By Stephen Vance, Staff
Two-time Juno award nominees, and the winners of two Canadian Folk Music awards, the Sultans of String will make a stop in Meaford on Saturday, August 29, and not only will they be performing, they will be releasing their new album.
The album, Subcontinental Drift, will serve up a smorgasbord of ragas, reels and rumbas, and it features the sounds of sitar master Anwar Khurshid – a name you might not know, but his sounds have no doubt found their way to your ears in such films as Life of Pi.
In an interview with The Independent, bandleader Chris McKhool said that he and his band mates are looking forward to performing at Meaford Hall.
“I think we played there a long time ago, and it’s a really beautiful spot, it’s gorgeous,” offered McKhool.
The Meaford performance, along with a stop in Midland the night prior, will feature music from their new album, including the highly regarded talents of special guest Anwar Khurshid.
“At both the Midland and Meaford shows we’re going to be having a special guest, Anwar Khurshid, with whom we made this CD,” said McKhool, adding that while the new CD is ready to go, some rules for the annual Juno awards will delay the actual release of the new album until September 1.
The new album treks across all kinds of musical terrain, the fertile soil beneath each track is fed by hope unhindered and freedom sound.
“One of the songs we wrote together, Journey to Freedom,actually traces Anwar’s journey from Pakistan to Canada and finding his new home here. He’s become a great musical and personal friend,”says McKhool, whose name would have been spelled Makhoul in Kfarmishki, Lebanon, where his ancestors are from. “Together we started writing songs about the freedom and equality we experience living here in Canada, about finding ourselves, and our hope of creating a better world. And I feel in some way like these songs reflect our own personal journeys towards finding a world peace.”
With the band about to embark upon yet another tour, The Independent asked McKhool about the challenges of touring in the uncertain modern era for musicians.
“One challenge is the dollars that it takes to keep a bunch of band members watered and fed on the road. You know the music business is kind of a funny beast because 30 years ago we would have had a big record contract, and there would be more cash in the system, but with the collapse of retail, and record companies throwing everything overboard just to try and stay afloat, really we’re left as being an indie band trying to make stuff happen for ourselves, and that has its benefits too – we’ve got all the freedom in the world to do anything we want, and really make music that’s true to us, and comes from our heart,” explained McKhool.
The Sultans of String perform at Meaford Hall on Saturday, August 29, at 7:30 pm. Tickets are available online at meafordhall.ca, or at the Meaford Hall box office.
