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Mohamed Assani Releases “Lullaby for Guli”

By Kath Galasso on May 25, 2022

Mohamed Assani has returned with a meaning-rich story brought to life in new official music video for “Lullaby for Guli”, an impassioned ode to Mother’s everywhere featured on his acclaimed “Wayfinder” album. Mohamed’s original vision is defined both by his love for and mastery of the sitar, and his relentlessly experimental spirit which guides him to fuse Electronica, Classical, World, Jazz and Progressive Rock influences in his music.

Vancouver Musician’s Tribute to All Mothers

Mohamed Assani is a Vancouver-based sitarist and composer, known for his genre defying approach to music making. According to the Georgia Straight Newspaper, “Assani is both a musician who’s deeply rooted in the artistic traditions of South Asia and a one-of-a-kind innovator who’s bent on ensuring that those age-old forms will survive and grow in the modern era.”

His latest album, Wayfinder, features a tribute to mothers called Lullaby for Guli. According to Assani, “Often a child’s first experience of music is in the form of a lullaby sung to them by their mothers. This was definitely the case for me – my mother sang me lullabies and told me wonderful stories – stories that shaped me and how I viewed the world.” In deep appreciation of this act of love, Assani wrote a lullaby particularly for his mother and as a tribute to all mothers, whose stories and songs inspire us.

The music video for Lullaby for Guli which has been produced by Pool Service Productions can be found on Assani’s YouTube channel.

Musical traveler Mohamed Assani takes his sitar in a completely new and unexpected direction— bringing together unforeseen musical worlds in an original album that relentlessly pushes at the frontiers of cultural and musical hybridity. Using a refreshing, contemporary sound palette, Wayfinder incorporates a range of stylistic influences, including Indian/Pakistani Classical, Middle Eastern music, jazz, funk, Western harmony, ambient & electronic music and more. Both acoustic and electronic, it features sitar, tabla, mridangam, kanjira, mbira, voice and electronic sounds. It has been produced by Emmy and Juno-nominated music producer, Adham Shaikh.

This album of original music was created over many nights, between midnight and 5am, in the middle of the rainforest in the Kootenay Mountains of B.C., Canada. There were bears and cougars and other wildlife always close by and that wild atmosphere is captured in the music.

According to Jazz Views, “This music is nothing short of bewitching. It surprises, delights and leaves the listener lifted, overwhelmed yet strangely calm. Not only can I understand how people are bewitched by this music, I might be myself.”

Watch the “Lullaby for Guli” on Youtube.

Stream the full “Wayfinder” album on Spotify.
Stream on Bandcamp.

Websites:
Official Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Spotify
Bandcamp
Soundcloud
Youtube Channel

Artist Biography:
Mohamed Assani is a sitarist and composer, known for his genre-defying approach to music making. Trained in both Indian/Pakistani and Western Classical music, his music-making seamlessly draws from different genres and cultures with depth and authenticity. According to the Georgia Straight Newspaper, “Assani is both a musician who’s deeply rooted in the artistic traditions of South Asia and a one-of-a-kind innovator who’s bent on ensuring that those age-old forms will survive and grow in the modern era.”

Mohamed has brought his sitar to new audiences across the globe through innovative collaborations that have stretched the boundaries of his instrument. Career highlights include co-writing a sitar concerto that was performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, performing for his Royal Highness the Aga Khan and being invited to teach at London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Music.

In April 2020, Mohamed launched his newest album, Wayfinder. Using a refreshing, contemporary sound palette, Wayfinder incorporates a range of stylistic influences, including Indian/Pakistani Classical, Middle Eastern, jazz, funk, Western Classical, ambient & electronic music. It was produced by Juno and Emmy nominated producer, Adham Shaikh. According to Vinyl Chapters, “The way Mohamed Assani has manipulated, caressed and amalgamated so many different styles under the watchful rule of his sitar playing is nothing short of mesmeric.”

Mohamed’s musical journey began at Dartington College of Arts in England, where he did a degree in Western Classical and World music. He then went on to learn sitar in the traditional way and is a senior disciple of Ustad Ashraf Sharif Khan of the Poonch Gharana.

Mohamed is a leader in his field – forging new paths for his music to develop and grow, while remaining committed to the rich roots from which his tradition has emerged. He lives in Vancouver, Canada.