From the Nile to the Danube – Musician and composer bringing something brand new to Wrexham

“I want everyone to go away feeling, I am welcome in that space.”

That is aim of musician, composer and creative Yasmine Latkowski, who is bringing a truly unique, immersive, informative and most importantly fun, experience to Wrexham in April.

When she was ten years old Yasmine Latkowski thought she was going to be the next Quentin Blake.

But she soon found that after taking up the keyboard and finding inspiration in artists such as Alanis Morisette, Tori Amos and Imogen Heap that music was the passion she would pursue and eventually turn into a career.

Speaking to Wrexham.com Yasmine explained that a common occurrence in the lives of women who are mixed race of Arab heritage is that sometime during their twenties they come to realise that there is a whole other part of themselves that they haven’t yet explored and this began to inform a new direction for her music, creativity and performing.

In terms of cultural identities, Yasmine moved to Wrexham in 2021 and at the time her partner wasn’t sure how she would find the cultural shift coming from London.

Talking to us about her assimilation Yasmine was pleasantly surprised at how quickly she met amazing groups of people non native to Wrexham who she could share experiences with and a whole host of talented musicians she now regularly collaborates with.

When it comes to the arts scene in general in Wrexham, Yasmine told us how there are incredible shows being curated and individuals performing their crafts but there aren’t enough eyes on them and she hopes these platforms continue to grow.

The creation of many shows in cities like Wrexham depend on receiving funding , something Yasmine and her colleagues have found difficult with many funds being ‘Welsh only’ and as someone who works with musicians from over the UK Yasmine states

“We can’t do what we do and only work with artists from Wales, if you want to platform Welsh artists because they haven’t got the platforms, that’s a different thing from supporting the cultural arts and right now the two are mixed in together”

This has been further complicated for Yasmine who feels that funding applications are more interested in her discussing her race and being labeled as a ‘brown musician’ , which she thinks adds to a problem of some events accidentally making people feel unwelcome if they aren’t familiar with a culture or language and not really focusing on what people, both the creators and the audiences want.

Wanting to celebrate cultural collaborations in an inclusive way, Yasmine has collaboratively worked to bring a first of its kind music event to Wrexham on April 1st.

Titled From the Nile to the Danube anyone attending can expect to see and take part in –

• Polish Roma Dance Workshop
• Arabic Singing Workshop
• Duo Plus
• Bridie & Black Veil
• One Kabira
• Yasmine Latkowski Full Band
• As well as enjoying free food provided by Curry on the Go (including halal meat).

Looking to the future Yasmine hopes this event will be the start of some legacy building as well as allowing her to run more dance and vocal workshops in a wide variety of languages outside of English.

You can book your tickets for From the Nile to the Danube on April 1 here. You can follow Yasmine on Facebook and Twitter.