Arts 2019, 8, 14 10 of 16 we will examine to what extent it affects cultural, social, economic, and political aspects of the refugees’ presence in Belgium. 4.1. To Be a “Refugee” Musician, between Confinement and Perspectives In the beginning of the project, the musicians we asked to fit in a top-down approach that values their differences, turned towards the substantialization of their musical practices (Zask 2014). Each one played a repertoire from his or her home country. This approach of diversity through world music was described by ethnomusicologist Laurent Abert as such: In a multicultural environment such as that of the major Western metropolises, one can notice that world musics represent both unifying standards of identity and bridges between communities; they are one of the few areas in which the integration of each individual does not imply assimilation to dominant models (Aubert 2011, p. 28 [our translation]). One could first wonder what would be the musical dominant model in Belgium, what kind of musical models would musicians be expected to assimilate? Their own musical traditions and heritage are either exoticized or neglected. It certainly is difficult for them to navigate between these two scenarios or to find another way to participate and be recognized by the Belgian music world and by the larger society. However, it seems that the visibility is made easier by adhering to the simplistic categories in which musicians are classified without further reflection (Cabot 2016, p. 20). While one of the project’s aims was to show the diversity present within this “refugee” band, the framework seemed to imply a way of featuring it that leaves little space for negotiation. This approach is then perceived as locking up: Hussein Rassim, who founded his own band, reports that the organizers who contact him are surprised that there are also Belgian musicians in his band, while they would have preferred only “refugees.”54 Similarly, some criticism has been leveled at Muziekpublique regarding the presence of two Belgian musicians in a band of so-called “refugees”. The arrival of immigrant and refugee populations, which has led to policies and discourses on “living together” that aimed at building bridges, has paradoxically led these same actors to build barriers by identifying and institutionalizing distinct categories of people (Observatoire des Politiques Culturelles 2013, p. 14). The epistemological violence carried by the term “refugee” also raises the issue of refugees considered as voiceless, deprived of their agency, who could only speak when given the word (Cabot 2016). It is interesting to note that, as long as it fit the musical quality required, Muziekpublique did not interfere in the repertoire played by the musicians. Roles were distributed clearly: Muziekpublique was responsible for the production work, and the musicians for the repertoire. It resulted in the fact that some musicians sometimes did not agree on the ways the project was introduced; or that Muziekpublique discovered that a new song with what they considered as unbearable kitsch arrangements had appeared during a concert. But overall, this way of working allowed the project to emerge and progress despite the different perspectives of about thirty participants. Although the project was part of the news, fighting with mainstream discourses against refugees hosting, it did not aim at being sensationalist. The musicians’ journey and suffering were not recounted unless asked by journalists. In the music of the album, all musicians were not willing to speak about their suffering and escape. Spiritual Sufi songs follow traditional songs praising Epicureanism; poems remembering Himalayan mountains; or an instrumental evoking the epic of a city besieged by the Islamic state55 . If the refugee narratives implicitly appear along the album, the musicians did not make 54 55 Interview with Hussein Rassim, Brussels, 6 September 2018. This last piece, despite being the only one to explicitly refer to the reasons which made the musician escape—or precisely by that virtue—became the title song of the album (“Amerli”).