The Syrian singer-songwriter Lena Chamamyan (born to an Armenian family in Damascus, living currently in Paris) is one of the friends guitarist Jan Akkerman invited to play at his anniversary concert at Carré in Amsterdam on September 17. Her participation was one of the highlights of the show, especially the magical dialogue with trumpeter Eric Vloeimans. For News and Noise it was a good opportunity to speak with Lena about her work and the situation in Syria. We met her and Maher Sabra, her manager, in a busy Amsterdam terrace cafe a few days before the concert.