Seagulls over Baghdad is a three-part composition by Norwegian composer and musician Gisle Haaland, to be released on gi faen records on December 5, 2025. Originally composed in 2007 as part of his master’s degree at the University of Agder, the work is now presented for the first time in a new stereo version for digital release.

The music takes its foundation from J.S. Bach’s Prelude II in C minor, BWV 847, reimagined through piano, accordion, and electronics, blending intimate studio performance with fragments of real life — from a Tibetan spaniel at the keys to the haunting broadcasts of the Baghdad bombing. Across three movements — The Still Heat, Echo Furnace, and Seagulls over Baghdad — Haaland explores how conflict and distance shape our perception of the world. Field recordings, mechanical hums, and the sound of seagulls mingle with layered instrumental textures, evoking both human fragility and technological detachment.

Originally conceived during a time when global conflicts were broadcast directly into living rooms, the work reflects on how sound, image, and media shape collective memory. Rather than depicting war itself, it meditates on the tension between observation and empathy — between the comfort of safety and the unease of witnessing destruction from afar.

With Seagulls over Baghdad, Haaland bridges the emotional and the analytical, transforming a baroque prelude into a contemporary soundscape that feels both personal and historical. The result is an arresting and reflective album that blurs the line between composition, memory, and the echo of lived experience.

Release year: 2025
Label: gi faen records
Cover photo/design: Gisle Haaland