abc.net.au/rn/rhythmdivine A Sudanese-born Sufi musician now living in Australia, Asim Gorashi is a powerful singer, a multi-instrumentalist (oud, violin, guitar), and a world whistling champion with a belief that whistling can access deep emotional recesses. Asim has a bachelor degree in music from the University of Sudan majoring in composition, and has arranged more than twenty Sudanese folk songs in ten different local languages. Asim arrived in Australia in 2003 and has been using his experience to reflect Sudanese music and show it to the Australian community, part of his mission to help integrate Sudanese migrants with Australian culture. He is a regular performer at the Sydney Sacred Music Festival and will be part of the 2014 Festival in the Sydney World Music Chamber Orchestra.
The song ‘Assurai’, played on the oud (Arabic lute), is a traditional song in praise of pious people, and ends with a dikr, an invocation or prayer calling on Muslims to remember Allah.
Credits:
Sound engineer: Mark Don
Camera: Henry Rasmussen, Roi Huberman
Editing: Roi Huberman