‘Existentia’ is a powerful new work by renowned British composer Sami Yusuf featuring the brilliant Homayoun Shajarian in their first-ever collaboration. This single is the first track to be released from Sami Yusuf’s highly anticipated tenth studio album, Ecstasy. ‘Existentia’ is a mega production. To create this sweeping soundscape, Yusuf composed and arranged for one hundred plus musicians from four continents. It is an unprecedented recording of dozens of traditional acoustic instruments being performed by masters from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, the UK, and beyond. A philharmonic strings section from Europe adds a Western classical element, and two choirs: one from India and one from Morocco bring a multilayered sound to the piece. It’s a production that was years in the making. From the vision, to the composition, to the orchestration, arrangement, and audio engineering, ‘Existentia’ is the result of exceptional creativity and skill at every level of its execution. Soaring vocals by Sami Yusuf and his featured guest Homayoun Shajarian reveal two master musicians at the top of their game and their riveting synergy is clear in every note. The lyrics, in Persian and in Arabic, point to a mystical understanding of a unity underlying all creation. This unity is not limited to one civilisation, but rather, it is the common thread tying together all humanity, no matter what forms are used to express it. Drawn from the universal mysticism of Rumi and Bayazid Bastami, the lyrics reinforce the musical unfolding of an inner journey.
CREDITS:
Composed, Arranged, Produced & Performed by Sami Yusuf
Words by Bayazid Bastami & Rumi
Featuring Homayoun Shajarian
Directors: Booshehri Brothers
CGI and Visual Effects: Red Galaxy Studio
Executive Producer: Mahdi Jahangir
Production Manager: Hoda Zarini
Director of Photography: Mohammad Booshehri
Focus Puller: Zakaria Amer
Steadycam: Asem Mohammad
Makeup Artist: Mehdi Zhaleparvar
Stylist: Sahel Mahmoudi
Lighting Design: Hossein Booshehri
Additional Color-grading: Mohammad Mollaei
Key grip: Amar Gurung
Best boy: Emmanuel
Artwork Design: Hasan Kuchkarov
Production Companies: LPME Studio, Gamma Engineering Middleeast
Special thanks to Mleiha Archaeological Centre & Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation
Recorded by Omer Avci, Erdem Altinses & Vishnu Rajan @ Andante Studios
Additional recording by Gholamreza Sadeghi
Sound Design by Odai Shawagfeh & Arash Pakzad
Mixed and Mastered by Vishnu Rajan & Arash Pakzad @ Andante Studios
Dolby ATMOS mix by Vishnu Rajan & NEO @ LPME Studio
Special thanks to:
Elouafi Mohammed
Katherine O’Brien
Sahar Forouzan
Bahareh Sagheb
Neda Mobarra
Nicholas Boylston
Published by Andante Records & Administered by Fairwood Music (UK) Ltd for the World
©️℗ 2024 Andante Records. All rights reserved.