jaubi: nafs at peace
Francisco Espregueira
Drawing inspirations from elements of North Indian classical music, hip hop and modal/spiritual jazz, Jaubi present their debut LP entitled Nafs at Peace, via the Polish jazz-force Astigmatic Records. The Nafs journey began officially began back in April 2019 when London’s multi-instrumentalist and 22a label boss Ed “Tenderlonious” Cawthorne and Polish pianist/composer Marek “Latarnik” Pędziwiatr of EABS/Błoto, visited the Jaubi collective in Lahore, Pakistan. Together they channeled their personal struggles at that time into the two recording sessions, allowing the musicians to find a spiritual path through a musical purge that resulted in this mesmerizing album.
The title, Nafs at Peace, refers to the last purification step the self has been through. At this level, “the self no longer struggles due to the love of God, by becoming at peace and tranquil with God’s will”. That is spirit behind the record, exquisitely translated into music by the sextet. The four members of Jaubi, plus Latarnik and Tenderlonious, go into a deep state of musical freedom, forgetting about their worldly issues and creating a sound that translates spiritual languages. In many ways, Nafs at Peace represents a struggle, an expression of gratitude and an acknowledgement that the musician's inspiration comes from a higher power. The bold album cover portrays the mother of JAUBI’s bandleader, tearfully praying to God to get her son through that dark period of his life. Available on vinyl, Nafs at Peace is a special record that we have to share.