Omran Sketches by Dougie Mathieson & Mags Macfarlane

These improvisations were inspired by our reaction to the widely-publicised image of Omran Daqneesh, a young Syrian boy rescued from the ruins of Aleppo in August this year. His traumatised, dust-covered face and bloodied body symbolise the hopelessness of those caught up in brutal conflicts throughout the world, often fought as proxy wars and power struggles between competing superpowers and ideologies, with no regard for the millions of people forced to flee from their ruined homelands and seek safety and - hopefully - a new life elsewhere.

All tracks were improvised and unrehearsed, each recorded in single takes as they were being played, voice empathising with keyboard, and vice versa, musical landscapes reflecting both light and darkness, hope and despair.

Although all our music is free to download (and always will be), please also consider purchasing a track via this page - any proceeds will be donated to charities supporting refugees, and go some way towards giving respite to those who have so little. Alternatively, please donate to a similar refugee-focused cause.

Thank you for listening and reading.

Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, I am a freelance photographer and musician.Work published on this page includes both solo instrumental material and collaborations with my partner Mags & others. All tracks are free to download - if you enjoy what you hear, please give a donation to a cause of your choice instead. Thank you!