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