A brief introduction to Niyaz performance and the Sufi tradition in regards to Middle Eastern culture.
By Tong Tong
In a collision of old and new, the electronic group Niyaz displays the beauty of ethnic and traditional art through the use of lighting, responsive projections, trance music, and sacred dances.
At 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Hancher, the group will perform using advanced projection techniques and contemporary electro-acoustic trance music.
Niyaz is described by the Huffington Post as “an evolutionary force in contemporary Middle Eastern music.”
The group was founded in 2004 and based in Montréal. The duo consists JUNO Award nominees vocalist Azam Ali and composer and multi-instrumentalist Loga Ramin Torkian.
Guided by the ancient wisdom of Sufi mysticism, Niyaz is committed to fight against injustice and oppression in the world with music.
Sufi is a religious and ethnic tradition in Islamic culture, which associated with dance and music practices. People in the group use dance to induce a meditative state, during which they can be opened and connected to God.
The Fourth Light Project is a new step forward for the group. It defies most standards of “world music” and presents the bold combination to the world audience. Together the duo, with fellow collaborator and visual artist Jérôme Delapierre, combine real-time responsive projections, music, and dance to create the experience
Lead singer and co-composer Ali will take on the role of electronic musician and has composed all the beats.
The Niyaz performance will also be a feminist work, and the figure that served as the main source of inspiration is the first female Sufi mystic, Rabia al-Basri, an eighth-century Muslim saint. Denise Filios, a UI associate professor of Spanish & Portuguese, said the performances will help refute stereotypes surrounding women in the Middle East and Islam.
“There are actually many female mystics, many female Sufi, and they are equal spiritually with Sufi men,” she said. “So this is like feminism in the East, there is such a thing as Islam[ic] feminism.”
Time: Saturday, September 30, 2017, 7:30 pm
Place: Hancher, Hadley stage
Cost: $10-$35