REVIEW OF TARIQAT CD BY SHAFIQ MORTON

 

SHAFIQ MORTON

DESERT ROSE, A HIDDEN TREASURE

 

DESCRIBING South African group Desert Rose, especially to one who hasn’t heard their inspiring sounds, is difficult. This is no Sami Yusuf spin-off, or yet another Rayhan clone. There is nothing “pop” about Desert Rose, yet their music has massive appeal.

 

Desert Rose – fronted by Lynne Holmes and Yusuf Ganief from Cape Town – is inimitably Desert Rose. As a Muslim journalist I’m familiar with the world Islamic musical landscape, and I’ve never heard artists anywhere quite like them.

 

This is because there aren’t many groups performing Sufi-Arabic-African cross-over in the defining way that Desert Rose does.  Desert Rose’s music, laced with raw emotion, reaches the innermost depths of the soul and then lifts it to the highest aesthetic station.

 

For Desert Rose, loads of hard work, experimentation (and consultation with scholars) has led to their truly unique synthesis of soothing electronic resonance, African instrumentalisation and sweet vocalisation.

 

On their latest CD, Tariqat (the Path), one is taken on a journey of evocative sound and vocalisation. The first track, Bismillah (in the name of God), begins slowly and then evolves into a percussional rhythm, fading slowly and peacefully as it nears its end.

 

It’s a fitting start to a truly inspirational session of listening. One of my favourite tracks is Remembrance of My Lord, hauntingly moving in its arrangement and hankering for a taste of the Divine.

 

On the other hand, Ya Hayyu Ya Qayyum is a track that makes one jump out of one’s skin. Underscored by classic African percussion, its addictive rhythms make the heart dance with joy.

 

But the most appealing track by far is Ya Rahman, now something of a standard for Desert Rose. Here Yusuf Ganief’s voice soars to sublime heights, and one is taken away to a place of harmony, light and peace.

 

Without doubt, South Africa’s Desert Rose is one of the Islamic world’s hidden treasures.  Listen, you won’t be disappointed.

 

14 Feb 2013. Review of Desert Rose’s album, Tariqat (The Path) by Shafiq Morton.

 

 Shafiq Morton, author and photo-journalist voted one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world by the Royal Islamic Strategies Centre, 2009-2012.