Oh, wow, some of the things that I get to listen to! From country to hiphop, to theatrical numbers and off into some really cool new-age, technorchestral, eastern, dnb all in one afternoon…

I just got around to checking out Aman by Fuga Mundi ( Rafik Samman) and darn if it doesn’t have the whole gang, here, bobbing and bouncing, smiling and nodding. It’s cranked a bit, so no words are really necessary, they wouldn’t be heard, anyway.

Now I love all sorts of music, and I listen almost non-stop to something. Almost always, I’m listening to something new. Every so often, I get my hands on something that breaks barriers and cooks my noodle. The variety of sounds, rhythms, modes and instruments on Aman fall into that latest category.

This is music for the enlightened, or maybe more precisely “music for enlightenment.” Listening is almost meditation, but there’s a bit more energy than that. These tracks will definitely take you places in the old noggin’.

Written and recorded by a master who knows exactly what his notes need to say and how to make them say it. Aman is a disc I highly recommend for driving and late evening sits by the fire. Check it out and let your head take a trip for a bit, it’ll do you good.

When I got over to the Fuga Mundi page to read the bio, I found it so impressive that I’m going to break a usual rule and post the whole thing, here. Whoa, Nellie! What a list of credits!

Rafik Samman studied for a Masters degree in Musicology at University de Montreal. He studied choral conducting in France with José Aquino, and Iranian percussions with Jean Pierlot. He studied medieval singing with Sequentia in Cologne, Germany
In New York, he studied ethnic percussion with Glen Velez. Finally in Montreal he studied classical guitar with Antonin Bartos, John Mills and Eli Kassner, voice with Lucette Tremblay and african, brazilian and cuban percussions with Luc Boivin.

He worked, among others, with Marcabru, La Nef, El Extasis, Les Boréades, Les Idées Heureuses, Les Voix Humaines, Ensemble Caprice, le Cirque du Soleil and Karen Young as a percussionist, singer and lutenist. He has performed several times on Radio-Canada “Les Grands Concerts” and the series “Les Goûts réunis”. He has recorded with thirty different ensembles of the Renaissance, medieval and baroque music. He also recorded with Karen Young, Alain Caron, Andre Gagnon, Michel Cusson, Denis Gougeon, Sylvain Bergeron, Claire Gignac, Mattias Maute, Sophie Larivière, Camil Beslile, Catherine Hermman, Suzie Leblanc, Dan Taylor, Jean-Pierre Noiseux, Jean-Pierre Pinson, Hughes Saint-Gelais, Betsy MacMillan, Élise Guay, Éric Mercier, Vincent Dhavernas, Angèle Laberge, Isabelle Marchand, Viviane LeBlanc, Suzie Napper, Margaret Little, Francis Colpron, Sylva Balassanian, Luc Boivin etc. He has performed as soloist and chorister in an Orthodox church in Montreal. He taught drumming, gregorian chant, medieval and renaissance music for several years in various music camps. He has participated in many studio recordings of film and theater music, and demos for various artists.

He toured for 7 years and 2,500 performances around the world with Cirque du Soleil.

Yep, listening to this one was an absolute joyride, from the title track right on through to the finish!