Worlds Within Worlds has announced the release of Safa from acclaimed Palestinian oud player Nizar Rohana. His last full-length album, Furat (Euphrates), featured trio performances of oud, double bass and percussion; for his third, we are treated to purely solo oud performances.
Music is a huge part of Nizar’s life, and playing the oud is a tradition passed on from his father, who would often play at family gatherings, accompanied by his mother, on Darbukah or whatever percussion instrument was available. “This might sound cliché, but I can’t imagine my life without music,” explains Nizar. “My life is about music; I connect to the world through music. It has always and still is guiding my development as a person and as a human being.”
The first album single and title track are accompanied by a live video performance filmed last year at Dearworld Studio (NL). The album is described as his most refined and intimate release to date – a reflection on his life’s journey with the oud and where those snaking paths might lead in future. Talking about the meaning of Safa, he shares, “Safa has few meanings in Arabic. The primary one for me is purity – but it also could mean fineness, clearness, or lucidity. While it is easier to ‘impress’ with a bigger ensemble, I find recording a solo album more challenging. It is as up-close, as intimate, and as personal as it gets. Pure and revealing.”
The album’s creation was not without its trials; Nizar explains, “A large part of the process of creating this album was during the recent war on Gaza. It has been a challenging period, especially mentally. There were many moments of despair and hesitation about the meaning of life and the meaning of creating music. But at the end, as a human being and especially as a Palestinian musician I feel the need to create new music, today more than ever. Music is about personal expression as well as collective identity.”
Nizar’s playing is an excellent reminder of how music can transcend borders. The accompanying press relates how the record draws together several different approaches or musical strands. These include those, like Safa, that emphasise Nizar’s signature style, song-like pieces that are more lyrical-sounding in their approach, and those grounded in Taqsim – the improvisational genre in Arab classical music. Nizar draws together these different approaches, developing a unique style that, while drawing on influences from Egyptian, Iraqi and Turkish traditions of oud, marks out Nizar’s unique artistic vision as a contemporary Palestinian musician.
Nizar shared the following on Safa:
“The piece Safa is typical of my composition/playing, and carries the signature of my style. At it’s core lies a melodic and rhythmic pattern or motif that repeats all the time. I can compare this type of pieces to the prelude genre from western music. For example, the preludes by J.S. Bach. What distinguishes my pieces is that the motifs, the rhythmicality, and the flow are generated through constant playing of open strings.”
His playing appears effortless despite the precision and dexterity required to master this fretless instrument; in the video, he looks so in the moment, and that connection to the instrument comes across in his exquisite playing.
Nizar Rohana’s new album Safa is out on 15 November 2024 on Worlds Within Worlds. The lead single, Safa, is available to stream now.
The album Safa releases November 15, 2024.
Pre-Order via Bandcamp (Digital and Limited edition CD and Vinyl): https://nizarrohana.bandcamp.com/album/safa
Upcoming Performances:
13 Sep: Gaza Health Initiative Conference, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
14 Sep: Ud Festival Preview, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
22 Sep: Requiem for Justice, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
28 Sep: Hortus Festival, Rokerdam, The Netherlands
29 Sep: Hortus Festival, Rokerdam, The Netherlands
16 Oct: Mahmoud Darwish’s ‘The Dice Player’, Utrecht, The Netherlands
25 Oct: The New Church, Den Haag, the Netherlands
02 Nov: Ud Festival, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
03 Nov: Art on the Floor, Leiden, The Netherlands
Website: https://nizarrohana.com/