Sufi Music and Ambient Music

Compared to the previous post’s style – which is the same regardless of whether this post goes up on Nighttrail or my sister’s blog first – I will write fairly colloquially. Note that the previous post is quite pertinent to the topic of this post.

            I was inspired to write this post by a conversation with my grandfather. Earlier this week I showed him music – this music can be best described as having atmosphere or “ambient.” Among these songs were a few that I had created. Interestingly enough he likened the music to Sufi religious music. (Sufis are essentially mystics of the Islamic faith.) The difference in instrumentation is noticeable but I quickly realized that they were not necessarily that different.

            My grandfather went into greater detail about what he heard as Sufi music. The use of sustained keyboards in particular was reminiscent of this style; keyboards dominate many ambient songs, so the connection became quite clear as I showed him more music. Interestingly enough unfamiliar instruments gave him that impression, not folk instrumentation. One of my songs, “Coeur” or Heart in French, featured a violin and a bassoon, both unfamiliar to my grandfather, composed in an ambient style. These instruments prompted the comment that the unfamiliar sounds still reminded him greatly of mystic music. The observations made by him coincided with those of a friend who likened another one of my songs to meditative music.

Ultimately I suppose ambient music is quite reminiscent of and similar to Sufi music in principle, not in instrumentation. Sufis are mystics and transfer this aspect of their culture into their music. Mystical religious music reaches out to the deities – Allah in the case of Sufi devotional music – and therefore has a sound that transcends the performer as well as the listener. Ambient music in a sense is beyond the performer as well; this style creates atmosphere and space, rather than focusing on the strong sense of melody that dominates mainstream music. Both styles reach out past the surface and into something deeper, at least from what I’ve noticed. In this regard they are quite similar. Owing to their similarity their pairing works quite well; for an example check out Peter Gabriel’s collaboration with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on the Last Temptation of Christ soundtrack (the Scorsese movie).

Coeur’s composition made it essentially ambient – as does a lot of my music – and created an atmospheric sound through the use of digital effects and sustained notes. The song aims below the surface as does Sufi music and speaks from a deeper place than the mouth or the hand; that was the ultimate purpose as the song itself is about the heart in some regards. I believe that the song resonated with my grandfather to a degree. On the other hand, I cannot say why he was reminded of Sufi music. Perhaps he is familiar with the music to the point of seeing many similarities even when presented with something “unrelated.” Ultimately both types have the similar goal of extending beyond the human, the tangible, and the known. Sufi performers sing from the heart and in some ways so did the music that I showed my grandfather.

To listen to ”Coeur” go here: http://soundcloud.com/zru/coeur