About Me
The Persian Sufi musician Zhubin Kalhor, was born in 1980 and grew up in the midst of Sufi gatherings and events. He started playing the Daff ( the Sufi frame Drum) as child to accompany the Sufi zikr rituals held in his family garden and in the nearby khaneqah. At age 14 he started his classical music education with one of the great Persian masters Ardeshir Kamkar (from the Kamkaran Brothers) and later with Ustad Lotfi and Ustad Shekarchi, where he learned to play the Kamanche, (the Persian fiddle). After four years of having played Persian classical music (radiff) with various masters in Iran, he left to India and settled down in Pune in 1999. In the years to come he met many great international musicians both in India and while traveling abroad though Central Asia, Middle-East and Europe, touring and recording with various bands such as Bahramji, Ahura, Muhamed Alnuma, Barbad, Pecheurs de Perles, Prem Joshua and the Mystics of Sound and with his own band Hawa. Occasionally he has been creating groups in some of these countries for specific projects and performances. Playing with musicians trained in different backgrounds, like classic Indian, Persian, Jazz and Blues, gypsy, Turkish, Arabic etc. has given Zhubin the opportunity to experiment and find a unique style of his own that certainly surpasses the Persian music tradition. But what remains in his style, is the authentic Sufi sound that gives the listener a feeling of ecstatic joy; music as the medium to transcend human boundaries into the spiritual state of unity. When he plays, the mysteries of life seem to come into a chemistry with the listener. The last 6 years Zhubin has performed solo and with various bands in concerts and festivals all over the globe. He has also been composing and recording his own music as well as being featured in many Albums by various international artists and Djs compilations. Zhubin is still guest member of various bands internationally and keeps touring in Europe, Turkey, Iran and India on a regular basis. CDs:2006 Himalayan Wind with Bikramjit Singh, Akustik Lable, Turkey (to be released) 2005 Wahed with Pecheurs des Perles on Buda Musique Records, France 2004 Karisma with Dinesh Mattuck, Denmark (not released yet)Featured on CDs:2005 Balkanatolia, Kolektif, EMI Records, Turkey 2005 For the Untamed Soul, Dao, Times Music, India 2004 Call of the Mystic with Bahramji and Manish de Moor on Blue Flame Records, Germany 2003 Vibrant Silences with Hari Prasad Chaurassia on BMG Records, India 2003 Sufi Flame with Dina Awwad on Oceanic Records, India 2001-2005 Various DJ tracks and compilations (Namaste, Afrodissimo, Oriental Garden3, Karma Lounge, Sidharta, the spirit of Buddha Bar, Harems Secret Vol. 2, etc.)
