Arson Fahim joins host Raina Douris

For 24-year-old Afghan composer Arson Fahim, starting a music career in the United States was truly against the odds. Fahim spent his early childhood as a refugee in Pakistan, studied music in Afghanistan in his teens, when it was frowned upon there but not yet illegal, and then left the country just before the U.S. pulled out in 2021 to study music in Boston. On the final edition of World Cafe’s trip to Boston, Fahim shares his life story and what he has been doing to try to help those back home.

Listen to the session here.

Today’s Playlist
Bruce Springsteen “Nightshift” Only The Strong Survive
Chopin “Nocturne in C Sharp Minor” The Pianist (Soundtrack)
Grigory Sokolov “Chopin: Etudes, Op 25 Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 35
ANIM’s Young Ensemble of Traditional Afghan Instruments “Qataghani” Afghanistan National Institute of Music
Arson Fahim “Farkhunda” YouTube
Arson Fahim “Tura Afsoon” Concert in Solidarity with Afghan Musicians
Arson Fahim “Broken Mountain” YouTube
Arson Fahim “Medley of Afghan Songs” Concert in Solidarity with Afghan Musicians
Broken Bells “Holding on for Life” Recorded for World Cafe
Tears for Fears “Sowing The Seeds of Love” The Seeds Of Love
Deep Sea Diver “Billboard Heart” Billboard Heart
Tamino “Babylon” Every Dawn’s A Mountain
The Afghan Whigs “Crazy” Recorded Live for World Cafe
Orla Gartland “Little Chaos” Everybody Needs a Hero
Alex G “Runner” God Save The Animals
Mt. Joy “She Wants To Go Dancing” (Single)
Alanis Morissette “Ironic” Jagged Little Pill
Ray Lamontagne “Step Into Your Power” Long Way Home

Hour Two
The National “New Order T-Shirt” First Two Pages of Frankenstein
Lucy Dacus “Ankles” Forever is a Feeling
Elliott Smith “Somebody That I Used to Know” Figure 8
Edwyn Collins “A Girl Like You” Gorgeous George
Lauren Mayberry “Something In The Air” Vicious Creature
Cotton Jones “Gotta Cheer Up” Paranoid Cocoon
Dar Williams & Joan Baez “You’re Aging Well” Live at the World Cafe
Fastball “The Way” Live at the World Cafe
Clover County “Ultraviolet” Porch Lights
M. Ward “Never Had Nobody Like You” Hold Time
Peach Pit “Magpie” Magpie
Jenny Lewis “Red Bull and Hennessy” World Cafe
Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory “Afterlife” Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory
Heaven 17 “Let Me Go” The Luxury Gap
Sheer Mag “Just Can’t Get Enough” Need to Feel Your Love
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers “Rockin’ Around With You” Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Iggy Pop “Lust For Life” Lust For Life