Toronto band Sultans of String have a worldly sound, but it doesn’t seem appropriate to classify it as world music. Since forming eight years ago the group has been fusing cultures and genres from around the world to create music that sounds entirely different than anything else out there. What links this diverse group of musicians from far and wide together is that they all play string instruments, and seeing them perform live is like seeing a cross-section of instruments from around the world. In other words, it’s music about connections.
The Sultans of String have earned a handful of accolades in less than a decade and played to audiences around the world, and now they are getting ready to release their fifth album, Subcontinental Drift, which will be released on February 5th, 2016. The album will stay in the worldly tradition the Sultans have developed, with a blend of ragas, reels and rumbas. Fiery violin dances with rumba-flamenco guitar, atop unstoppable grooves laid down by bass and percussion. Acoustic textures meet electronic wizardry creating deep layers of sound. Exotic rhythms from around the world incite listeners to rise to their feet with the irrestistible urge to dance. Throughout the album they are aided by featured guest, sitar master Anwar Khurshid (whose music appeared in the Oscar winning films Life of Pi, Kama Sutra, and Love Guru).
Glide Magazine is excited to premiere the first music video from the new album for the song “Enter The Gate”. The video captures the Sultans of String in their element as they cruise around Toronto locked into an exuberant jam that is sure to bring a smile to your face.
Speaking on the video, violinist Chris McKhool says: “This video is shot in Toronto, a city with a true cosmopolitan charm. We spent the day driving through some of our favourite neighbourhoods while shooting this, landing at one point at Toronto’s City Hall, where you see the huge Toronto sign. Other landmarks include the Ontario College of Art and Design, the ROM, Graffiti Alley (the one spot where graffiti is legal), Rogers Centre where the Blue Jays play, and Old City Hall. We also stopped at one of our favourite restaurants for lunch.”
On the origins of the song itself, McKhool adds, “The song is called ‘Enter the Gate’ and features our band performing with a special guest, Anwar Khurshid. I had first hear Anwar’s music on the soundtrack of Life of Pi and The Love Guru. Anwar brings a world of Eastern music to our band, and it is a real treat to perform with him. He came to Canada from Pakistan because it was a place where he could be free to play the music he wanted to make. Much like our Cuban percussionist Rosendo Chendy Leon, who also came to Canada to be free to be able to speak and do what he wanted to do, without fear of the State. Anwar was trained in Indian Classical music but has a real knack for blending those influences with Western music, and this song is a culmination of all these experiences, where we mix country folk, blues, Indian classical, and rumba guitar.”
Sitar player Anwar Khurshid reflects, “I was trained in Indian Classical music, and I was trained in sitar, but since I came to Canada I was interested in all the other genres of music we hear, and this is a culmination of all these experiences. In Pakistan, music is considered ‘haram’, where I am not supposed to practice or play music in public. Since I was a child I knew there was a musician inside of me and it needed to come out. It was an imprisonment, a huge containment that I had to put up with, and I didn’t realize how empowering and how freeing it was for me to be here in Canada and to be able to play music and be proud of it.”
Watch Glide’s exclusive premiere of the Sultans of Strings’ video for “Enter the Gate”:
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Sultans of String’s Subcontinental Drift is being released in the United States on February 5th. It’s out in Canada now. For more info check out sultansofstring.com.
