Second Sufis News
- updated 04/24/06
Second
Sufis new Double CD "Sea of Sky" Released
Dear
Friends,
The new double CD set from
Second Sufis, Sea of Sky, takes some significant departures from
our 'well travelled road'. For each disc in the set, we decided to include
arranged rock compositions to complement our loop-based improvisations. |
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The compositions
feature the use of vintage Mesa Boogie guitar and bass amplifiers that
give our electric sound more depth, presence and authenticity. Eric Farantino,
long-time student of Forever Einstein's John Roulat, provides his progressive
rock drumming skills on both rock compositions and Jerome Pier contributes
vocals on Ocean Mirror. Wheels in Wheels is a classic rock
trio instrumental with electric guitar, Chapman stick, and trap drums.
Ocean Mirror features lyrics, traditional trap drumming, and electric
guitar tightly interwoven with two-handed Chapman stick, poly-rhythmically
rocking as never before. Listen as a tidal wave of odd meter tension crashes
over you, a riptide of shredding sound.
Sea of
Sky also includes some pieces featuring acoustic guitar with Chapman
Stick. This combination of instruments creates a rich palette of sounds
that have not really been heard before, and presented musical opportunities
to create songs that have been calling to us for some time. This combination
produces an effect on tracks such as Conference of the Birds and
Break Before Dawn not unlike that of sunlight reflecting off rippling
water.
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Mosi-au-Tunya
musically captures the magnificence of the Zambezi river as it majestically
thunders over Victoria Falls and rises from the jungle below as an iridescent
mist. A River Runs Through It evokes the thrill seeking adventure
of a white water journey in classic Second Sufis jamming. Perpetual
Motion and Sojourn II add starless tones of a more crimson
hue. In other tracks, rhythmic grooves grow from a variety of exotic percussion
including clay jar drums, dhumbek, slit drum and tabla; over which exotic
horns, didgeridoos and a unique ceramic instrument called the "horn-drum;"
create their evocative and mysterious textures. Over these, Les Paul and
Chapman stick complete a collection of impressionist soundscapes that
range from atmospheric to oceanic.
Simply put,
Sea of Sky is Second Sufis at their zenith, including highly accessible
tunes in the progressive rock, world music, psychedelic, and ambient genres.
Order your
copy today from one of our allied distributors
or at our online store.
|
Press
Release for new Double CD
Dear Friends,
What Second Sufis have always
tried to do is to capture is the reality of the creative process, in the moment,
instead of creating a contrived presentation or program that tries (as it often
fails) to recapture the musical
event in a carefully controlled and produced form. With this approach come some
unpredictabilities and hazards that become the challenge for us as musicians
who want recognition from a world where most listeners demand carefully produced
and flawless work.
More than ever before, our
new release satisfies this demand without compromising the core principles of
our approach or the diminishing our own satisfaction with the result. All tracks
are live, un-dubbed recordings. As some of you may know, our "dub"
effect is accomplished by real-time hit-or-miss digital sampling and looping
where one misstep would likely compromise the entire effort.
One cut only has a vocal track
dubbed in. This was done out of necessity as the singer was not able to record
with us in person this year. Still, the mixes are carefully balanced to make
all the instruments clearly audible. The tempos and polyrhythmic percussion
tracks are precise. The pieces do not take long to develop into clear themes.
We believe the fact that all of these pieces, excepting the two pieces written
for rock trio, are entirely improvised, says something about the meaning and
value of our approach.
Some of you reading will remember
witnessing Second Sufis performance outside NEARFest 2003 using this live-looping
process. The new CD recordings were done in exactly the same way as if they
were performances. In fact, some of the recording sessions used for the planned
release were made as we rehearsed for our 2003 performances. It was a highly
emotional time, with luminous energies circling about and sparks constantly
flying (no overstatement). Like the performances, the music slowly lifts itself
into the air like some great bird, gathering altitude and momentum until it
is soaring above the clouds. Slow to take off, perhaps, but once it does...
We wondered how this release,
which we attempted to this the most accessible Second Sufi music yet, will be
received by our longstanding listeners (as opposed to new listeners just starting
to listen to our music). We have tried to take account of each. There are written
pieces featuring vocal lyrics and trap drumming, courtesy of two very talented
friends of the band. Other pieces are complete and musical improvisations based
on our blend of world and progressive music. The percussive introductions to
pieces have been included in most cases so that the listener can hear the "track
layering" developing
as the music unfolds. Some will no doubt comment, that many of the cuts would
be good for movie soundtracks, which is true, never-the-less we have provided
some center pieces that are complete and can be fully appreciated standing in
the spotlight on their own.
Some of the pieces are bitter-sweet
nostalgic, and will hopelessly convey some star-less reminder of that ragged
hole in our uncollected soul where progressive rock comes from. Other pieces
are more rock oriented. Then there are our world music pieces. This CD will
feature as well some very successful improvisations featuring Chapman Stick
and Ovation acoustic guitar. In our joint opinion these are the finest examples
of that kind of musical collaboration ever recorded.
It was always our hope to
produce the kind of music someone could imagine they might hear from a band
named Second Sufis, with all the mystery and wonder that name suggests. In the
past certain tracks we released certainly lived up to this expectation, for
example "Rein of Nails" from our CD Infectious Substance, or "Annihilation
III" and the title track "Pearl" from our earlier release Pearl.
In much the same way, we feel this is positively true of every track on the
new disks about to be released. Please make room for us in your new music budget
and look for the immanent release of our new double-CD set in this spring.
Sincerely,
Second Sufis
Some
CD's no longer available
We are sorry to say that 4
of our previous releases are no longer available.
'Metroplex' 
,
'Soft Clock' 
, 'Response Surface'
, and 'Air Guitar' 
are out of print.
New
CD in the Works!!!!!
Yes. You heard it right. We
are working hard on another CD. We are currently reviewing material and selecting
tracks for the CD. We are planning to begin mastering the CD this December and
are hoping for a spring 2006 release. There will be some surprises on the CD.
There will be more information on all of this soon so stay tuned.
New Contact Information
Our postal mail address has
changed again. Please direct all correspondence to the following address:
Second Sufis
P.O. Box 102
Buchanan, NY 10511-9998
NEARfest 2003 - MP3 Samples
We have finished mastering
the material from our performance. We are releasing the last two improvisations,
Improv 5 and Improv 6, as MP3s on our website. Improv 5, a psychedelic piece
that transforms into a 70's crimsonish sort of thing, was released on Monday,
July 7th. Improv 6, more of a trance-dirge-bolero, has just been released (Thursday,
July 10th). Both Improvs are approximately 20 minutes so the MP3 files are relatively
large, about 15mb each. You can find the Improvs here.
NEARfest 2003 - Second Sufis
Performance
We had a wonderful time performing
outside at NEARfest. We want to thank everyone for their support. It was truly
an honor to perform. We have mastered some of the material from the performance
and will be releasing it on our website as MP3s. Below are some pictures from
the performance.
NEARfest 2003
We are confirmed to perform
outside at NEARfest 2003 on Saturday, June 28th. We will be performing during
the dinner break, 6:15 to 8:15, on the steps of the War Memorial. We are very
excited and look forward to seeing you there.
For information on NEARFest
: http://www.nearfest.com/nearfest/
CD Release News 2003
Our new CD, "Infectious
Substance" is released and now available! You can purchase Infectious
Substance using our online store, or
from one of our distributers.
Please support our distributers and retailers;
you know they have to be doing it for the music. Click
here for up to date reviews and interviews.
Our Web Site has been updated
quite a bit for this release.
If you live in Connecticut,
you can pick up Infectious Substance, Pearl,
and Seven Rays at
Distributers, independent-minded
CD stores, and DJs should contact info@secondsufis.com
if interested in wholesaling or retailing our CDs.
Listen to Second Sufis on
Radio Infoweb. Click
the Live link to listen (if you are behind a firewall, click the links
for music via Modem or via DSL/Cable).
We're also on Delicious
Agony webradio. Go to their guestbook
and let them know you want to hear us more.
Check out our favorite
links for a more complete list of radio stations, online and otherwise that
are worth checking out.
Tour Dates 2003
Spring 2003
We are confirmed to perform
at the 2003 Philadelphia Underground Music & Culture Festival in Philadelphia
with DreadNaught, The Red Masque, and IZZ at the Philadelphia Underground Music
and Culture Festival. This is a multimedia, music and art event that will feature
art films, ethnic foods, alternative artists, fire breathers, dancer, etc. Thanks
to Lynnette Shelley of The
Red Masque for setting this maelstrom of the wonderous in motion.
WHEN: March 8, 7 p.m. $10
advance tickets/$12 at the door
WHERE: Sedgwick Cultural Center,
7137 Germantown Avenue,
Philadelphia, PA 19119; 215-248-9229;www.sedgwickcenter.org.
CONTACT: info@sedgwickcenter.org
and theredmasque@yahoo.com
For further info, click the
picture below:.
Working on additional dates,
to be announced.
Contact info@secondsufis.com
for Second Sufis booking information. Also looking for people willing to help
coordinate a progressive-world-experimental mini-fest event in the Boston area.
New Interview 01/13/03
Read the new
interview by Sergio Vilar on the Nucleus web page from Argentina.
Once the Nucleus web page appears, click Progressive & Symphonic,
then click Interviews. Look for Second Sufis under "S." This
interview provides some information on our involvement in early guitar craft,
as well as our take on the live music scene in the US and way of working.
Also see our reviews
page for CD reviews from Nucleus and other sources.
Tour Dates 2002
Fall 2002
CD Release News 2002
Our new CD, "Pearl"
is released and now available! You can purchase Pearl using our online
store or one of the distributers
or stores who have picked it up. Please support our distributers and retailers,
you know they have to be doing it for the music. Click
here for up to date reviews and interviews.
Both Pearl and the previous
release Seven Rays are available online from Wayside Music, the online distributor
for Cuneiform, Big Balloon Records, and The Laser's Edge. Several of our earlier
CDs are also available from Big Balloon.
If you live in Connecticut,
you can also pick up Pearl and Seven Rays at Brass City Records, Waterbury or
at Gerosa Records in Brookfield. You can also find our new CD Pearl at Psyclone
Soundz in Quid Australia. More locations to be announced.
We obtained the permission
of glasswork artist John Simpson to use an image of his glass artwork, photographed
by Tommy Olof Elder, as the cover art for "Pearl." For more information
on Mr. Simpson and his fiery art, see http://www.megaplanet.com/.
Distributers, independent-minded
CD stores, and DJs should contact info@secondsufis.com
if interested in wholesaling or retailing our CDs.
Listen to Second Sufis on
Radio Infoweb. Click
the Live link to listen (if you are behind a firewall, click the links
for music via Modem or via DSL/Cable).
We're also on Delicious
Agony webradio. Go to their guestbook
and let them know you want to hear us more.
Reviews 2001
Second Sufis Interview
with Marcelo Sliveyra of Progfreaks.com.
Second Sufis reviewed by ProgFreaks.com.
A fair review.
Recording Sessions 2001
Summer recording sessions
were completed the first week in August 2001. Special guest Jerome Pier and
be in attendance. Another later session with Mark Greeno occurred over labor
day weekend with with special guest Mark Greeno.
Tour Dates 2000
Friday June 30th, 8:00 PM
Flywheel
(413) 527-9800
2 Holyoke Street
Easthampton, MA, US
March 25th, 2:00 PM
Gerosa Records (203)
775-7074
246 Federal Road
Brookfield Connecticut, USA
Second Sufis At Gerosa
Records with special guest Jerome Pier
Feb. 17, 8:00 PM
The
Buttonwood Tree
605 Main Street
Middeltown, Connecticut, USA
Second Sufis At the
Buttonwood Tree
CANCELLED DUE TO FIRE
Brass City Records
Meadow St., Waterbury Connecticut,
USA
