Anouar Brahem: After the Last Sky

Performing his poignant new album with an international and intergenerational quartet, blending traditional Arabic music with broader influences. This new record, After the Last Sky, was released in March 2025 and takes its title from a Mahmoud Darwish poem, which asks ‘Where should the birds fly, after the last sky?’ Its graceful chamber pieces for oud, cello, piano and bass address this metaphysical question and its resonances in our troubled times. Drawing from traditional Arabic music, Brahem’s also found inspiration in the wider world. His oud is complemented by the refined piano of Django Bates, the powerfully lyrical cello of Anja Lechner, and the fluid yet earthy double bass of Norwegian master Mats Eilertsen. Together the quartet’s pure melodies are enriched by arrangements highlighting the natural interplay between the cello and oud, creating a deeply expressive and moving performance that is both intimate and universal.