Irfan

"Seraphim" - the second album of Irfan is now available in the music stores and for online purchase through the website of the French label Prikosnovénie: www.prikosnovenie.com
Irfan is a Bulgarian Ethereal wave, World and Medieval music band. Its name is borrowed from the Sufi terminology and can be translated from Persian and Arabic as “gnosis”, “mystic knowledge” or “revelation”. Irfan’s music is an invitation for a mystical trip in and beyond time, a message, poetically extended in the language of the heart. World reviews are hesitant about the genre categorization of Irfan’s music, determining it as Neoclassical / World Music / Sacred Music / Ethereal Music / Heavenly voices. Indeed Irfan’s music is strongly influenced by the sacred and folk music traditions of Bulgaria, the Balkans, Persia, Caucasus, the Middle East and North Africa, as well as by the musical and spiritual heritage of Byzantium and Medieval Europe, yet it retains its own original sound. The musicians use traditional (Bulgarian, Balkan, Oriental, Persian, Indian) and medieval European instruments and vocal techniques from the same regions and historical periods, sometimes woven into a delicate, ambient electronic sound. Irfan is also known for its extensive use of ethereal and mystic female vocals in addition to strong male vocals and choirs in combination with an assortment of traditional and medieval string, wind and percussive instruments including the oud, saz, santoor, viola da gamba, tambura, duduk, nay, darbouka, daf, bendir, zarb and riq.
Irfan was founded in 2001 as a side project of musicians from Bulgarian bands like “Isihia”, “Kayno Yesno Slonce ”, “Om” and “Zarathustra”, but soon it became a new, independent and promising music team. The band was first signed by the French label “Prikosnovénie” and made its debut appearance on “Prikosnovénie”'s Fairy World compilation of various medieval and heavenly voices bands in 2003. “Prikosnovénie” declared the Bulgarians as the “discovery and revelation for 2004”. Ifran's debute (self-titled) album was also released in Europe that same year by "Prikosnovénie", and released in North America by “Noir Records” in 2005. Several recently released compilations include new and unreleased songs by Irfan, which appeared along with tracks by artists like Loreena Mckennitt, Stellamara, Qntal and Estampie.
Recently the band finished its second album ("Seraphim") for the French label “Prikosnovénie” that was released simultaneously in Europe and in North America (through the US label “Noir Records”) in November 2007. In the summer of 2006 the singer Denitza Seraphimova gave birth to her child and is currently devoted to motherhood. Since then Irfan is working with a new vocalist - the Bulgarian traditional (folklore) singer Vladislava Todorova ( myspace.com/vladislavavlada ) with whom the band performed in its recent concerts. From 2003 untill now Irfan toured and performed live in France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Bulgaria.
Irfan’s French and US labels:
www.prikosnovenie.com
www.noir-records.com