Peace

"Hanoi Masters: War is a Wound, Peace is Scar" is a haunting audio document recorded in the summer of 2014 by Grammy-award winning producer Ian Brennan (Tinariwen, Malawi Mouse Boys, The Good Ones). The sepia-tinged songs are sung and played live and direct by elderly Vietnamese musicians using half-forgotten traditional instruments. These musicians all have deep personal connections to the upheavals of the Vietnam War and the album's mesmerizing mood navigates the blurred line between raw beauty and muted sadness. 40 years after the end of the Vietnam War, a war these Hanoi musicians still call the "American War", the wounds and scars of that era are ever-present. "Hanoi Masters" is an album of cautious healing and an unforgettable meditation on conflict, resistance, collective memory, and the longing for what has been lost.

Quiet melodies played on different acoustic instruments and keyboards leading you to that most precious of state of being: Peace of Mind. Composed, arranged and performed by Kent Petersson and Thomas Deibjerg.

Listening to this great album you will find that E.J. Strickland is not just an extremely talented drummer. His musical writing is visionary while retaining this typical know-how of New York clubs. In fact, the listener has no trouble accompanying in their musical quest these Warriors Of Peace that are the excellent artists that I must quote you: EJ Strickland (drums and songs), Goldwin Louis (alto saxophone), Jure Pukl (alto and soprano saxophones), Taber Gable (piano), Josh Ginsburg (double bass), not forgetting the collaboration of Uldrich Edorh (vocals), also remarkable, and present on the last track of the CD.

On their debut album, the Lahore band blends the free-form improvisation of Hindustani classical and jazz with sample-heavy production creating a musical dialogue about faith, spirituality, and the self.