Yiddish and Sufiana Archives in Spatial Sound: Chaia & Arshia Fatima Haq

Saturday, September 5, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Second performance 8:15 PM – 9:45 PM
Audium, 1616 Bush St, San Francisco

Chaia, who taught and performed at KlezCalYidFest 2025, will be presenting a spatial sound set using never-before-heard recordings from the Jewish Labor Bund. Joining her will be Arshia Fatima Haq, founder of Discostan, who will be presenting archival recordings from Sufi sources.

Chaia works with Yiddish archival audio to create electronic textures that explore new visions of Jewish identity. Presenting live electronic sets in spatial audio, she combines delicate sound design with vocal and accordion performance, creating soundscapes that feel like traveling through time. On September 5, she’ll be presenting a set featuring a collection of archival samples from the Jewish Labor Bund, an anti-Zionist Jewish organization founded in 1897. The Bay Area branch of the modern day Bund will be present at the event to share more about their work.

Arshia Fatima Haq works across performance and sound to explore indigenous knowledge within Sufism. She is the founder of Discostan, a decolonial club project, radio show, and record label working with material from the SWANA region. Her performance on September 5th will distill a practice of deep listening she has known since childhood. “There’s this shared atmosphere—called ‘sama’—of listening and devotional experience that arises between the performer and listener. Listening is just as important an act…as making music.” – Pitchfork Magazine, 2020.