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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