Music Blogs

Dub the Qawwali Casbah: The best part about being a blogger--besides seeing my wrinkled mug projected to millions (!) and spilling my gut about whatever I please--is discovering new music. Discovering ancient new music is even more of a blast. The industry releases tens upon thousands of records ever year (seems like every month), but when it has the foresight to view its job with hindsight--reissuing classic albums or venturing into music of primeval civilizations--it makes me proud to be a member of such am illustrious business. Right.

The paraphrased word from Wikipedia: "Qawwali (Urdu: قوٌالی, Hindi: क़वाली) is the devotional music of the Chishti Sufis of the Indian Subcontinent.  Qawwali is a vibrant musical tradition that stretches back more than 700 years. Originally performed mainly at Sufi shrines throughout what is now India and Pakistan, it has also gained mainstream popularity. Qawwali music received international exposure through the work of the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan of Pakistan, who was picked up by the Real World label and also collaborated with many non-Sufi musicians in crossover efforts. Listeners are transported to a trance-like state of wajad, where they feel at one with God, generally considered to be the height of spiritual ecstasy in Sufism."

The late great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was Qawwalli's unparalleled star until his death in 1997. But these days death doesn't mean your career must end. Sampling, multi-tiered deals and promotional tours can continue long after one passes, just consider recent recordings from Johnny Cash, Ray Charles and Miles Davis. We should be so lucky? Anyway, under the clever hand of London based producer Gaudi, Ali Khan's vocals have been transplanted from the land of  Qawwalli into a spaced out, dub mad, reggae riddim espousing new release, Dub Qawwali. Hello!

Gaudi has several award winning productions to his credit, including the soundtrack to the stage version of My Beautiful Laundrette and his big beat effort Bass, Sweat & Tears, his proto dub/dance concoctions setting the stage for Dub Qawwali. The album samples newly discovered and rare Ali Khan vocals (taken from '60s/'70s sessions) over Gaudi's cocktail worthy backgrounds. Is this an irreverent stab at the past, akin to recent treatments of Nina Simone and Billie Holiday?  "Is nothing sacred," cries the traditionalist? Does it sound good asks the music boffin? The answer is a resounding "yes."

Blending dub, reggae, electronica and some deep chill atmosphere, Qawwali Dub succeeds in suspending judgment while extending Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's considerable spell. "Bethe Bethe Kese Kese" resounds with what sounds like Koto drummers, creaking doors and sampled timbales, before settling into an organ-drenched space dub groove. A wise man mumbles something about "in the midst of death, life persists." Balderdash. Hooey. "If I am going to die for a word," said the heroic soldier in Full Metal Jacket, "my word's gonna be ‘poontang.'" Enough of empty spirituality while cows roam the street. "Bethe Bethe Kese Kese" does a slow bump and grind, oozing forward like a steaming New York City slug while electronic sound effects roll around Ali Khan's wonderfully meditative vocal.

"Bethe Bethe Kese Kese" (mp3)
from "Dub Qawwali"
by Gaudi + Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
(Six Degrees Travel Series)
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The Return of DJ Mayonnaise: Wha? You didn't know he‘d gone missing? For the follow-up to the 1998 cult classic 55 Stories, Mayonnaise sets his vinyl spinning finger deep and decisive for Still Alive. The life of the modern club DJ can lead down many paths: remix guru to the stars, commercial ventures where one's soul is lost but $$$ is found, and plenty of darkened dance halls where no one remembers your name ("Fame...I'm gonna live forever!"). Mayonnaise's recent past remains a mystery, but Still Alive finds him ready, willing and infinitely able to engage the listener with the mellow sounds of urban dread and cosmic connections. "Easily Distracted" bangs like a 60-year-old moving the dance floor in Benny Goodman time. Sweet organ rings out like a call to dinner, chain gang hip-hop beats roll ‘em easy, and cherubic tones dart and dance like Mickey Mouse sleeping it off after an all nighter gone bad with Daffy Duck. Daffy always could drink like a fish.

"Easily Distracted" (mp3)
from "Still Alive"
by DJ Mayonnaise
(anticon)
More On This Album