Shwan Abdulrahman Maarof, also known as Shwan Oscar, is being interviewed about the history of Oscar Music Collector since 1970. It is one of the oldest collectors in Slemani and has played an essential role in collecting and protecting the Kurdish archive. This interview took place in Shwan Oscar’s house in Slemani on 10th October 2023.

Khyam Music Store (تۆمارگەی خەیام), established in Slemani in 1967, is widely described as the city’s first and oldest surviving recording store. Located in Mazatkhana Bazaar and long associated with its proprietor, Kamal Haji Saed, Khyam recorded and circulated the work of singers from Slemani and the surrounding region on disc, reel-to-reel, and cassette. Remembered locally as part of the city’s cultural memory, its historical recordings have gained renewed archival significance through presentations and collaborations with Archive Khanah and SPACE21.

Kurdish Home Archive from London is an archival and artistic project curated by Hardi Kurda that brings personal recordings preserved in Kurdish homes into public conversation. The video presents two archives. The first is the archive of the Tipi Goran music group, presented by saxophonist Payman Ahmed, who recounts how the band was formed and traces its musical journey. The second draws on the home archive of Dr Hero Khoshnaw, documenting a personal story of displacement and migration, the development of a professional career, and the experience of building a new life in a new city. Together, these archives demonstrate how personal recordings can preserve both collective musical histories and individual experiences of movement, adaptation and belonging. The project transforms private materials into a living resource for remembrance, research and intergenerational dialogue.