JAUBI - Nafs AT PEACE
Spiritual Journey from Pakistan
JAUBI continues the Nafs journey, which commenced with the well received single “Satanic
Nafs” (featuring the remix by legendary LA producers The Gaslamp Killer & Mophono) released
in March 2021. Now JAUBI draws on the elements of North Indian classical music, Hip-Hop and
modal/spiritual jazz in their debut LP entitled “Nafs At Peace”.
Nafs ( نَفْس ) is an Arabic word meaning “self”/“soul”. There are three levels of Nafs described in the Qur’an; (I) the soul inclined to evil, (II) the self-reproaching soul and (III) the tranquil soul.
This journey officially began back in April 2019 when London’s multi- instrumentalist and 22a Record label boss Ed “Tenderlonious” Cawthorne and Polish pianist/composer Marek “Latarnik” Pędziwiatr of EABS/Błoto, visited the group to record in Lahore, Pakistan.
Together they channelled their personal struggles at that time into the two recording sessions allowing the musicians to find a spiritual path to transcendence through this musical purge. The Vox Humana Oslo chamber choir provides beautiful choral harmony on the opening track.
Nothing whatsoever was written down during the recording sessions - no sheet music and no song titles, which allowed the six musicians to forget about their worldly issues. In many ways, the journey represents an expression of gratitude and an acknowledgement that the musician's inspiration comes from a higher power.
The album cover portrays the mother of JAUBI’s bandleader, tearfully praying to God to get her son through that dark period of his life. The album title ‘Nafs At Peace’ refers to the last purification step the self has been through. At this level, the Self no longer struggles because one has complete love of God, by becoming at peace and tranquil with God’s will. We hope all can achieve the stage of “Nafs At Peace” … Inshallah.
JAUBI’s album ‘Nafs at Peace’ is due to be released by Astigmatic Records on 28th of May, 2021. The album will be available on vinyl, CD and all streaming platforms.
1. Seek Refuge 02:18
2. Insia 05:15
3. Raga Gurji Todi 06:13
4. Straight Path 07:27
5. Mosty 07:40
6. Zari 05:51
7. Nafs at Peace 07:54
All songs composed by Ali Riaz Baqar except for 'Mosty' composed by Marek Pędziwiatr
Ali Riaz Baqar - Guitar
Zohaib Hassan Khan - Sarangi
Qammar 'Vicky' Abbas - Drums
Kashif Ali Dhani - Tabla, Vocals
Tenderlonious - Flute, Soprano Saxophone
Latarnik - Fender Rhodes Mark II, Grand Piano, Yamaha PSR-550,
Korg MS-20, Moog Voyager, Hohner Clavinet Pianet Duo
The Vox Humana Chamber Choir - Vocals on 'Seek Refuge'
Recorded at Riot Studios in Lahore, Pakistan in April 2019 (A2, A3, A4, B1, B2) and Newtone Studios in Oslo, Norway in August 2019 (A1, B3)
Session Engineers: André Viervoll (Newtone Studios) annd Farhad Humayun (Riot Studios)
Mix: Rhys Downing
Mastering: Paweł Bartnik
Executive Producer: Łukasz Wojciechowski
A&R: Łukasz Wojciechowski, Sebastian Jóźwiak & Oliver Reeves
Photography: Ali Riaz Baqar, Uzma Rao, Sebastian Jóźwiak
Graphic design: Animisiewasz
Calligraphy: İlkay Kanar
