Everything Is in Intention

ABC Perth, "Bringing peace through music" - Perth, Australia
Tuesday, March 18, 2008

The Whirling Dervishes are probably the best known adherents of the esoteric branch of Islam called Sufism.

Not far behind must be a musician who is famous for playing the style of music the Dervishes dance to and for singing about the philosophy of the Sufis. He is the Turkish-born musician who now lives in the US, Omar Faruk Tekbilek.

Visiting the 720 ABC Perth studio, Tekbilek brings his flute-like instrument, called "ney in Turkish, nai in Arabic. It's a nine-piece bamboo - nine makes three and a half octaves possible," he explains.

Going on to explain the philosophy of his music, Tekbilek notes that "in Islam for many years, music was abandoned because in early times the music was used for earthly things - drinking… earthly joys - so music was banned. But with Rumi and the Sufi tradition, they see the real intention, because everything is in intention, if you use it with bad manners it becomes bad but if you use it for spiritual sake, to give relief and peace to people, it is good."

For Tekbilek, the spiritual aspect of music also comes through the actual playing of it. He has been quoted as saying "music is a short cut to God" and he expands on that by saying it's about "the awareness of breath, especially with this instrument, because the sound comes as we say 'hu' (as he breathes across the mouthpiece of the ney). Hu in Arabaic [is] God's name, He. So, from an early age I realised that I'm playing and I'm praying because I'm aware of my breath, I'm riding on my breath - breath riders."

The ride began when Tekbilek's uncle got him to open the uncle's music store in return for being taught how to play instruments. Within years he was mastering what he was playing and "at 12 years old I was a professional musician.

"In our town along the river, because it's a hot country, are all the coffee gardens and they make a stage, bring the musicians, [and] because of the instrument I play [there were] not too many [other players].

"[Then] in 1971, I went to the United States with a tour as a musician. I was very anxious because I read a lot about America before I went because America was the land of opportunity and also because I am a musician I was into jazz at that time. So, I was very excited."

Tekbilek was even more excited on that tour to then meet his then future wife and when he moved to be with her he formed his own band and started playing belly dance music in the many venues that play home to the artform in the US.

One day in 1988 a visitor to one of those clubs was Brian Keane, a producer who was looking for musicians to help him make the soundtrack to a film called Suleyman the Magnificent. It went so well "they offered us another album then we did six albums together…"

Since then Tekbilek has gone on to become one of the major figures in 'world music' and attempts to promote peace through his work. He bases this on the fact that in the Sufi tradition it is important to love the Lord and all of creation.

"There is no distinguishing between the people and nationality is illusion, we are all children of Adam," he notes. "So, now I have a band with a Greek keyboard player, an Armenian, and a guitar player from Israel, so we are showing as an example to people we can be peaceful, we can share common things."

[Picture: Sufi musician Omar Faruk Tekbilek plays his ney in the 720 ABC Perth studio. Photo: Matthew Perkins].