Gonjasufi – A Sufi & A Killer (Warp/Inertia)

Previously known under the name of Sumach, the self proclaimed sufi has reinvented himself as Gonjasufi, and has now been signed to Warp Records creating quite a buzz in the music press.

A Sufi & A Killer is the debut Gonjasufi release since this reinvention, with the main production duties falling to The Gaslamp Killer, with contributions from Flying Lotus and Mainframe, and with the combination of these producers and the infectious ramblings of Gonjasufi, it was always going to be a release that would be essential to check out.

There is an immediacy to the lo-fi, soul, funk, psychedelic hip hop oddity, but I have been unable to stop listening to it. Each new listen hooks you even more, the scope of styles, the crazy lyrics, the infectious psychedelic beats and folk song sensibilities, is enough to make this a future classic. Genre, style and pretension are stripped away to let the sufi speak, and while the producers may just be constructing instrumentals for Gonjasufi to ramble over, it becomes apparent that the music is a perfect compliment to his singing style.

Spaced out psychedelia is well represented here on “Kobwebs”, “Sheep”, “Stardustin’”, “Kowboys & Indians”, “Love Of Reign”, “Klowds”, “Aging” and “I’ve Given”, and even the Flying Lotus produced “Ancestors” has a modern electronic psychedelic spin to it, the sounds almost circling each each to create a tripped out fog of sound. “Sheep” has to be my favourite, a joy of a song, the lyrics are just so wonderful, so nonsensical yet poignant, adapting to the many shifts in the song structure, from the folky introduction, and the summery psychedelia of the main part, “I wish I was a sheep, instead of a lion, cause then I wouldn’ have to eat, animals that are are dyin…” The joyous lament eventually shifts to something more snarly, “I’m a lion babe, feeding off the sheep that graze… I’m a lion hey, see me livin in the shade, I have everyone afraid, roamin so no one is safe”, over vintage Turkish psychedelic mayhem. Gonjasufi spits over what sounds like a Stooges riff on “SuzieQ”, totally distorting his vocals, while “Kowboys & Indians” carries forward the distortion over more Middle Eastern psychedelic plundering from The Gaslamp Killer, rambling like the madman he probably is. The versatility astounds, injecting a warm flurry of soul into “Change”, and the pseudo-disco of “Candylane”, or the simplistic synthesizer and basic drum machine meanderings of “Holidays”. Big beats, bass, and simple piano hook carry “Advice” to somewhere else, repetition affecting the ramblings to great effect, “who will you turn to, when no ones lovin you, not even your own wet dream…” The Turkish psychedelic sounds return on “Klowds”, it’s a sound The Gaslamp Killer does well, and in conjunction with the vocals of Gonjasufi, you’re almost transformed back to those heydays of psychedelic rock experimentation. “Made” brings everything down again, for the ending, warm soft horns, sluggish slow break, soft tones of a sufi, to fade…

Nothing is what it seems though, minutes of silence followed by more distorted vocals over a 60′ garage loop, the man has to rant some more, and I for one don’ mind one bit. What he says may not always make sense, but that is a good thing I think, enabling him to avoid being pigeon-holed to one particular style. Keeping things in their musical family, MRR (from MRR-ADM and MHE) has produced some great artwork.

I would go as far to say this is already my favourite album of 2010, and although its early days, I’d lay money on this still being in my top ten at the end of the year. There is so much to like about this record, it just leaves you wanting more, so it now becomes essential to purchase every 7” release from the album, just to hear the b-side. An outstandingly brilliant album.

Wayne Stronell