Dhafer Youssef

Dhafer Youssef is a Tunisian oudist, vocalist, and composer. His restless creativity weds jazz harmonics and electronics to the rhythms and modes of South India, Pakistan, and North Africa with Mediterranean grooves. On 2001's Electric Sufi and 2003's Digital Prophecy, he explored the nexus of classical North African and Indian harmony amid electronics and improvisation. The acoustic album Abu Nawas Rhapsody arrived in 2010 and featured pianist Tigran Hamasyan. Deeply influenced by cinema, Birds Requiem appeared in 2013. Youssef composed 2018's soundscape-esque Sounds of Mirrors for tabla player Zakir Hussain, and it featured the percussionist. Performed by a large cast that included Herbie Hancock, Street of Minarets was released in 2023.