Gonja Sufi - A Sufi and A Killer (Warp records, 2010)

Lock it Down has been waiting for this album. Finally someone brewed an electronic psychedelic potion of of all those funky & freaky exotic records we love. Earlier, we already talked about the emergence of the LA scene around Flying Lotus & Gaslamp Killer and now the next chapter reveals itself: GonjaSufi’s album A Sufi And A Killer, produced by the Gaslampkiller, was released on Warp records last month (check them here on Youtube). Gonjasufi also provided vocals on the Flying Lotus track Testament (on the Los Angeles album), but his own release really did it for me. Captivating yet uneasy, freaky, funky, dark but spiritual. In touch with the past, but as uptodate as it gets. The Sound of Urgency. Once in a a while a record comes along which sums up the stuff you like, and combines it in a way you hadn’t heard before. A Sufi and A Killer is a record like that. Gonjasufi spits his distorted lyrics over beats filled with sound from records we love. The Turkish psychrock legend Erkin Koray is heard various times, his tune Yagmur is versioned into Kobwebz and Seni Her Gordugumde (aka I’nan Ki) into I’ve Given. Both Erkin Koray tracks are featured on his 1973 album on Istanbul records. As a great fan of Spanish seventies flamenco-hybrids I was thrilled to hear the voice of Las Grecas in the single Cowboys & Indians, sampling their 1974 tune Bella Kali (from their classic first album Gipsy Rock). L.A.'s Spirit gave their The Other Song (from Son of Spirit, 1976) for Gonja to recycle it to Dust. It seems he's putting a band together as we speak, can't wait to experience this in a live setting. Check out this little mix by Anikulapo, combining the Sufi songs with the originals.

Obviously, there tons more of samples, if anyone has any more suggestions, I’d love to hear it

And remember to buy this album!

Links:

gonjasufi: http://www.sufisays.com/
gaslamp killer: http://www.thegaslampkiller.com/
flying lotus: http://www.flying-lotus.com/
warp records: http://warp.net/