Written by: Dave Cantrell

Once again the new music desk here at SEM is teetering on the brink collapse as the new – and not infrequently quite notable – releases are piled high and recklessly upon it like a damn dumptruck pulled up when we weren’t looking and dropped its precious contents then ‘poof!’ disappeared (and, yes, they’re mostly digital but there’s metaphorically zero difference). Whatever the source and however the method of delivery, the result is the same: how do we even hope to sift through it all and bring you, our precious faithful readers, the best of the best among that threatening avalanche of chancers? Well, happily enough, that’s where our many friends scattered about the modern-day music ecosystem come into the picture. All it takes is one astute “ahem” to turn our heads and voila! our ears are opened, our minds often blown to one degree or another. Now, to be sure, that only succeeds in, say, five to ten percent of the cases, but when it does oh are we pleased and that’s where we are today with the latest video from Toronto-based The Shadow Majlis (pronounced mahj-lis) that proved significant enough we’ve chosen to pile on a few extras just because, well, to be honest, because we couldn’t help ourselves. We’re quite certain you’ll understand once you begin link-clicking.

Founded by multi-cultural multi-instrumentalist Ali Jafri whose name you might recognize from his time touring as part of David J’s live band and/or his stint providing sitar for Pigface (which isn’t to even mention his other projects such as ARIEL, Gotham City Drugstore which isn’t to further mention his solo work; busy man, Mr. Jafri), The Shadow Majlis – that includes David J on bass and percussionist Rakesh Tewari – has taken on a deeper significance since the loss of Jafri’s seven-year-old son Oisin (the name means ‘little deer’ and derives from Irish folklore) to a particularly aggressive type of brain cancer in 2022, a backdrop that so poignantly underlines the featured video here that there’s really not much more we need to add except to say that the fortitude it had to have taken to not only survive grief at that level but to turn around and honor Oisin’s indomitable spirit with a song of such focused strength one struggles to imagine a greater tribute, is pretty much unfathomable.

As soaring as it is deeply grounded in love and remembrance, “Swallowed By The Sky” from new self-released album Departure runs its sublime gamut from those enveloping bass tones that open it (and of course remain throughout), through that ethereal shiver-inducing appearance of synth at the one-minute mark that underscores the frankly chilling line there is no promise left here for me / this inferno..makes heaven feel so cold that could not more aptly, succinctly, more lovingly express the specter of loss that in itself will never be lost, to a coda that that surrenders with grace to the inevitability of a letting go that takes the form of holding on (this isn’t goodbye / you were just swallowed by the sky). It’s that fleeting-but-forever sense of eternality that so deftly vivifies this track, that brings it from the depths of sorrow out into the light, as if in offer to the skies from one spirit to another. Sobering in the most uplifting way imaginable, it’s also, on its basic merits, a helluva song, all of which demanded a video to match its innate power and we can assure you with some emphasis that Jafri and crew have succeeded with a sure and honest grace. We’ll leave the last words regarding this single and its video to Oisin’s father but do scroll further down for more Shadow Majlis, which we strongly suspect you’ll do once you’ve heard “Swallowed By The Sky”:

“And it’s apropos that his name means “little deer” because he was a graceful child. He lived and died with grace. The song also speaks to his short life and sudden decline – his cancer battle only lasted nine months. He had a huge impact on everyone that knew him and the bravery he showed in his last days is nothing short of incredible. We had a brief yet profound time with him. He’ll always be frozen in time at the age of 7 – his short life, a moment of grace. We didn’t know what hit us, and we certainly didn’t see it coming til it was too late.”

“Deer In The Headlights” is, unsurprisingly given his name, another track dedicated to Oisin that features both a madly subtle rhythmic pulse and the haunting presence of Tuvan throat singer Soriah…

…while the tabla- and cello-accented “Mazdur” (Ravi Nampally and Anne Bourne, respectively) somehow manages to maintain a taut if delicate tension across seven-and-a-half plus minutes while simultaneously dancing inside your heart like some mad djinn lost in a spell of spiritual ecstasy (and, yes, even during the song’s sustained outro which simply drives the groove deeper into the soul’s furthest reaches):

All told this is one of those rare experiences where an artist and the ensemble they’ve put together proceed to produce a piece of work that transports as it entertains, an album of unforced elegance that the world didn’t see coming but will soon be unable get it out of its collective head. It is, in short, dazzling, and you can get it via Bandcamp, Spotify, or Apple Music. And, to give all credit where credit’s due, it feels appropriate – important, even – to provide a list of the personnel responsible for this rather remarkable record:

Ali Jafri – vocals, guitars, bass VI, electric sitar, percussion, programming, synthesizers, electronics, solfeggio pipes
David Bottrill – backing vocals, electronics, synthesizers
David J (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets) – bass
Rakesh Tewari (Jaffa Road, The Special Interest Group) – drums, percussion
Olena Tsybulska (DakhaBrakha) – vocals
Mark Gemini Thwaite (Peter Murphy, Tricky, The Mission) – guitars
Anne Bourne (Loreena McKennit, Jane Siberry) – cello
Sasha Singer-Wilson – backing vocals
Soriah – Tuvan Throat Singing, Flute
Ravi Naimpally (Niyaz, Constantinople) – tabla
Pankaj Mishra – sarangi
Selmanpak Ayduz – ney
Kerem Koktas – kemancheh
Oisin Adams-Jafri – vocals, percussion, solfeggio pipes
Zayn Jafri – piano
Oscar Adams-Jafri – solfeggio pipes