French musician Eléonore Fourniau presents “Laye Laye”, a new interpretation of a Kurdish lullaby widely known across Iranian and Iraqi Kurdistan. Sung in Sorani Kurdish and originally associated with Mazhar Khaleghi, the song forms part of Fourniau’s ongoing dialogue with the Kurdish musical tradition she has lived within since 2010. 

Fourniau spent part of her youth in Uzbekistan, studying piano before discovering the hurdy-gurdy at twenty. After completing studies in Russian and history in Lyon, she moved to Istanbul in 2010 and immersed herself in saz and regional song traditions at the State Conservatory and Erdal Erzincan’s school. Based between France and Turkey, she is recognised within Kurdish and Alevi communities for her mastery of the vielle à roue and her deep engagement with local repertoires. Her years of collaboration and linguistic study have grounded her as one of the leading contemporary interpreters of Kurdish song.

Her rendition of “Laye Laye” carries a measured balance between respect and authorship. The arrangement, written by Fourniau herself, features kanun by Müslüm Karaduman, duduk by Erdi Arslan, guitar by Şeyhmus Fidan, violin by Şaban Gölge, percussion by Bijan Chemirani and Ersoj Kazimov, and double bass by Julien Stevenin. Each element contributes to a dense, acoustic soundscape where Fourniau’s voice takes centre focus. The duduk lines trace the melody’s mournful edges, while the kanun and violin sustain the lullaby’s circular motion.

The video, filmed in the ancient city of Mardin and directed by Alî Bagdu, situates the song within its cultural landscape. Announced bilingually in Kurdish and English, Fourniau described the collaboration as a dialogue between music and image rooted in place and history. The film’s framing of Mardin’s stone terraces complements the song’s emotional gravity, connecting the lullaby’s intimacy to the endurance of Kurdish memory.

“Laye Laye” precedes her forthcoming album, scheduled for release in autumn 2025.

Listen to the single HERE