21 Niyaz/Azam Ali - Al Khaliq (The Creator) Canada/Iran
Oh my gosh I am just melting - its the only was I can describe myself. External layers of my identity falling away and I am just pure bare touched by the beauty I see and hear. My molecules just want to became the music and obsessively I want to be part of that beauty whilst my logic and common sense fight my spirit saying its impossible. It all started when I saw the video below (click on the vimeo to learn more about this brilliant collaboration). This lead me to Al-Khaliq.
According to my source the 11th name Al-Khaliq is the only one who creates. It is the active, dynamic source of creation, and the continuous activity of creation. There is no beginning to it and no end, nor any rest in the middle. Every moment reveals Al Khaliq in action, as well as the fruits of the action. A variation of Al Khaliq’s root means to measure a piece of leather or any material and see that is is beautifully proportioned in design before cutting it and sewing the pieces together. Prior to anything being made, Al Khaliq is the one who imagines all the possibilities. It is the innate disposition of God to imagine the universe.
So then my heart went to Niyaz and Azam Ali whose music is like no other. Capturing my goth, punk, sufi, punjabi, arabic influences all rolled together - these guys are just my inspiration. I ache for more people to join this scene as these guys just lead and blow my mind away. They are the essence of oneness in how they blend the many languages, cultures, music styles. They are truly to be celebrated in that not one culture dominates them. Living in an urban city that is so diverse I would have hoped for lots of Niyaz type music going on but Im unable to hear it/see it. I know the biggest reason for this is survival and in absence of travel and connections our worlds are limited. I hope Niyaz can begin to inspire. Please listen to the Niyaz you tube mixes of their albums. Click the video below in you tube and you can see english translation and also hear other songs.
What does Al Khaliq remind you of?
Just to point out In March 2015, Niyaz released their fourth full-length studio album entitled “The Fourth Light,” a tribute to the first female Sufi mystic and poet Rabia Al Basri who was born in the 8th century in Iraq. She is recognized as a saint as she was the one who set forth the doctrine of Divine Love and non-duality, which today lie at the heart of Sufi mysticism. Though her role continues to be diminished in value because she was a woman, it bears great significance in today’s modern world where women are still relentlessly striving in every aspect of life, to rise above the status of inferiority placed on them by patriarchal societies and laws. “The Fourth Light” has received rave reviews and features on The BBC World Service, Huffington Post, NPR, PRI’s The World and MTV Iggy. Niyaz is currently touring the new album internationally.