Three years into Sudan's civil war, one of the country's most popular bands recalls being inside a recording studio when the fighting began — and choosing not to stop.

In the studio when the guns opened up

Aswat Almadina were mid-session when Sudan's war broke out three years ago, according to the band's own account. Rather than pack up their instruments, they kept playing.

The group is described as one of Sudan's most popular bands. Their decision to continue working through the conflict places them among a small number of artists who have maintained a public creative presence since the fighting began.

Music as a record of war

The band's name translates loosely as "Voices of the City" — a detail that carries weight given how much Sudanese urban life has been upended since hostilities started. Their studio sessions have continued despite the disruption, displacement, and danger that the war has imposed on daily life across the country.

In the band's own framing, the noise of weapons did not silence music. "The weapons were loud, but there was always music," the group said, in a line that captures the tension between violence and artistic continuity that has defined their experience of the conflict.

Why it matters

Sudan's war, now entering its third year, has produced one of the world's largest displacement crises. Cultural institutions and creative communities have been among the casualties. Against that backdrop, the continued activity of artists like Aswat Almadina represents a documented form of civilian resilience, even if the material conditions under which they work remain unclear from available reporting.

Further details about where the band is currently based, how their music is being distributed, and what audiences they are reaching were not available in the source material at time of publication.