Weekly Release Spotlight: Gonjasufi
Posted on 3/07/2010
Gonjasufi
[Warp]
A quick lesson in Middle Eastern spirituality may serve as the best preface to Los Angeles-raised, Las Vegas-stationed Sumach Ecks’ first album, recorded under the pseudonym Gonjasufi. Sufism, though easily mistaken by Wikipedia readers as simply a branch of Islam, is a belief system centered on the goal of discovering truth by shedding the “false self” and appreciating conflicting points of view. Recent Warp signee Ecks serves listeners a musical stew, combining psychedelic funk, digital circuit bending techno bleeps, trance-inducing sitar melodies and drones, and generally haunting metaphoric lyrics. Using his voice to entice like steam wafting from the curious concoction of complementary instrumental sounds and production techniques, A Sufi and a Killer delivers beauty through opposition, reflecting the Sufi ideological quest for truth through a diminished sense of self.
While the production of fellow Warp artists Gaslamp Killer and Flying Lotus create other-worldliness through reverb-heavy synthesizers and echoing looped vocals on “Kobwebz” and “Kowboyz & Indians”, A Sufi and a Killer retains an unmistakably analog vibe, thanks in part to the very organic rhythm section used for the end of “Sheep” and on “Change”. The entire record is accompanied by a steady, scraping hiss that warmly reminds listeners of the “old days”: gathering around the quadraphonic stereo, watching a wax disc spin endlessly beneath a needle, music encircling and engulfing all involved. Ecks and Silver Lake Records artist AGDM spent hours behind the same board the late J-Dilla used to transform rough cuts into intriguing sonic swirls. While fans have the omnipresent digital-age option to purchase (or pirate) A Sufi and a Killer online, Warp Records will be releasing and promoting both CD and vinyl formats, offering listeners who still care to collect music’s tangible artifacts the opportunity to do so.
Paying homage to one’s forebears, both musical and non-musical, is of utmost importance to Sumach Ecks. Acknowledging the wisdom and rebirth that accompany age, Ecks reminds listeners in track fifteen, the down-home-blues-inspired “Ageing”, that “Before you die/you will end up again a child”. After almost an hour’s worth of heavy food for thought, nearly five and a half minutes of silence punctuate the final track “Made” before a rousing outro. Whether the yoga-instructing songwriter included this bit to afford listeners stillness during which to digest or the record company sought to fill otherwise wasted disc space, the listener is left in anticipation of Gonjasufi’s next course.
Stream: Gonjasufi - Ancestors
Written by Alex Hamberger, Radio K volunteer.