Episode 89 of the Secret Archives of the Vatican Podcast is now available from:

• iTunes
• Libsyn
• MixCloud

Tracks

1. Semma
   Jef Stott
   http://jefstott.com/music-projects-discography/jef-stott-solo-projects/arcana-album-project
2. I Sleep Under The Sand
   The Spy from Cairo
   http://zeb-thespyfromcairo.bandcamp.com/track/i-sleep-under-the-sand-arabian-dub-step
3. Rayat Al Sumud
   Niyaz
   http://www.niyazmusic.com/#!/albums-2/
4. East Indian Rope Trick
   Maduro
   http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0084QKE44/ref=dm_sp_alb
5. Eastern Fire
   Stone Soup Soldiers
   http://stonesoupsoldiers.bandcamp.com/track/eastern-fire
6. Eastern Channels
   DewDrop
   http://dewdrop.bandcamp.com/track/eastern-channels
7. Slow Resolve (Formless Mix)
   Pwyll Phoenix
   http://angeldustrecords.com
8. Stolen Egyptian Kiosk
   Silk Nogg
   http://silknogg.bandcamp.com/track/stolen-egyptian-kiosk

We were privileged to contribute to the debut release from Angel Dust Records a while back, Dust Particles Vol 1.

There have been some fine releases in the meantime and now we have Dust Particles Vol 2.
The artists hail from Germany, Canada and the USA and the four tracks comprise a fine listening experience of chilled out digi-dub.

Tracks

1. Dubsalon – Properly Rolled
2. Pwyll Phoenix – Slow Resolve (Formless Mix)
3. Stoger – Ragga Ray
4. Down the Dog - Sleeping City

Full details HERE

Direct download HERE

The BPI says that overall digital products made £86.5 million for the British record industry in the first quarter of 2012, with physical sales taking overall recorded music revenues to £155.8 million, which is 2.7% up on the same quarter last year. Take note of this; it will not be mentioned when they’re next moaning like whiney little bitches about ‘piracy’ killing the music industry. By the music industry, they only mean the big four labels and their ‘independent’ de facto A&R labels.

BPI boss Geoff Taylor said: ‘This is a significant milestone in the evolution of the music business. UK record labels have embraced digital to their core, supporting innovation and licensing more new online and mobile services than any other country. As a result, the industry’s prospects for growth look brighter than for several years’.

He added: ‘We will need to see this trend repeated for several quarters to say we have turned the corner – demand for physical CDs remains strong in the UK, especially in Q4. However, the creativity, investment and digital expertise of the British music industry point the way forward for growth in the UK economy‘.

By ‘embraced digital to their core, supporting innovation’, he, of course, means ‘resisted digital all the way while blaming piracy for lower CD sales’ and by ‘supporting innovation’ means ‘opposing innovation with every ounce of their strength’.

However, the future happens whether you like it or not and they have unwittingly started to see some benefit from it.

Reblogged from EarWave:

Sometimes we get no feedback at all about anything we do - so it's is great when someone acknowledges our work. Thanks for this, EarWave.

We’re big fans of San Francisco based artist Jef Stott. For over ten years he’s been making awesome Eastern-inflected electronica of the kind we love. He has worked with master musicians from the Middle East, North Africa, the Balkans and India. He’s a highly accomplished multi instrumentalist and we particularly like the fact he’s using the oud in a global bass electronica context.

He has just released a new album, Arcana. It comes in the wake of much personal turmoil: the end of a long-term relationship, losing a career job and having his apartment broken into. The thieves took all of his computer equipment, including the hard drive in which the two-month old Arcana lived.

Arcana has roots in Jef Stott’s expertise in Middle Eastern music, including studying with oud virtuoso Hamza El Din, and in his collaborations with many musicians over the years.

He says: ‘For Arcana, I started working with acoustic guitar.’ He added rich electronic sounds, and looped recordings of artists such as singer MC Rai, tabla player Jason McKenzie and multi-instrumentalist Eliyahu Sills.

‘I kind of stepped out of the shadows on this one,’ Stott said. ‘What I was trying to do was just to be really open and lay it all out emotionally—that was my main goal with this record. I just went back into the studio and made this album. It’s about reclaiming my place in the world, and bringing really powerful female energy back into my life. The album is meant to be an imaginary soundtrack to an epic adventure film set far in the distant future. Behind it all is a really strong athletic female goddess with a huge sword in her hand. She’s a warrior of light. She’s always strong and compassionate, but she knows how to use her sword.’

Jef ran into old friend and collaborator Sonja Drakulich, which led to her providing vocals for the track Deep Playa. He had previously worked with her as producer for Stellamara, her Eastern/Medieval European and Arabic project. A new collaboration started when Jef met local indie singer Sophia Mae Lin, who contributes to Pulling of the Tide. Another old friend, MC Rai, provides vocals for Le Club Lebanon.

The album opens with Deep Playa. Some (what sounds to me like) throat singing leads into a heavy dubstep influenced synth bass line and funky drum line. Sonja Drakulich’s vocals take it into transcendent territory – a stunning opener for a collection of tunes.

The Promise follows, Indian bowed instruments and table to the fore. The pulsing bass remains, keeping things dancefloor friendly.

A santoor (or qanoon?) leads us into the heavy dance beats of Le Club Lebanon, MC Rai providing an excellent vocal, the whole darbuka-driven track being somewhat reminiscent of Rachid Taha.

Semma starts with an evocative ney flute before the darbuka joins in and the bass returns to remind us we’re not in the desert anymore. This is relentless Middle-Eastern electronica, with the ney and some gorgeous strings riding a tide of brutal goove.

Next along we have Desert Dub (Jef Stott Nomadica RMX), which gives us a moment to get our breath back . There’s almost a dub feel to this spacious workout and it showcases Jef’s fine oud playing.

Hero’s Return introduces us to the bansuri, an Indian flute, masterfully played by Eliyahu Sills. Jef says: ‘There was a lot of editing in the bansuri parts because I didn’t want it to overpower the song. I had to find just little pockets and phrases that were going to complement the melody.’ This track takes us away from the dubstep influence and we hear some guitars in the mix.

Sophia Mae Lin’s vocals star in the next tune, Pulling of the Tide. Jef says: ‘I started the tune and it had this mysterious underwater quality, and we decided to go with the narrative about a mermaid. It’s an entirely new direction, very gothic and Celtic’. Once again, we’ve stepped away from the dubstep influence and there’s a an almost folky feel.

Gnawa Jam pulls us back with a jolt into a hard Moroccan influenced rhythmic workout which reintroduces the harder electronic sounds heard earlier in the collection.

We initially head for a quieter (but no less deep ) environment with Sayat Nova (Sendai Tsunami Dub). This is head nodding chillout music but still has some growly wobble bass that slowly builds the intensity.

We close the album with the downtempo White Tara (Anusara Mix). A Tara is a tantric deity in Tibetan Buddhism. The White Tara specifically refers to a healing goddess known as the Wish Fulfilling Wheel. This suitably beautiful closing tune features tabla and flute, acoustic guitar and Sophia Mae Lin’s vocal.

To summarise – a stunning, mature, accomplished album from a master musician.

Niyaz are a band that fit into no marketing category, that are absolutely brilliant and that are loved here in the Secret Archives of the Vatican. They make music that embodies all that is good: Persian traditional modes and tunings, complex yet funky ancient rhythms, finely crafted electronica, stunning vocals and masterful instrumental skills, all combined with fine production values. Their albums have very nice artwork too!

Niyaz, (which means ‘yearning’ in Persian), was formed in 2005 by vocalist Azam Ali, multi-instrumentalist Loga Ramin Torkian and producer and electronic musician Carmen Rizzo. Their new release is called Sumud – an Arabic word ( صمود) meaning steadfastness or
steadfast perseverance. This is a philosophical term that first emerged among the Palestinians in the wake of the Six-Day War. Azam Ali chose this philosophical term as a reminder that, as she explains: ‘Every human being should inherit the right to live with dignity and freedom upon the land on which they are born. We have now travelled across the world, and those experiences have affected the journey that we are on and the direction we’ve taken on this album. We’ve performed in the Kurdish parts of Turkey during times of major conflicts, as well as other parts of the Middle East. Obviously that has affected this project. We wanted to focus on the ethnic and religious minority groups in these regions, because they have really struggled to maintain their identity. It started from us wanting to tell our story, and it has evolved into this humanitarian social message, embracing regions around Iran.’

Sumud features reworkings of Turkish, Afghan, Palestinian, Kurdish and Persian folk songs. Carmen Rizzo explains: ‘When I heard Azam explain what sumud means, I had a lump in my throat. It’s very powerful and meaningful. Understand the meaning of the album makes the music even better. It’s not just ten songs. It’s an entire concept of this work.’

So, how does Sumud sound? Well, there is definitely more of an emphasis on the electronic side of their sound – this album has a less acoustic sound than the previous two.

The opener, Parishaan, features a pulsing bass and sparse frame drum outlining a 12/8 time rhythm. Azam Ali’s voice is as mesmerizing as ever. Sosin sets itself in a cavernous sonic space. Once again the rhythm is tight and controlled. The acoustic instruments lock in with the understated electronic instruments to keep the driving feel all the way to the end of the track. Shah Sanam wraps itself in delay and reverberation effects which fade away at the end to lead us into perhaps the album’s star track. Mazaar features a special guest vocal appearance from Oscar-winning Indian composer, musician and singer AR Rahman. The song is a folkloric ode to the Afghan holy city of Mazar-e-Sharif. AR Rahman’s vocals are a perfect fit with Azam Ali’s – an awesome piece of music, with (to me at least) a qawwali feel, with superb percussion.

‘I’m a long-time AR Rahman fan,’ Azam Ali says. ‘I grew up in India, so I have a great passion for Bollywood music, which has influenced the way I compose. The theme that AR wrote for the 1995 film Bombay has to be one of the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever heard, so I was honoured to have him on this album.’

Vafa starts quietly, and features multi-tracked vocals which remind me of some of Niyaz’z earler work.

Two songs, Dertli and the final track Arzusun, were written by 17th century Alevi-Bektashi Sufi poets. Dertli is uptempo with a four-on-the-floor kick drum giving it a slight house feel – I can hear remixes working well for this tune.

‘Loga and I listen to so much Alevi music,’ Ali says. ‘No other music has had such an impact on us. I really wanted to record Arzusun which was based on an old poem by Kul Nesimi and made a song by Muharrem Temiz. We reached out to him and he gave us his blessing. It’s based on divine love, like Sufi poetry, it is about yearning to be reunited with the beloved.’

We’re back in a very Persian 12/8 time for Masooz – it grooves along in fine style – and then Rayat al Sumud takes us elsewhere. It sounds Bollywood influenced to me and the heavy kick drum keeps it in head-nodding, foot-tapping, almost danceable territory.
Mahtaab sounds like much of what we’ve already heard (and that’s a good thing!) and then we reach the chilled-out finale, Arzusun, which is the second of the songs with texts written by 17th century Alevi-Bektashi poets, and which eases us, satisfied, back into the world around us.

This album is beautiful from beginning to end, exemplifying all the values I mentioned in the opening paragraph. It’ll certainly be getting plenty of time in my listening devices and I’ll play a track or two in our podcast – the world needs to know about Niyaz!

The Spice Worlds – Secret Archives of the Vatican Podcast 88 is now available from

• iTunes
• Libsyn
• MixCloud

Tracks

1. Mystical East
   True Tiger
   http://truetiger.org/true-tiger-eye-to-eye-ep-due-late-february/
2. Persian Rebels
   Cottonmouth
   http://soundcloud.com/cottonmouthedge/persian-rebels
3. Mongol Step
   Otisto 23
   http://soundcloud.com/iot-records
4. Veiled Beauty, Dark Magic
   Secret Archives of the Vatican
   http://secretarchivesofthevatican.bandcamp.com/album/barbary-lion
5. Perils of Altamash
   East Stepper
   http://soundcloud.com/d1vineillusion
6. Voyager
   Kumarachi
   http://soundcloud.com/kumarachi
7. Ulaan Baatar Dub
   Cosmik Connection
   http://soundcloud.com/iot-records
8. Ashram
   Klute
   http://soundcloud.com/esppromo/klute-ashram-music-for-prophet-lp

Here is a link once again to the interview on 21 May: Interview

Here are Audioboo edits of Bobby Friction (and Jags Klimax) introducing and talking about our music on the other nights.

Here’s the track, Horse Warrior.

Here’s the track Four Bronze Elephants.

Here’s our track, Veiled Beauty, Dark Magic, which Bobby says he’ll playlist for next week.

During the week beginning 21 May 2012,   Secret Archives of the Vatican are BBC Introducing  artists on the Bobby Friction show on the BBC Asian Network.

The BBC says:

At BBC Introducing, we support unsigned, undiscovered and under the radar musicians.
We’ve brought all of the BBC’s supporters of unsigned music together to nurture and give great exposure to the freshest artists across the UK. If you’re making music, we want to hear from you. Your music could be played on our family of BBC radio shows, broadcast nationwide every week. If you’re really good, you might bag yourself a slot on the BBC Introducing stage at major events and festivals like Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds or the BBC’s Electric Proms.

Phew! Bobby Friction (who we’ve know since our first forays into clubland in the early 90s) has been playing Horse Warrior from our album Panjandrum:

On 21 May I was interviewed on his show and you can hear the interview HERE.   It’s about 14 minutes long.

Later in that show, there were some very nice comments from listeners.

Bobby will  be playing some of our tunes on 22, 23 and 24 May also.