Electric Sufi release debut album Breathe In Love
The world music collective Electric Sufi, featuring Huddersfield’s Professor of Music Rupert Till, have released their first album Breathe In Love.
Electric Sufi are Professor Till, singer-songwriter Sarah Yaseen and multi-instrumentalist Mina Mikhael Salama, and this eclectic mix is reflected in a collection of songs that are inspired by their Muslim, Christian and Humanist ideologies.
Breathe In Love blends electronica, Sufi singing & Arabic instrumental virtuosity across its 13 tracks, while promoting engagement with climate change issues. The University played a key role in the album, with vocals recorded in the music department’s recording studios, videos for three singles filmed in the new Stewart Film Studios and the group’s PR photos were taken in the photographic studios in the Barbara Hepworth Building by Dr David Lake.
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“The album is bringing attention to climate change,” says Rupert, who is an acclaimed musician and DJ under the alter-ego of Professor Chill as well as the University’s Professor of Music. “If we’re achieving anything with this album, its raising awareness of this vital issue under this umbrella of a wide range of musical styles and cultural interests.”
Rupert has produced ambient dance, chillout & electronic music as Professor Chill including the 2018 album Dub Archaeology. He has also written the book Pop Cult which delves into the mysteries of music & spirituality, participated in the BBC TV series Civilisations, plus written articles in The Quietus, Huffington Post & New Scientist. His research projects cover various subjects ranging from ‘The influences of Religion on British Club Culture & Electronic Dance music’ to ‘Sound Archaeology, Acoustics & Cave Art’.
Sarah, whose family roots are in Kashmir, is known in world music circles for singing in UK Womad favourites Rafiki Jazz & Danish all-woman ensemble Radiant Arcadia. In Electric Sufi she sings in Urdu, Punjabi, Persian, Latin & English and by doing so, draws upon a wide range of cultural influences. Inspired by Qawwali (Islamic devotional singing from India) & Ghazals (Arabic poetry), she has one foot firmly placed in a contemporary multicultural world & the other in the ancient lyrical & musical traditions on which she draws.
Mina, a Coptic Christian from Alexandria, Egypt, came to the UK in 2002, having been a soloist in the Cairo Opera. He has since performed at WOMAD, Edinburgh Festival, The Southbank, London as well as Cardiff, Leicester, Manchester & beyond. Along with Rupert, Mina has also contributed to the BBC TV series Civilisations where he demonstrated a 30,000-year-old Isturitz Vulture bone flute. On an international level, Mina has contributed to the music score on Disney’s Aladdin. starring Will Smith.
Breathe in Love can be found on Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Deezer, and all other digital platforms.
You can listen to it or buy it on Bandcamp.
You can stream the music on Spotify.
The band’s videos are also on YouTube.