Recommended New Release, Jaubi - Nafs at Peace

Jaubi have struck upon something of an international fanbase lately, due in part to the encouragement of 22a label boss and multi-instrumentalist Tenderlonious. The instrumental quartet, based in Lahore, Pakistan, encompasses an interesting niche at the intersection of North Indian classical music and 90s hip-hop à la J Dilla, as well as both modal and spiritual jazz. With a handful of releases behind them already, the quartet began their current thematic work on ‘nafs’ (the Islamic concept of ‘the self’) with the single Satanic Nafs earlier this year, which also featured a remix courtesy of hip-hop producer The Gaslamp Killer. Despite having released music with Tenderlonious - as well as a single in tribute to the late hip-hop emcee and producer MF DOOM - Nafs at Peace is Jaubi’s full-length debut, a culmination of these various projects.

The track ‘Straight Path’ forms something of a jazz raga, with the members all soloing over a sweet, mellow Fender Rhodes two-chord vamp, some real moments of brilliance occurring when Tenderlonious’s soaring flute plays against Jaubi member Kashif Ali Dhani’s tabla. Tracks like ‘Insia’ showcase the quartet’s appreciation for hip-hop; ‘Mosty’ almost reminds me of the kinds of sounds coming out of London nowadays, albeit with the traditional Pakistani instrumentation thrown in, while ‘Zari’ plays it cool with a super chilled-out vibe. Ali Riaz Baqar’s electric guitar hints at this modern ‘lo-fi hip-hop’ sound, his reverb-washed parts adding a tasteful texture. Closing out the album is the title track, with Tenderlonoius going full Coltranian with a ripping soprano sax solo over the rest of the group. In the spirit of improvisation, the quartet wanted to keep the music sounding free and entered the recording studio without sheet music or song titles in mind; if this is mostly improvised, there was some real magic occuring in the recording studio.