Sonic Solace 2

Zainab Lax was born and raised in Germany. She has a Western classical background but later focused on Eastern instruments such as the Indian Sarod and the Iranian Tar. She has roots in Germany, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan, and music has always helped her in the search for identity. She wants to share this experience with as many people as possible, which is why she has decided to become a music therapist and work with individuals who have experienced uprooting.
In 2017, she graduated as a music therapist from the ArtEZ Conservatorium in the Netherlands. During her studies, she gained more knowledge about music therapeutic methods for individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
During her master’s program at the Center for World Music, she focused particularly on the topic of empowerment. Since 2018, she has been working as a freelance artist and community music therapist, traveling in her music van, and providing musical activities for people with refugee experience.

Siavash Namehshiri is a Kurdish Composer, musician musician, Collaborational Sonic Proposer, Inclusiv Resonant mobilizer, Curatorial Cooperator community organizer from Iran, based in Zurich. Since seeking refuge in Switzerland in 2009, he has been exploring improvisation and contemporary electronic music. Over the years, he has engaged in collaborative projects and experimented with different art contexts in studio and live performances. He engages in radio productions, live film soundtracks, composes music for short films, theater and film sound design, experimental DJ mixes, and collaborative experiments. Through his sonic creations, Siavash channels his memories, using music and sound to express experiences of war and displacement. Engaging in non-commercial and self-organized contexts, Siavash maintains a keen interest in the intersectional dimensions of sound and collaborative practices. He is the founder of MigrArt, a platform that promotes BIPoC artistic collaborations and exchanges.