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Pouyan Abdoli and Jai Shankar: Sufi in Dance
POUYAN ABDOLI AND JAI SHANKAR Sufi in Dance Etnisk Musikklubb 12
In an age of style as substance, the importance of brightly-colored
marketing materials is part and parcel in the music industry. Every
once in a while, you find an obscure package with little information
that turns out to be masterful.
Sufi in Dance is one such example. Two young immigrants in Norway
meet well away from their homelands and explore the subtle unification
of their respective styles. Abdoli, from Teberan, and Shankar, a native
of Punjab, were both born in 1980. This record is not just minimalist
in design and promotion, but also in musicality. Abdoli performs on
the tar, a lute with six metal strings, as well as the chalice-shaped
drum, tombak. Shankar began studying the two-drum set of the tablas
at 4 years old; in the two decades since his patience and discipline
are apparent. Through the record's 54 minutes the duo explores the
common attributes of the Iranian radifand Indian raga. By the sound
of what they've accomplished, the styles were destined. In fact, they
have a long history together, each signifying different melodies and
notes played at appropriate times. The classical systems, with all
their foundation, have much room for improvisation; playing is based
on the passion and training of the performers. Abdoli and Shankar
both exhibit a tempered, mature approach to form. Long bouts of silence
fill the spaces between the tar's strings, while Shankar's tablas
are powerful without excess. Performed in the Dastgah Nava style,
which is a reflective mode of Sufi ceremony, the ambiguity of this
record is fitting. Devotional music leaves the "I" behind
for the union of spirit and matter. If Sufi in Dance is any indication
of their prayers, these two have made a serious connection.
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