experiences, and covers various locations, including Palestine, Kuwait, the Levant, Egypt, and Turkey.
“I found Western academic works addressing the question of Palestinian resistance to be inadequate. They often dismissed Palestinian resistance as a concept and tended to problematize resistance.”
Influenced by the writings of Ghassan Kanafani whom Brehony referred to as “Palestine’s leading Marxist thinker,” and his call for “instruments of liberation,” Brehony sought to apply these concepts to music.
He also collaborated with Professor Tahrir Hamdi on a project to translate Kanafani’s political writings into English, which led to the 2024 publication of Ghassan Kanafani: Selected Political Writings. The book quickly sold out, highlighting the growing appetite for these ideas.
“Kanafani’s work is important, and the popularity of this text shows that Palestinians and their supporters are seeking tools to understand the world, and now that his work is accessible in English, I believe these ideas will be influential in the future,” said Brehony.
His commitment to amplifying Palestinian voices is evident in his contributions to publications like Palestine Chronicle and Arab Studies Quarterly, platforms he sees as giving voice to Palestinian resistance.
“The perspectives I bring come from being a musician interested in culture and a Marxist, combining cultural and political analysis of the Palestinian issue. I recently wrote for Palestine Chronicle on Umm Kulthum and her connection to Palestine,” Brehony added.
Building on his dedication to documenting Palestinian narratives, Brehony extends this passion to filmmaking.
He produced the documentary Kofia: A Revolutionary Through Music alongside his PhD research, focusing on the band Kofia, formed by displaced Palestinian songwriter George Totari in Sweden.
The documentary won a Gold Trophy for Best Documentary at the al-Awda International Film Festival in Gaza, adding to Brehony’s achievements in keeping Palestinian voices alive in exile.
“The only true significance of this award is that my friend Abu Maher, who lives in Gaza, went to collect it. The trophy was destroyed, along with his house, during the genocide. I don’t attach personal significance to the award, but its fate reflects what has happened to Palestine and Gaza under this atrocious genocide,” Brehony said.
As for future projects, Brehony is currently working on an article examining Palestinians resisting through music during the Gaza genocide, which began in October 2023. The article also explores how Zionist music has been used as a tool of racism and colonization.
He is also working on a project about the maqam system in Arab music and beyond. He is exploring its history, meaning, and its role in decolonial thinking, similar to how Palestinian music uses its unique musical forms as a tool of resistance.
His performance work with Anbar as Gazelleband continues with upcoming European performances and a studio album in the near future.
