Wooly and the Uke is the recording project of Pakistan-born, Berlin-based artist Jannat Sohail. Having gained national attention as part of a celebrated all-female ensemble in Pakistan, Sohail started Wooly and the Uke as a way to more fully express her diverse artistic sensibilities. Its independence allows total freedom from genre constraints and expectations, and proves the ideal vehicle for her close engagement with societal and political issues.
The lead single from forthcoming EP These Days, latest release ‘Home’ is a perfect example of this aesthetic, and the ideal introduction to Wooly and the Uke. Described as an “ode to those who carry many homes within,” the track is both a reminder of the various societal constraints that exist across the world, and celebration of those who decide to fight against them.
Where previous singles like ‘Circle in a Circle’ occupied a sleek electronic space, ‘Home’ sees Sohail chart more folk-adjacent territories, though still utilising ambient textures and spoken word samples to complete the immersive atmosphere. The result is something intimate, heartfelt and striking, loaded not just with a personal emotion but the weight of many others—other people, other places, other homes to be found.
Mother, brother
At the slightest hint
With the sign of a windI lay me down
I lay my ground
The track is accompanied by a video directed by Sohail herself. What she describes as a “visual narrative” which aims to slip “between society, isolation, and expulsion, until one is left vulnerable and naked for the world to examine in stillness.” Check it out below:
‘Home’ is out now, and be sure to check the Wooly and the Uke website for more information on These Days, and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.