Canada’s genre bending string slingers Sultans of String celebrate their 2017 JUNO nomination and 2016 CFMA win (for Subcontinental Drift) with a feast of raucous reels ragas ‘n’ rumbas at the Stettler Performing Arts Centre on April 9th.
Performances are at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Joining them on the disc and stage is special guest/sitar master Anwar Khurshid (Oscar winning Life of Pi).
“We are honoured to receive this JUNO nomination and CFMA for our new CD! We could not have made this recording without the support of the whole Canadian roots community, and our special collaboration with Anwar”, said bandleader/violinist Chris McKhool. “There is something magical about joining world music rhythms that we often play, but with pop sensibilities and forms and lengths, and blending that with the music of the east.”
Yet, Subcontinental Drift is more than a genre-hopping passport. It is a musical promise that embraces differences while finding common ground across culture, land and time.
“Together we started writing songs about freedom and equality, and our hope of creating a better world. I feel in some way that these songs reflect our own personal hopes and journeys towards finding a world peace. This is a message that is needed more than ever at this time.”
The award nomination comes on the heels of the band’s whirlwind North American and U.K. Subcontinental Drift tours, including a special appearance organized by the High Commission at London’s Trafalgar Square. Distributed by Fontana North in Canada, the album hit number one in Canada on Earshot’s international charts, top 10 on the American CMJ charts and top 15 on Billboard’s World Music charts. It also got picked up for distribution in the U.S. by CEN/SONY and by Proper in Europe.
The band has been on the road non-stop, and will make their debut in The Netherlands and mainland Europe this summer.
Sultans of String are celebrating their 10th anniversary as a band, criss-crossing North America and performing at many taste-making forums such as JUNOFest, legendary jazz club Birdland in NYC, and California’s hip music scene, including the San Jose Jazz Festival. They recently performed with Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton and Maryland’s Annapolis Symphony Orchestras.
Sultans of String were filmed by MPBN’s Maine Arts in a feature concert, and performed live on BBC TV, Irish National Radio, and the internationally syndicated shows WoodSongs, World Cafe, and on SiriusXM in Washington.
They are currently recording a festive, world music-inspired Christmas Caravan CD featuring shimmering guest vocalist Rebecca Campbell (Bruce Cockburn, Alanis Morissette, Emmylou Harris), five times platinum selling Nikki Yanofsky, The Chieftains’ very own Paddy Moloney, JUNO winner Alex Cuba, Cameroon’s Richard Bona (Paul Simon, Herbie Hancock), Panamanian seven times Grammy winning Ruben Blades, a Turkish orchestra, and more.
Tickets for the April 9th show in Stettler are $25 for adults, $10 for students and can be purchased at www.stettlershowcase.com or by calling 403-742-3777.
– Fawcett
