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This is a song sample 'trailer' for HuDost's new record Sufi Kirtan.

The latest album by HuDost marks the neo-folk/world/rock ensemble's tenth anniversary, but Sufi Kirtan (coming out 8/7/15 from White Swan Records / HuDost) is no retrospective. In track after track, Moksha Sommer, Jemal Wade Hines and their musical entourage bring newfound perspective and innovative musical stylings to ancient mantras of love and healing.

While most of the chants are in Arabic, reflecting Sommer and Hines' longtime practice of Sufism, the album is a tapestry of cultures and faiths, at once surprising and mesmerizing. It will appeal to yoga practitioners, kirtan enthusiasts, ecstatic dance folks, and even people "who don't normally listen to sacred music," says Sommer, such as HuDost's rock fans.

The album features 11 tracks, including Iavnana, which weaves together a Sufi chant, a traditional Georgian lullaby, and a Hindu chant honoring the feminine and masculine aspects of the Divine. Recitations central to Judaism, Christianity and Islam come together on the a cappella Abrahamic Zikr. The song Universal Worship is an interfaith odyssey, paying homage to half a dozen spiritual traditions in just under eight minutes.

HuDost's core musicians bring myriad influences to bear on the album. Sommer, the lead composer and singer, has studied 12 different vocal styles from around the world. Hines lends a rock sensibility and sonically rich layers of vocals, guitar and synths. The A-list musicians accompanying them on Sufi Kirtan include violinist Martha Mooke (who has performed with such artists as David Bowie and Barbra Streisand), tabla player Arjun Bruggeman (Krishna Das) and flutist George Tortorelli (Ram Dass, Pat Metheny).
Sufi Kirtan is sure to position HuDost as a healing force to be reckoned with in modern mantra music.

Boulder-based White Swan Records, a leader in the devotional and yoga music genre, will release Sufi Kirtan on August 7th.