Singing Back To Ziryab By Al Gromer Khan

 

Singing Back To Ziryab

By

Al Gromer Khan

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

Receiving a new Al Gromer Khan album is like a birthday present that comes early, most will know I am not only a big fan of his music, but also, that this musician is one of the reasons I have now become a musician myself, his releases are a constant source of inspiration to me. I am therefore elated that I get the opportunity to write about his brand new album on offer entitled, Singing Back to Ziryab.

Who is Ziryab I hear you say, well in short I guess you might call him a 9^th Century musical, artistic, multi-talented James Dean of his day, certainly a free spirit who crossed many boundaries in his life, because he simply could, but there was a delicious sensuality about his style, as there is about this quite smooth and sensory delight of an album.

The first piece is a prime example of this slow and most pleasurable presentation, and Al Gromer Khans keyboards, synths and Sitar manifest a whole bed of perfection to lie upon, and just simply enjoy a new form of tone and timbre.

The title track is now upon us Singing Back To Ziryab, this grand picture frame of genius radiates all around us with such a delicate passion; the ambience of this composition cannot be understated, and the masters Sitar works a wonderful spell to enchant us, the ever eager listener, it is one that literally takes us on an almost 10 minute journey with the artist, and of course Ziryab himself.

Malakosha Xb is one of those pieces that floats with a desire to bring into creation a place of calmness beyond supposed perception, for me the performance was so tranquil and chilled, the harmonic resonance here is sublime, and the vocalisations almost ethereal in construction, one has to note the beat, it is so very pleasing to the senses indeed.

As we move ever onward and towards the centre of the album, we come across a track called Jimi of Silence. The manifestation here is once more fluent and creates a mood of utter ambience, now add in the percussive elements and you have another rhythmic arrangement that is simply undeniably addictive, and most certainly packed with a musical pleasure of the most delicious of slow tempos.

The shortest piece on the album is Musqat, I would urge the use of headphones on this album, but especially for the effects on this track, they are sensational, and seem to dance from one side to the other in a smooth and rhythmic energy of ambient perfection.

We now begin our descent into the second half of the release and as we do so, we come across a creative masterpiece entitled Mine To Mend. The percussive cadence here is deep yet sensitive in its approach, thus manifesting yet another wonderfully ambient landscape to explore with complete willingness.

This entire album is blissful and gives us many moments of almost meditative joy to revel within, that can most certainly be found within the arrangement Darbar, this is a multi-dimensional composition that became a favourite of mine very quickly, there is a mysterious essence here that is so appealing, and Gromer Khans instrumentation and Sitar, seems to create this textured tapestry of sequences as we go. This is one of those pieces that would be very easy to leave on repeat and just be.

The hovering reality of the penultimate track is now before us and called Telepath. This ethereal delight swirls around our senses bring us a veritable cloud of tone, ambience and atmospherics. The character of this composition is a traditional milieu for the artist, and it is a locale we are more than happy to just sit in and enjoy, the keyboards, synths and vocalisations manifest one of, if not the, most relaxed songs from the whole album.

Our last track is entitled Sieger, and Al Gromer Khan leaves us where he found us, with a reminder of the beautifully slow tempos and sensual beats that are indeed all that we now know as Singing Back To Ziryab. This as an ending composition that is the perfect arrangement to leave the project with, a steady quiet beat, in a very slow pattern that utterly enhances the minds ability to be both peaceful and pleasurable.

Singing Back To Ziryab by Al Gromer Khan is a unique album that has certainly been worth waiting for, we can all now rest assured that the master of ambient vibes is back with us, and this sensually creative slice of ambience is a sign that all is well in the world of ambient music and beyond. Singing Back To Ziryab by Al Gromer Khan isn’t just an album to place on your wish list, it is a release to buy now and enjoy in a timeless beautiful way, your mind, body and soul will love you for it.