for the love of god

Emotions can be confusing — they are tied to context, but transgressive. They speak to each of us differently — warmth is betrayal to some, ownership is loss to some others. They appear, and re-appear, in the familiar, and in the foreign. How, then, should one handle multiple emotions stemming from a single experience? By doing nothing. Yes, that’s exactly what you do when you listen to the master of Qawwalis — Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Give in. Just. Listen.

How else can you respond to a voice that feels like rubbing your hands over yards of silk? Smooth, lilting, gentle, yet variational. It feels like a hot air balloon just released. Anti-gravitate and fearless. It feels like divinity has just presented itself to you in an inconceivable way.

Dub Qawwali is a posthumous album of NFAK’s lesser known songs, remixed by French electronica artiste, Gaudi. What’s remarkable is how Reggae meets Sufi, and does not impose its potency over spiritual expression. Instead, we hear an elegant combination, where the Reggae and Dub actually highlight the individual components of Qawwali. This is not your regular remix fare. Dub Qawwali – dreadlocks behind the veil.

Enter Michael Brook. If Dub Qawwali feels like a blend of music cultures,  Night Song feels monolithic. The opening track, My Heart, My Life is pure epiphany. How it gains momentum! Night Song is for the lovers of dusk and melancholy.

Bethe bethe kaise kaise from the album Dub Qawwali by Gaudi and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Ena akhiyon noo from the album Dub Qawwali by Gaudi and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Buy from Amazon More Dub Qawwali at Last.fm My heart, my life from the album Night Song by Michael Brook and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Buy from Amazon More Night Song at Last.fm

~ posted by nithya

–

black

Dawn is the sacred hour.
Dawn is the sacred hour,
Saffron and rose-coloured it throws open the doors of the sky.

Mists, like evil spirits, shrink and shrivel,
Vanish into thin air.
The sun pierces them through and through.

It lights the recesses of cavelike shrines,
Flashes on the brass and copper vessels of bathers in the river.
Pure grace.

Once the breath goes out, it’s fit to burn.

Your head,
Your turban, artfully arranged, will adorn it,
With the beaks of crows.

Your bones will burn like tinder,
Your hair will burn like hay.

While Vishnu reclines on a serpent called Endless,
Don’t fear death; welcome it.
Once the breath goes out,
Once the breath goes out, it’s fit to burn.

Dawn is the sacred hour.

World,
Secular or social interests as distinguished from the religious or spiritual.

Here’s the cause of it all –
It’s a house of tricks.

Life has slipped away.
No-one is left on the road,
And in each direction, the evening dark has come

Here’s the cause of it all –
(It’s a house of tricks)
It’s a house of tricks.
Ignore the world.
Ignore the world.
Ignore the world.

Kala from the album City of Light Buy from Amazon More Bill Laswell at Last.fm

~posted by nithya

father and son

Dim lights. Accents previously unheard. A generous helping of faces from places unknown. Rows of colourful concoctions travelling undisturbed on trays. A flurry of expensive clothes and shiny shoes. Then, they come and set up stage. And he sings. The silkiness of the Kora reminds me of the legacy. The mesmerizing voice is fresh and baritone. It is that moment when comely ladies and debonair gents get up and dance. This must be NYC. This must be Vieux Farke Toure.

Life’s unfair if you have to carry the torch of legendary parents, but Vieux sizes up decently. Vieux Farka Toure is the sparkling legacy of one of the greatest musicians of our time and perhaps West Africa’s most popular musical name. Similar to his tenacious Dad (which earned him the moniker of “Farka”, which means “Donkey” in Songhai), Vieux (meaning “Old” in Francais) stood against his Dad’s wishes of pursuing a military career and instead took to jamming with his Dad’s records secretly. A wise decision, but sadly his father was not alive to hear his first album. Vieux experiments with electronica and desert blues. Vieux is the new french-speaking voice of traditional Mali.

The good father, Ali Farka Toure is worlds apart — a world closer to Mali than Memphis. His hypnotising Blues scales and soulful voice in Songhay, Fulfulde, Tamasheq, or Bambara transcend boundaries and language barriers. Toure collaborated with Toumani Diabate (oh, that will have to wait) in “In the Heart of the Moon”, and Ry Cooder in “Talking Timbuktu”, two albums that always leave me spellbound. Without further ado, find the files below.

	Mamadou Boutiquer, from the album In the Heart of the Moon Buy it from Amazon
	Diaraby, from the album Talking Timbuktu [Audio http://www.ics.uci.edu/~nsambasi/diaraby.mp3%5D Buy it from Amazon
	Courage, from the album UFOs over Bamako by Vieux Farka Toure Buy from Amazon Listen at Rhapsody

~ posted by nithya