Muslim fusion music
The following text documents a query posted by Professor Tazim R. Kassam, and its response, all on the ISLAMAAR email list
Music / Musicians
July 2006
Dear Colleagues:
I'm trying to identify Muslim music(ians) who do fusion. I know that's a bit vague. I mean they mix their music up with other musical influences. It could be all the way from folk and pop to classical music forms. And any region of the world. Are there any particular persons (or groups) that is extremely popular with the younger generation? I'm not interested in "religious" or "sacred" music per se, but rather, music by Muslims that also (or primarily falls under) the entertainment category.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
Tazim R. Kassam
Excellent site for sampling, downloading/buying, a varieties of music from the middle east, south asia, and africa, mostly fusion work, not my cup of tea, but still beautiful music. This is the first fair trade music company which has very good relations, I am told, with the musicians.
Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi
I don't know whether it is that popular with the younger generation, who seem to be more keen on Tehrangeles pop, but the Iranian Sufi musician Davod Azad's "Rumi and Bach" is an exquisite fusion CD. It is not widely available in the US, but you can get hold of it here: http://www.musicboxla.com/daazdiofruba.html
Jawid Mojaddedi
There is quite a range when it comes to "Muslim" music even within the sphere of pure entertainment.
For starters, if you are looking for mainstream work, then you could look within Hip Hop music and in addition to Everlast and Mos Def (who were mentioned), there are Philadelphia rappers Freeway and Beenie Seagal, but their content often does not discuss Islam. Another Philadelphia rapper, Malik B does use a lot of "Islamic" references (he used to be a member of the Roots). Lupe out of Chicago is also Muslim and recently did a remix of the popular Kanye West song "Jesus Walks" and entitled it "Muhammad Walks." This is just to name a few.
Within the groups that are strictly Islamic in their content and also there for entertainment, it would be useful to see Raja out of the Netherlands. She is a very talented R&B artist. In addition, Sidi Yasir and other artists working with Remarkable Current are very popular. Then there is Meem Productions out of England which does a host of different artists from nasheed to hip hop and R&B, including the Muslim boy band - "786."
Needless, to say I could go on and on. Is there a particular focus you have?
Adnan Zulfikar
Hi Tazim,
There is an album called, "A Whisper Across the Sands". My Cds are packed at the moment, but there are 3 musicians - Hisham, Mars Larson (?) and the third name escapes me. Beautiful music.
Dorothea Kahena Viale
This might be of interest. Pakistani group "Junoon" (Passion) is very popular amongst young people both back home and internationally. You can check out their official site at http://junoon.com/home2.htm and also see a variety of videos at http://malik4u.com/videosongs.html The songs in the latter site are in two clusters, one under the heading of 'Junoon' and one under 'Junoon DVD special.
Sadaf Ahmed
Review:
Cambridge Rock City
Daur-e-Junoon Peace Concert
By Atif Z. Qadir
Bridging the seemingly disparate worlds of Western rock and Pakistani folk music, Junoon has received acclaim from Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan '72 and Pakistani president General Pervez Musharraf, as well as rave reviews from Billboard Magazine and The New York Times. This past Sunday, it brought its message of daur-e-junoon, or "peace and passion," to MIT's Kresge Auditorium in a sold-out concert sponsored by PaksMIT (Pakistani Students at MIT).
Junoon formed in the mid 1990's and first appeared on the world scene with the release of their 1997 platinum album, Azadi. Their single "Sayonee" topped Asian charts for nearly two months. Their popularity transcended the typical Western imitations that drew favorfrom only the Americanized elite of South Asia. By melding in Punjabi qawwali and other classical forms, they were able to appeal to the larger South Asian community. They hold at their core a message of peace, tolerance, and moderation in religious thought.
With the release of Andaz in 2001, Junoon cemented its formative position in the international music scene as surely the most famous Pakistani band of all time. With a recent benefit concert for Afghan refugees and a performance at the United Nations in New York, they continue to spread their message of peace and passion.
The concert at MIT was an overall success despite initial glitches. The show was delayed for nearly two hours because the group's flight from Canada was late. Almost the entire audience waited it out, which was a testament to the intoxicating effect of Junoon's music. The concert finally opened with a live dhol player, who made attendees rise to their feet and break into impromptu bhangra, the colorful folk dance from the Pakistani region called Punjab.
The combined yelps, screams, and whistles that filled Kresge when Junoon finally arrived on stage felt like a standing wave. The unrestrained enthusiasm belied any original logistical problems. Junoon is composed of a drummer; tabla player; bassist Brian O'Connell, lead singer Ali Azmat; and vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Salman Ahmad.. The band that has been likened to U2 and the Beatles delighted the audience with hits from their first two albums.
They belted out a warm, jovial rendition of the Southern Punjabi folk song, "Lal Meri," which at times had elements of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen, and Dave Matthews Band. They also performed a Jimi Hendrix guitar-driven version of the Pakistani National Anthem, which was a favorite especially amongst the deeply proud Pakistanis and their American diaspora counterparts. A number of other songs performed that night include a rendition of Khan's "Biba Sada Dil Morr De" and a number of Junoon's original songs, including "Sayonee," the dreamy "Beegi Yadein" the dolorous, tabla-based "Muk Gaye Nay," and the Led Zeppelin-esque "Talaash."
"Neend Ati Nahin," as well as several other songs, slid into the zone of 1980s soft rock. The tabla player and his counterparts on the drum and bass laid a strong foundation for Azmat and Ahmad.
The band ended up playing one of the longest concerts since a 1999 performance in Karachi. Ahmad noted that this was because "at some point in the concert a spirit descended and engulfed the audience and the band-members. From there on, it wasn't us playing the music, it was the music playing us."
Some suggestions:
- rabih abu khalil - does arabic jazz fusing traditional indian,
arabic with jazz and blues
- gnawa diffusion - mixes north african, west african and reggae
- outlandish - mixes islamic hip-hop and arabic/bangara
- check out the website albawaba for arabic house music
These groups mostly perform in europe and mideast - but you could contact some arab-american hip-hoppers like the philistines, nomads, iroan sheikh - they all have websites. also, i know a number of classical middle eastern musicians here in NY who do workshops at universities - let me know specifically what you're interested in, and i can put you in touch with them.
Hishaam Aidi
Tazim,
One who replied made mention of Ustad Sultan Khan, and I wanted to
amplify a bit on him. He's a traditional singer and sarangi player in
the Hindustani style, and you can find perhaps a dozen CDs by him (on
Amazon.com, for example) in which that style is elegantly played. But
he was discovered by the "Asian underground" musicians and has played
extensively on their recordings. The first I'm aware of is DJ Cheb i
Sabbah's "Sri Durga" CD (1999). DJ Cheb is very well-known now and
(as I recall) is Tunisian-born, moved to Paris, then to San
Francisco, where he became popular as a DJ at rave-trance dance
parties. DJ Cheb is not a musician but a remixer, and he took
traditional Indian music and remixed and added to it for his discs
"Sri Durga" and others. With Sultan Khan on those recordings were
Karsh Kale and Bill Laswell, who formed a band called Tabla Beat
Science, and Ustad Sultan Khan played on both CDs they produced under
that name. You can also find him on Karsh Kale's "Realize" and
perhaps on his "Liberation" CD too (though that on is not handy at
present). He also appears on Laswell's "Asana OHM Shanti" CD. Hope
this helps.
As an employee at MTV Networks, I've been listening to some noteworthy musicians with a Muslim background that has been coming through the pipeline. A couple bands below have especially been making headway in the South Asian American music scene.
The Kominas <http://sinsanctuary.com/kominas/>http://sinsanctuary.com/kominas/ Slant <http://www.slantmusic.net/slant.htm>http://www.slantmusic.net/slant.htm Junoon <http://www.junoon.com/>http://www.junoon.com/
Hope this helps -
Sheena Raja
>From my husband, who is a fan of this genre, and can likely assist
further:
The Rai muscians from Algeria like Khaled, Cheb Mami, Rachid Taha (Taha has done a fabulous cover of Rock the Casbah). Another would be Will Solimon who works with many musicians in many forms and has done an album with the Palestinian poet Nathalie Handal. 1 Giant Leap incorporates Muslim styles and musicians as well as other musical styles. Indian vocalist Ustad Sultan Khan has an album Rare Elements where he has allowed Western musicians to do remixes of his work. David Nichtern & Falguni have an interesting folk/Middle Eastern fusion.
If there is a diva of such fusion, it is Natacha Atlas. You will find many such musicians in the electronic genres such as Hakim and Khadjia Nin. Sting has done some wonderful fusions using Muslim musicians including his Desert Rose with Cheb Mami. A good place to look further is the "Globalista DJs" at the internet station radio at <http://www.radioio.com/> http://www.radioio.com/ or if you are smart enough to use ITunes go to radioWorld in the International Section. You will find more there you can deal with. Finally, there is Worldlink TV's music store at <http://linktvstore.org/> http://linktvstore.org/ - fabulous source for world music in general. Roger's contact info: Roger Humes, <mailto:rbhumes@csupomona.edu> rbhumes@csupomona.edu
best regards,
Cynthia Ann Humes, Ph.D.
Tazim, Andre's suggestion of Haddad Alwi is especially good in my opinion. I almost mentioned him in my post just based on what I'd seen in Malaysia in the last couple of years. I didn't realize he was so big in Indonesia too. He'd be great for classroom teaching b/c repertoire it seems to me not only because of his wide popularity, good musicianship and video-savvy but also because he uses so much "tradisional" Arabic-language material in his varied repertoire. Andre, would you agree?
Feel free to forward or use this message as you see fit, Tazim.
Anna M. Gade
Tazim! Our own Mark LeVine would be the best person for this question. His last book, Why They Don't Hate Us, gives examples of Muslim musicians.
As to the kinder, I'd suggest the hip-hop artists such as Mos Def and Everlast. For the older crowd (i.e., me), I'd go with Richard and Danny Thompson (no relation despite the common surname). Junoon has done some interesting jams. And Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) new record should be out next month...
Amir Hussain
Tazim, There are Pakistani groups called Fuzon, and Vital Signs they are definitely a mixed bag but great musicians. Recently in LA i heard a group jewish-muslim with the main musicia Zaidi...also my friend Ani Zonneveld whose interview i sent to you a few months ago!
Mehnaz M. Afridi
Tazim,
See Sami Alim's chapter on the Hip Hop Umma in Bruce Lawrence & Miriam Cooke's Muslim Networks. Then, of course, there is the forerunner of fusion--Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab, who fused all kinds of western musical styles to fashion a distinctive Egyptian/Arab repertoire. The kind of the that gives Wahhabism a good name!
JE Campo
Tazim,
There is an album called, "A Whisper Across the Sands". My Cds are packed at the moment, but there are 3 musicians - Hisham, Mars Larson (?) and the third name escapes me. Beautiful music.
Kahena
There is really interesting music coming out of Turkey. Let me suggest Mercan Dede's music, especially his last two cd's Su (Water) and Nefes(Breath) which has great cover art of a chest X-Ray. The great Alevi singer Sabahat Akkiraz has released a recording with the Jazz-Pop group Orient Expressions called Kulliyat. I also like Kardes Turkuler who do a really interesting take on the various kinds of ethnic folk music in Turkey. I am also really enjoying a new folk album by Huseyin Albayrak and Ali Riza Albayrak of songs from the poetry of Shah Ismail Hatayi. I just got back from Turkey where I picked these up but they are all probably available on the Turkish Music Club website.
Vernon Schubel
Some of the best fusion music by Muslim musicians comes from a Bangladeshi group called "Bangla". They are huge in Bangladesh and just got back from a tour of Europe. They take traditional Muslim folk songs, Bengali Baul music as well as the love songs of Radha and Krishna and play them for a young audience. Most of the group studied in Shantiniketon, Tagore's school of the arts above Calcutta and are classically trained. Truly great sound.
It looks like you have gotten an number of suggestions so I will keep my list to these three:
www.zaki.tk or www.myspace.com/mczakii I just met him in copenhagen where he was born and raised, does this hip hop reggae type fusion, some good music, good production.
www.remarkablecurrent.com This outfit is based Oakland, CA and the musicians here do music from hip hop to jazz really quality music
www.fnaire.com, though the website might not be fully functioning yet so look for their music on www.raptiviste.net They are based Marrakesh Morocco and fuse traditional moroccan music, gnawa, soussi, issawa, etc in their hip hop, again really good music.
Su'ad Abdul Khabeer
Okay, all this discussion of great music that I don't know is making me really curious. Who's going to put together a sampler for us that we can download on our ipods?
I'm serious, and given that it's for educational purposes, it should be legal. I'd love to bring some of this into the classroom.
Jon
A couple years ago at least (2004), "Snada" was the big thing in Indonesia. They have a "Backstreet Boys" look and feel, I say respectfully.
"Raihan" remains very popular in Malaysia, and globally. Their big breakthrough album was in the mid-1990s. They define a genre of Southeast Asian pious-pop performance. Yusuf Islam has produced some tracks for them. I understand there was some controversy when there was a release on the Warner Brothers label, "Assalamu alaikum." (I ordered this album off Amazon, in fact, but it may no longer be available.)
One characteristic of these Southeast Asian pop groups is the same lyrics sung in several languages: Arabic/Malaysian&Indonesian/English, sometimes local langauges, sometimes Chinese. There is also sometimes to be found a didactic tone: songs listing the Prophets, listing the Angels, etc. (as on a hit Raihan album), and the intro to the cut simulates a class for students. There is a great deal in the "salawat nabi" genre as well.
Musically, one can often hears the distinctive sound of Southeast Asian gong orchestras ("gamelan") often layered into these songs, as well as gobal contemporary instruments, arrangements and production values; I guess one could call that a kind of "fusion," although that leads to the question of what pop music, religious or not, does not have multiple influences? Vocally, these singers (male and female, although only male performers are mentioned here) often have training in Qur'an recitation and that is audible in many ways, including the maqamat and melismatic melody types heard in improvisatory elements, breakdowns/changes, etc. These musics, like a lot of the world's pop, emphasize the vocal strongly.
Rhoma Irama from Indonesia is the giant of Muslim dangdut (another genre), as he has been for a very long time. If someone is putting together a compilation, he could be a representative choice. There is also some good scholarly literature on him in the field of ethnomusicology for students to read, and I believe Smithsonian Folkways distributes some of his recordings from years back.
If you'd like more on the current Southeast Asian "scene," I can followup with friends on what is likely to be on the playlist this October and get back to you, Tazim, off-list.
Anna M. Gade, Ph.D.
Just to add a few notes to Anna's fine comments. I just returned from
my summer trip to Malaysia and Indonesia. Raihan had dropped some in
their popularity recently. Mawi, a Malay singer from Johor, is all
the rage now. He was a recent victor in a 'reality TV show' modeled
on American (and Malaysian) Idol, called Fantasy Academy. He has a
recent album out including recitation of du'a in Arabic and singing
in a traditional qasidah style. Siti Nurhaliza is still extremely
popular with Malay youth but there are several younger Malay stars on
the rise as well, many of them from Malaysian Idol and Fantasy
Academy shows...
In Indonesia, you might also want to consider looking at some of the fusion work of Emha Ainun Nadjib and Kiai Kanjeng. They use gamelan and modern electronic instruments and sing in a number of different genres, especially infusing selawat into various forms. Dangdut is still extremely popular, but 'non-Islamic forms' of dangdut such as that performed by Inul is especially popular with the youth and fills the TV stations, etc. You can find lots of literature about Inul and the critical responses of ulama and other singers such as Rhoma Irama towards her. The latter said that is was a form of 'jihad' to oppose her performance style. Nevertheless, she stuck to her guns arguing that she separates her religion, Islam, from her art and entertainment style. Her popularity has waned somewhat but her sensual and highly visual style of remains strong with many new performers.
All the best, Timothy P. Daniels
> In Indonesia, mention could perhaps also be made of Haddad Alwi and Sulis who occasionally mix their Arabic salawat with either Javanese gamelan or an Australian symphony orchestra. Their "Cinta Rasul" (Love the Prophet) albums are very popular.
Mention could also be made of DEBU who mixes Indonesian pop with more traditional Indonesian tunes together with a scent of Islam.
André Möller <http://www.dalang.se>www.dalang.se
Tazim A lot of my friends are listening to Sami Yusuf:
<http://www.samiyusuf.com/home/index.htm> http://www.samiyusuf.com/home/index.htm
Edward E. Curtis IV, author of
dear friends,
interesting story about Sami Yusuf, who quite nicely brings together
English, Turkish, Urdu, etc. (even lifting a melody from the Sabri
Brothers): about a month ago I was walking around Rumi's shrine in
Konya, and heard what souneded like a Turkish-English version of the
Sabri Brothers tune "Ya Mustapha..."
- -)
borders be damned...
His work is quite good, I think.
Omid safi
Tazim: I strongly recommend Tarab ensemble based in New York (lead by Taoufiq Ben Amor at Columbia). They've done some remarkable Indo-Arab fusion (with Falu and Co.) as well as cross-Mediterranean fusion. If you areinto action, we've had great success with them performing several times in Toronto. Their activities are posted on "Alwan.com"
Amila Buturovic
Tazim, Zakir Hussain has done a lot of fusion, with Mickey Hart and others. To hear of his trio "Sangam" with 2 American jazz musicians, listen to this NPR piece: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5507053
linda
I just responded to Tazim's request with an NPR reference. Then
thought, hey it would be nice to listen to some NPR here in
Bangalore. Well connected at the moment, I dropped into NPR and found
this:
All Things Considered, July 25, 2006 • Originally from Iran, classical guitarist Lily Afshar stayed in the United States after the Islamic revolution in her homeland. Like her life, her music crosses continents.
On her latest CD, Hemispheres, Afshar showcases music inspired by traditional Persian songs; she also plays the sehtar (a three-stringed Persian lute).
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5581544
Linda Hess
