The idea for Zozan C. emerged from a deeply ingrained perception Koban had wrestled with for years. “I was stuck with the strange idea that ‘she couldn’t speak Kurdish,’” he explains. This assumption, he says, affects not only aesthetics but also the public visibility of the language itself. He imagined a character who embodied a Kurdish identity shaped by city life—one rooted in art, intellectual engagement, and everyday elegance. An early attempt took the form of an Instagram account, but the project remained dormant until Koban began experimenting with AI music tools. Uploading verses by the renowned poet Cegerxwîn and crafting detailed prompts, he heard something click. “Suddenly, a sound emerged that resonated with me. At that moment, I thought: ‘Why shouldn’t AI create a Kurdish artist?’”
For Koban, Zozan C. is inseparable from his own life. Kurdish language and culture have been central to his academic and professional path, from earning a master’s degree in Kurdish language to working in news production. “Problems of representation, visibility barriers, micro-obstacles in daily life, these are things I’ve lived with since childhood,” he says. Zozan, he adds, is both an artistic and a political response: “the modern form of Kurdish on stage, on screen, in the flow.”
Influences such as Rewşan’s powerful voice and imagery have shaped the project, but Koban is clear that Zozan C. is about more than admiration. “It’s about making the voice of Kurdish women heard louder in public spaces with each new interpretation,” he explains. Even the name carries layers of meaning. “Zozan” means “highland” in Kurdish, evoking memories of childhood, village life, and shepherding. “I’m attached to ‘Zozan’; it’s a name that’s in harmony with the geography,” Koban says.
The technical process behind Zozan C. is meticulous and time intensive. Visuals, animation, and music are developed along separate paths, sometimes over several days. “Artificial intelligence isn’t as ‘intelligent’ as we think; it needs guidance,” Koban notes. His prompts emphasize the traditional singer, Kurdish motifs, and the preservation of melodic and lyrical spirit. “The main thing is to update with respect—pruning the branches without cutting the roots,” he says. Modernisation, for him, is about dialogue rather than rupture. “Sometimes curiosity is the strongest ally of language.”
Copyright, however, remains one of the biggest challenges. Fragmented archives and unclear ownership make AI production particularly complex. “Some works had to be removed because rights holders were not comfortable with AI use,” Koban explains. For now, he relies largely on his own poems and compositions to navigate these risks.
Zozan C, AI singer Credit: Bijar Koban
Looking ahead, Zozan C. will continue to sing in Kurdish—for now. “Maybe one day someone will hear an English song, stumble upon Kurdish by chance, and say, ‘How beautiful this language is,’” Koban reflects. The journey, he says, will go “as far as we can take it,” with future collaborations on the horizon.
Zozan C, AI created Kurdish singer Credit: Bijar Koban
