Updated April 4, 2003
Sufis are an esoteric brotherhood. Some sufis are muslims. Other sufis might be christian, buddhist, hindu, or even atheist. Sufis search for truth. One branch of the sufis (wearers of wool) familiar to many are the whirling dervishes of Central Asia. Sufis conduct their spiritual life within practical and disciplined activities such as precision movement (dance), allegorical writing, science, spiritual alchemy, and music. Sufi influence is in large part responsible for the scientific method, the craft guilds of medieval Europe, romantic poetry and naturalistic art, the notion of conscious evolution, and the advent of human potential movements. Sufis were among the first to believe and die for freedom of thought and speech. Most sufi schools in central Asia are gone, killed off in the midst of political and religious upheaval. The sufis that remain are often persecuted by the Wahabis and other orthodox factions of the two branches of Islam. However, people identifying themselves as sufis can be found today around the world.
As the well known poet and Sufi of the 20th century, Robert Graves, puts it, "The natural Sufi may be as common in the West as in the East, and may come dressed as a general, a merchant, a lawyer, a schoolmaster, a housewife, anything. To be 'in the world, but not of it,' free from ambition, greed, intellectual pride, blind obedience to custom, or awe of persons higher in rank; that is the Sufi ideal." Are you a Sufi according to this description?
"The band is Second Sufis. We approach music sufi-fashion."
Second Sufis feature the Chapman Electric Stick, a ten stringed instrument with the range of a piano, played by James Mott. Also called the Chapman Electric Touchboard, the Stick is designed for two handed tapping technique. Jim also contributes bass, acoustic guitar, various horns, keyboard, udu, and other percussion. Mike Gorman can be heard on electric guitar, acoustic guitar, oud, tabla and other percussion. The recording philosophy is simple - record live, without overdubs, to capture the creative moment. We are attempting to perform improvised music within certain structural formalisms.
We categorize our music progressive/experimental/world-ambient. The one constant in this music is change, and each new release is a vastly different listening experience from all the others.
For more perspective into the Sufism we have been reading go here.