Asian Arts Agency intern Alison brings you a quick guide to Sufi music!

Sufi music is the devotional music of Sufism, a mystical part of Islam that deals with the purification of the inner self. Sufi teacher Ahmad ibn Ajiba once defined Sufism as “a science through which one can know how to travel into the presence of the Divine, purify one’s inner self from filth, and beautify it with a variety of praiseworthy traits”.

For Sufi followers around the world, music and singing is at the heart of expressing their devotion to God. The devotional practices of Sufis vary widely, and also include art, poetry, recitation, dance and meditation.

Although Sufi music is most common in the Indian subcontinent, various forms exist around the world in Turkey, Senegal, North Africa, and even as far away as Indonesia.

The most well known style of Sufi music is Qawwali, a distinctive fusion of devotional poetry and Hindustani music, as made famous throughout the world through the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. It is often inspired by the works of famous Sufi poets, such as Rumi, Hafiz and Khwaja Ghulam Farid.

British Historian William Dalrymple travelled around the world exploring Sufi music in all its forms in the 2005 documentary Sufi Soul: The Mystic Music of Islam, which you can find on YouTube.

If you want to experience this spiritual and entrancing style of music live for yourself, you’re in luck! You can catch leading Pakistani Sufi musician, and 2006 BBC World Music Award winner, Sain Zahoor on his full UK tour starting this weekend.

Sun 27 Sep – Barbican, London
Tue 29 Sep – Colston Hall, Bristol
Wed 30 Sep – Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Thu 1 Oct – Howard Assembly Room, Leeds
Sun 4 Oct – Saif Ul Maluk Festival, Bradford
Mon 5 Oct – Burnley Arts Centre, Burnley
Tue 6 Oct – Lakeside Arts, Nottingham

Further information and all tickets available HERE.

Sunday 6th September was a very busy day for us here at Asian Arts Agency!

We started the day with our stall at the fantastic Make Sunday Special event on Corn St in the city centre. This was the last Make Sunday Special event of the year but it was nothing short of special, packed with the usual mix of music, food, fun and shopping. We had great (and quite messy) fun with our rice game, where children (and a few too many adults…) competed over who could carry the most spoonfuls of rice from one plate to another in 30 seconds – without using their hands! Our winner was a young boy called Hari with a landslide victory of 16 spoonfuls,

But the stars of the day were our very own Rajasthan Heritage Brass Band, who blew everyone away with three performances of their exciting fusion of folk, jazz, Bhangra and Bollywood hits. Their 3pm performance in particular had a lot of attention, and attracted a huge crowd of smiling, clapping and dancing people. Bristol Mayor George Ferguson even stopped by to tell us how much he enjoyed the show!

But the excitement didn’t end there. In the evening the incredible Kiran Ahluwalia performed at the Bristol Folk House. This was the Indo-Canadian singer’s penultimate show on her UK tour spanning numerous dates and festivals (including the sold-out Shambala festival), and she gave a truly magical performance. The multi-award winning musician dazzled us all with her unique blend of Indian classical music, western jazz and Saharan blues with a modern twist. She played an inspiring mixture of hits from her back catalogue, featuring songs from her Juno award-winning albums Wanderlust (2007) and Aam Zameen: Common Ground (2011), and of course her fabulous latest release Sanata: Stillness (2014). The crowd loved every minute of her two-hour show and here are some things they had to say about it:

“Beautiful!”

“An interesting fusion of Indian and Western styles. Excellent musicianship and singing.”

“A wonderful way to spend a Sunday evening, expanding our musical horizons. A great gig and perfect venue!”

“So pleased to get the chance to see Kiran live and so close-up and close to home – thank you!”

“I thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful programme. It was mesmerizing.”

“AMAZING!!”

If you missed Kiran at Bristol or anywhere else, there’s still time to catch her at Rich Mix in London on Tuesday 8th September at 8pm. (Tickets: £12 on the door/£10 in advance.)

Stay tuned for more exciting events coming up this Autumn!

It’s that time of year: festival season! This summer Asian Arts Agency are delighted to be extending the reach of our work and partnering with some of the best world music and arts festivals in the UK to bring South Asian music and performance to larger audiences. Here’s a sneak peek!

Swami – Bristol Harbour Festival

18th July, 8.45PM

Swami will storm back to Bristol Harbour Festival this July for one of their famous show-stealing sets. Acclaimed by BBC DJ Bobby Friction as “the future of Asian music”, Swami have performed around the world and built up an international fanbase crazy about their innovative electropop vibes. Join us in Queen Square for a show that will leave you breathless!

Red Baraat – WOMAD UK Festival

25th July, 5PM

26th July, 7.15PM

We’ll be bringing the dhol ‘n’ brass boys Red Baraat all the way from New York City to perform at WOMAD UK in Charlton Park, one of the most famous world music festivals. Red Baraat will perform twice and present one educational workshop.

Kiran Ahluwalia UK Tour

As part of her Asian Arts Agency produced UK summer tour, Kiran Ahluwalia will be performing at a range of venues and festivals in August. Award-winning and beloved by her audiences, Kiran’s music explores many genres and shades, and is a hybrid of Indian and Pakistani grooves, Saharan blues, and jazz. See her at:

Edinburgh Mela – 29th August

Greenbelt Festival – 30th August

Shambala – 30th August

Tuesday 16^th June saw Asian Arts Agency kick off our summer season with a very special day of education activity. Working in partnership with Bath Festivals, we produced a fun – packed day of Punjabi song and dance at Writhlington School in Radstock, Bath. Enlisting the services of bhangra maestros 4 x4, we delivered two exciting workshops and a performance.

4 x 4 worked with Year 8 students from the school, giving them an insight into the different drums used, the traditional costume, and of course, how to perform those signature bhangra moves!

After a well-earned lunch break, the day was rounded off with a special performance from the band in the school theatre. There was plenty of audience participation, with 4 x 4 teaching the audience dance moves. There was even a teacher who volunteered to go onstage and take part, dressed in traditional costume! Finally, students from the workshops joined the band onstage, using props and costumes to create a grand finale finish.

We had fantastic attendance for all the sessions, with over forty students taking part in the workshops and around 300 students from 7 feeder schools attending the performance. The day was a huge success for the Agency, with students and teachers getting a chance to engage with this positive, vibrant art form first hand. Here’s just some of the great feedback we had from students on the day:

“I enjoyed learning about the Northern Indian culture and how this linked to the dance. The outfits were beautiful and I felt energetic whilst dancing.”

“I thought that the workshop was really interesting and I never thought that I would have so much fun on a Tuesday!”

“Sad it’s over. Want to do it again!”

“It was amazing. It was really interesting learning Indian Dance moves.”

With the first hints of spring in the air, at Asian Arts Agency we’re excited about the summer to come!

It’s been a busy and successful period for us over the last few months. We produced a tour with Maestro of the Sarod Amjad Ali Khan and his sons, Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan, that went to Southampton, Bristol, and Leeds and was described by audiences as “amazing, unique, a privilege”. There was a great show before Christmas by bhangra legends Alaap, and Talvin Singh had another highly appreciated performance of Devi to a packed and enraptured audience in Bournemouth. The Desh Project also reached its culmination, with a launch day and two weeks spent on exhibition in Bristol’s M Shed, and another week-long digital exhibition in Plymouth at the Devonport Guildhall, inspiring visitors across the south west.

Now, we’re looking forward to summer 2015, when we will bring you another great range of shows from talented and exciting performers! Stay tuned to find out more – but fans of Kiran Ahluwalia’s beautiful shows from last year will be pleased…