Kurdish Vinyl began with a simple realisation: some of the oldest surviving recordings of Kurdish language and art are fragile records kept in private homes, family collections, record shops, and diaspora archives.
These records are more than objects. They contain voices that crossed borders when people could not. They preserve Kurdish words, melodies, poetry, grief, celebration, political expression, and regional identity. They survived decades in which Kurdish language and culture were restricted, banned, censored, displaced, or pushed out of public life.
I created this archive because I believe this part of Kurdish cultural history deserves to be preserved, documented, and shared.
I collect Kurdish records from across Kurdistan and the diaspora. I currently preserve more than 70 records. When I find a record, I document it, have it restored using specialist laboratory equipment, digitise the audio, carefully process the recording, and restore visual material such as sleeves or labels when possible.
The goal is not only to save music. It is to preserve the context around it: who sang it, where it was recorded, which label released it, how it travelled, and what it meant to the people who listened to it.
Kurdish Vinyl is fully independent and non-commercial. It is a volunteer project, built slowly and carefully. It will grow through research, collecting, restoration, and contributions from people who care about Kurdish memory.
No archive can be complete alone. If you have records, stories, photographs, catalogues, knowledge of artists or labels, or simply memories connected to Kurdish music, you are invited to contribute.
This archive belongs to a much larger story. It is a small effort to make sure those voices are not lost.
Kurdish Vinyl is a personal, non-commercial archive created by a Kurdish Yezidi from Efrîn, Rojava, now living in France.
Created by Arya Jemo