You are the river, I am a drop I am a shadow of Your splendour | Sami Yusuf

You are the river, I am a drop
I am a shadow of Your splendour
– Munna Shaokath Ali


‘The Wine of Love’ that we recorded live at the Dubai EXPO is available now on video and all streaming platforms.
As is often the case with my compositions, I wrote the melody for ‘The Wine of Love’ all in one sitting. When I wanted to find lyrics from the world of Sufi poetry, my friend AR Rahman put me in touch with Munna Shaokath Ali, a brilliant poet and lyricist from India. Munnaji wrote words for the melody and incorporated a refrain by Hazrat Zamin Ali.

Getting the piece right took many rehearsals, because it unfolds in unexpected ways. The meter changes several times throughout the piece, and the mode also changes. The fluidity of its transitions is meant to evoke the different states and stages the soul travels through on its spiritual journey.

Immense thanks to acclaimed sitarist Asad Khan, the featured vocalists Riaz Hussain and Pooja Gaitonde, and all the incredibly talented musicians who brought their absolute best to this beautiful piece. It has turned out to be one of the works I’m most proud of. It was a real delight to perform it at EXPO in front of a live and receptive audience. Its spirit of transcendent love definitely affected us all.

A studio version of ‘The Wine of Love’ will feature on my forthcoming album ‘Ecstasy’.

Listen/Watch Now: https://sy.lnk.to/TheWineOfLove

Watch the full concert: https://sy.lnk.to/BeyondtheStars

#samiyusuf #qawwali #sufimusic