A Sound Heart

For Pakistan's JAUBI, “A Sound Heart” is the next chapter for the collective both sonically and spiritually, which follows on from their critically acclaimed debut album "Nafs At Peace" (Top 10 Global albums in The Guardian, Best of 2021 albums in Bandcamp) which also received praise from Downbeat and Pitchfork amongst others.
“A Sound Heart '' is the next chapter for Jaubi both sonically and spiritually. The title is inspired from a verse in the Holy Qu’ran (26:89) which declares that neither wealth nor children will be of any help to a person on the Day of Judgment "except [those] who will come to God with a sound heart".
The heart in this context is the spiritual Heart (Qalb) for it is our heart which is the basis for our engagement with God. A Sound Heart is sincere, without doubts and free of ignorances, vices and materialistic attachments.
Importantly, it refers to a state where the heart is spiritually healthy and content with only God. A Sound Heart’s basis is goodness, rooted in love and in this case, it is love for one’s creator. Everything is done with the sole purpose of pleasing God. This album is therefore in simplistic terms a love album for one’s lover who could represent God, a partner, family or even love for oneself.
The title track is inspired by Bill Evans and a dedication to not only Evans but also to the bandleader’s father who is portrayed on the album cover in a state of raw contemplation and vulnerability. The photo is a snapshot of long conversations between the father and son, navigating through a tough period of emotional landscapes in their relationship. It thus represents a son coming back to his father after repairing their relationship and yearning for the fatherly love from before.
Each side of “A Sound Heart” tries to sonically capture different types of love and different stages of love, with side A (Desire) representing the stage with one yearning and craving for passion whilst Side B (Devotion) is the contemplative and heartfelt section of the album, signifying when one is vulnerable and has the sophistication to look inwards to come to their lover with a purified or sound heart.
This album is dedicated to God…whoever or whatever that means to you
releases September 6, 2024
MUSICIANS:
Hamish Balfour - Piano (on Blues for Mingus)
Ali Riaz Baqar - Guitar
Ed ‘Tenderlonious’ Cawthorne - Flute, Saxophone, Synthesiser
Tim Carnegie - Drums
Kashif Ali Dhani - Tabla
Henry ‘Horatio Luna’ Hicks - Bass
Zohaib Hassan Khan - Sarangi
Marek ‘Latarnik’ Pędziwiatr - Fender Rhodes Mark II, Grand Piano, Roland Juno 60
Nick Walters - Trumpet
All songs composed by Ali Riaz Baqar except for Raga Bairagi Todi (written by Zohaib Hassan Khan)
Engineer: Matt Mysko, Dom Shaw (assistant)
Mixing: Matt Mysko
Mastering: Jason Goz
Executive Producers: Oli Reeves, Dhruva Balram, Ali Riaz Baqar
Artwork and Design: Lara Himpelmann
Management: Oli Reeves
© 2024 JAUBI
℗ JAUBI & Riaz Records
All Rights Reserved
SPECIAL THANKS:
This album would not have been possible without the love and support from Dialled In, particularly Ahsan-Elahi Shujaat, Ahadadream, Dhruva Balram, Almass Badat and Nigel Mphisa. Also thank you to the lovely staff at Real World Studios for looking after us during the recording of this album. Thank you to all the musicians on this album and to Astigmatic Records, 22a and all of our fans who have supported us along the way. Special thanks to Soumella Konstantinidis for doing the singles artwork. Most importantly, big thanks to Oli Reeves for making things happen behind the scenes and turning the vision of this album into a reality.