Sufi Books & Musics

Eclectic new album might confuse conventional listeners

A fragmented mirage in the Mojave Desert ricocheting in and out of view would be an adequate image to pair with the music in Sumach Valentine’s sophomore album, MU.ZZ.LE . Under the moniker Gonjasufi , Valentine is an inhabitant of the Mojave Desert by way of Las Vegas, and his 10 track LP is segmented with traces of lo-fi fuzz, dashes of hip-hop bass and waves of psychedelic beat, music suitable for grieving in scorching heat.

Valentine has weaved the diverse musical elements together and created something solid. The cohesion becomes accessible to lovers of the eclectic, but may also be confusing to those bothered by experimental approaches to composition. The musician/Bikram Yoga instructor employs his croaky voice, looming with rawness through solemn arrangements. Sounding beautifully dismembered, Gonjasufi explores a heavy sense of societal guilt in MU.ZZ.LE.

With his usual esoteric songwriting, the artist entrances the listener in songs such as “The Blame,” a track more reliant upon lyrics then electronic mixes. “You’re the one that divides this place/This place is so divided/Children walk on both legs/While man still learns to crawl.” Valentine makes a journey of introspection and explores human apprehensions directly through the eerie piano keys.

Source: UT The Daily Texan

VA - JVC Best World Sounds 100 (6CD) (2005) - FoGoNeO.CoM - La Mas ...

by vjeopro1

Since 1980, the acclaimed JVC World Sounds series has produced some of the world's most beautiful recordings of traditional music from around the world. This reasonably priced six sets of CD includes a track from each of the 100 titles currently available. As good as a personal library of traditional music played by great musicians from around the world or of each CD is a good listen itself.

Source: VA - JVC Best World Sounds 100 (6CD) (2005) - FoGoNeO.CoM - La Mas ...

News

IT'S FRIDAY! Experience healing power of the arts

Daily Mail - Dec 31, 1969

One of the finest exponents of ghazals, Pakistani classical vocalist Ustad Hamid Ali Khan, will be one of the festival's big draws. 'I am very excited about coming to India again because it is an extension of my homeland - my forefathers were from

Concert of Colors marks 20 years

Royal Oak Daily Tribune - Dec 31, 1969

The lineup included Jerry and Andy Gonzalez & The Fort Apache Band (Latin jazz), East Indian vocalist Najma, and Hassan Hakmoun (Moroccan Sufi), drawing an audience of some 2400 people. Marking its 20th anniversary in 2012, the Concert of Colors — the

Kailash Kher: From Playing God to Touring the US

Wall Street Journal (blog) - Dec 31, 1969

“I was literally on cloud nine,” said the 38-year-old artist, exuding childlike glee at a Manhattan press conference last Thursday, kicking off a month-long US tour with his band, Kailasa. Rustic, unbridled vocals (often compared to the late Nusrat

Through literature's gaze: 'Culture was stifled in military regimes'

The Express Tribune - Dec 31, 1969

She said that literature and arts allowed a person to transform into a human being, 'sensitive and civil.' She traced local culture to Sufism. “Sufism is an integral part of our literature,” she said. “A sufi is one who invites the mind to the process

Calendar weekend

Vancouver Sun - Dec 31, 1969

17 THURSDAY HIGH SOCIETY Stanley Stage, 8 pm, to June 24 You may know High Society as a 1956 musical starring Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, but a new Arts Club production steers closer to the original movie, The Philadelphia Story.