Mohamed Assani (Sitarist)
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Mohamed Assani (Sitarist)

Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2015 | SELF

Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada | SELF
Established on Jan, 2015
Duo World Acoustic

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"Sitar in the Spotlight at MusicFest"

An Indian classical sitar performer with an ear for other genres will be performing at the upcoming Music Fest Vancouver's 11th season. Burnaby resident Mohamed Assani will have an authentic raga performance on Aug. 13 in Christ Cathedral Church at noon. "This is my first performance at MusicFest," he said. "I was approached by the (artistic director) who had heard of me through someone. I'm really looking forward to it."

Born in Pakistan, Assani moved here from Leeds, England eight months ago and has been here ever since. "My wife is from Vancouver, and we have a four-year-old daughter, and we thought it would be a nice place for her to grow up," he explained. "It's a very beautiful place to live, and I find people very open here and welcoming."

Assani also adapts to different genres with his sitar, such as Western classical, jazz and world fusion. He's also worked with contemporary composer Ian Wilson, the Callino Quartet, Grand Union Orchestra and the Black Dyke Brass Band. "I've also met a lot of international musicians here," he said.

Assani uses the emotive style for sitar, which strives to emulate the human voice through bending the strings. "I prefer the vocal style," he said. "I was drawn to it and I do lots of improvisation. I've been playing for 13 years."

Also a music educator, Assani has taught at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He was also recently appointed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music to teach sitar and tabla starting this September. Assani studied at Dartington College of Arts in England, where he obtained degrees in Western classical and world music. "I've generally found people are very open here, musically as well" he noted. "I've met international musicians and experimented with new things, which I also find very exciting."

His MusicFest performance will also mark the launch date of his new album, Spirit of Tradition. New Westminster vocalist and tabla performer Cassius Khan will join Assani at the Aug. 13 concert.

"It's a nice venue, and I'm really looking forward to playing there," he said. For more information about Assani and his music visit www.mohamedassani. com.

© Copyright (c) Burnaby Now


- Burnaby Now, By Stefania Seccia, July 2011


"Album Review of Firefly"

The music is out of a similar frame of mind that guided the Indian Quintet of Daya Shankar, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Tarun Bhattacharya, Ramesh Misra and Kumar Bose on their 'Raga-Ragini' back in 1988. What shines out is that this is an improvised art form. These compositions were not made for exact replication. Indus' progress is going to be one to keep a beady eye upon. - froots Magazine, Aug/Sept 2010


"Performance Review: Mohamed Assani, sitar / Cassius Khan, tabla"

Wearing traditional Indian garb and sitting crossed-legged on a colourful rug draped over a podium, Mohamed Assani and Cassius Khan gave an absorbing and very enjoyable concert of Indian classical music, Assani playing sitar and Khan playing the tabla.

They began with a piece that was based on a single prolonged major triad (seemingly provided by Assani's iPod), upon which Assani improvised a melody based on an Indian scale that sounded much like the Western Lydian scale (a major scale with a raised 4th degree). As the triadic basis never changed, the music did not have the sense of harmonic progression that most types of Western music does, but it achieved variety and form in other ways.

The melodies that Assani improvised were often stepwise, with movement between pitches often achieved by a very expressive bending of the strings, rather like a blues guitarist might bend a note to change its pitch. In fact this device of bending or stretching the strings seemed integral to the style and occurred often. As for rhythm, the performers explained that the piece was based on a 16 beat cycle, though these beats went by slowly and were hard to perceive as they were buried under a wealth of rhythmic and melodic detail.

The concert ended with a piece that sounded like it was based on the Phrygian scale, giving it a minor sound and contrasting with the major feel of the first piece. Both pieces gathered energy and tension as they progressed, and ended with a flourish.

Assani and Khan are very enjoyable to watch, exuding a puckish charm. They often smiled, looked at each other, and reacted to each other's music through gesture and facial expression. The instruments too were a visual delight, especially the complicated-looking sitar with its 19 strings, long neck and onion-shaped body

Assani told the audience at the end that the two of them had only rehearsed twice in the preceding months, a fact which made this refreshing and delightful concert all the more impressive. Thanks to MusicFest Vancouver for bringing the two fine artists together.

(David Powell) - Review Vancouver, August 2011


"Mohamed Assani's "Spirit of Tradition" is a Joy from Start to Finish"

Although I fell in love with the style within seconds of being introduced to it, I always feel somewhat foolish when reviewing South Asian classical music. It’s an idiom that uses complex techniques to convey specific emotional and spiritual content, and of these things I have, at best, an amateur’s understanding. I can say this with complete confidence, however: the release of sitarist Mohamed Assani’s debut CD coincides with his arrival in Vancouver to take up a teaching position with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s new music school, and our burgeoning multicultural music scene has a new master in its midst.

Spirit of Tradition is a joy from start to finish. The highlight, however, is Assani’s two-part rendition of “Raag Darbari”, which begins with the traditional form of the melody before moving into an up-tempo variant composed by Assani’s teacher, Ustad Ashraf Sharif Khan Poonchwala. Weirdly, the introductory alaap, or slow movement, reminds me of the British folk standard “Nottamun Town”, but while that tune tells of a cataclysm in which “10,000 got drownded that never was born,” “Raag Darbari” speaks more of psychic desolation. It’s gorgeously lonely—and, remarkably, the mood gets even darker once the tempo builds.

Coursing over Shahbaz Hussain’s assured tabla-playing, Assani sounds like he’s doing battle against sinister forces, drawing on every resource he has to pull through against shattering odds. His playing is fierce, resolute, and gripping, a hero’s journey condensed into 14 minutes and 42 seconds’ worth of unceasing invention.

Of course, this is just my morose, Scottish, Tolkein-loving interpretation; whether that’s Assani’s intent is another matter. But there’s no denying that this is extraordinary music.
- Georgia Straight - By Alexander Varty, September 29, 2011


"South Asian Innovations"

“Sitar virtuoso Mohamed Assani’s recent arrival in Vancouver - he moved here from the UK last October - is very good news for the local world music community and for Vancouver’s cultural life in general. Assani is both a musician who’s deeply rooted in the artistic traditions of South Asian and a one-of-a-kind innovator who’s bent on ensuring that those age old forms will survive, and grow, in the modern era. Vancouver’s world music scene - already one of the best anywhere - might be about to get a whole lot more interesting.” (Alexander Varty) - The Georgia Straight, August 2011


"A commitment to culture and diversity"

Music is a fundamental expression of any human culture...The Exhibition Road Music Day perfectly reflected the esprit of the Fete de la Musique: the festival used music to bring together people from various backgrounds in a celebration of cultural expression....This expression of unity through diversity – a central part of the Islamic ethic of pluralism – was reflected in Mohammed Assani's musical performances at the Ismaili Centre (London, England) on Exhibition Road Music Day: his improvisation with the tabla (hand drum) seamlessly fused with other instruments from around the world that he accompanied. - The Ismaili Magazine


"Review of Production of "The Man Who Would be King" with original music by Mohamed Assani & John Ball"

Special mention must be made of Mohamed Abbas Assani and John Ball who played wonderfully evocative music which added to the emotion of the play. - Cumberland & Westmoreland Herald Newspaper


"Album Review of Firefly"

Incorporating sitar, santoor (a 100-stringed instrument played with wooden mallets), Western flute and tabla, the 4-piece band stretches the boundaries of their Hindustani-inspired music in a musical exploration that’s both rich in tradition as well as brilliantly modern...Equally challenging and rewarding, the evocative “Firefly” CD by Indus is perfect for fans of Indian music, or for listeners of similarly modern World Music visionaries (e.g., John McLaughlin’s Shakti or Anouar Brahem). - RadioIndy


"Review of Production of "The Man Who Would be King" with original music by Mohamed Assani & John Ball"

Musicians Mohamed Assani and John Ball, who use traditional Asian instruments, add sultry and mysterious tones to what is splendid entertainment. - The Stage Magazine


Discography

Mohamed Assani, "Spirit of Tradition" (Debut Solo Album), Released August 2011.

Antonio Chainho, "LisGoa," Released 2010.

Indus, "Firefly," Released October 2009.

Photos

Bio


Mohamed
Assani is a celebrated sitar player, known for his creative musical
collaborations with artists of all genres. He has performed across
the globe - including in the UK, Canada, USA & Dubai - with
orchestras, string quartets, hip hop artists, DJs, world music
ensembles, jazz artists, and Indian and Western classical
artists—and, of course, solo. 




According
to Georgia Straight Newspaper, "Assani is both a musician
who’s deeply rooted in the artistic traditions of South Asia and a
one-of-a- kind innovator who’s bent on ensuring that those age-old
forms will survive, and grow, in the modern era. His playing is
fierce, resolute, and gripping. There’s no denying that this is
extraordinary music.”




Mohamed's
musical journey began at Dartington College of Arts in England, where
he did a degree in Western Classical and World music. He then went on
to learn sitar in the traditional way and is a senior disciple of
Ustad Ashraf Sharif Khan of the Poonch Gharana.




A
dedicated and experienced teacher, Mohamed has inspired students of
all ages in their musical journeys. During his extensive teaching
career, he has taught at the Royal Academy of Music (London,
England), the BRIT School of Performing Arts and the University of
Huddersfield. He now teaches Indian Music at the Vancouver Symphony
Orchestra School of Music.



Mohamed
is based in Vancouver, Canada.

w
ww.mohamedassani.com




ABOUT MOHAMED:


ABOUT HIS ACCOMPANISTS:


For his North American performances, Mohamed is accompanied by the finest tabla players from Canada.


ABOUT THE INSTRUMENTS:


The sitar and tabla are two of one of the most popular instruments from the Indian subcontinent. The sitar is a stringed instrument with a long wooden neck and a resonating gourd. It has 6 top strings and 12 sympathetic strings underneath that resonate when the top strings are played. The sitar was made popular in the West by Ravi Shankar and his work with the Beatles. When played, it has a very rich, sonorous and shimmering sound. The tabla is a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres. It is widely used as one of the main accompanying instrument in Indian music.

Band Members