Birds Requiem

In non-Western cultures, some artists come from a centuries-old family lineage or play an instrument that’s been around for millennia. Such is the case with Tunisian-born Dhafer Youssef, who plays the oud: a fretless 11-stringed Arabic lute that’s been around in some form for more than 5,000 years. Even so, *Birds Requiem* is far from traditional, utilizing pristine recording methods to create a heady blend of modern new age, jazz, North African folk music, and Western classical. This suite of 11 interconnected pieces works best if consumed as a whole; one piece seamlessly flows into the next as if it were a soundtrack for a North African road film. The varied settings here range from the soaring rock-jazz confection “Blending Souls and Shades” to the hymnlike “Khira: Indicium Divinum,” with Youssef singing to the moody ballad “Sweet Blasphemy.” Youssef named his second album *Electric Sufi*, and here he continues that ecstatic fusion of the past and future on his seventh album as well.