Omar Souleyman (Syria)

In Syria he is a celebrated hero of the pop scene, his more than 600 cassettes and CDs - mostly live recordings - can be found in all music shops in the country. He is touring Europe for the second time - only since the U.S. gourmet music label Sublime Frequencies released one of his records has he found a wider recognition.

Here his blend of rhythms and line dances and the rare folk poetry "Atabi" mixed with distorted keyboards and electric guitars is perceived as a unique techno-Syrian variant. "Frenetic beats explode, and lead into 90s Trance," wrote the Guardian. Now the rough, wild and shrill, melodic and contemplative, but always very intense songs, and improvised rhymes are also accessible to a fast growing fan base in Europe and the US - which includes a growing number of Souleyman's colleagues. Björk certainly plans a collaboration.