Umer Piracha
// Origin: Multan, Pakistan. Currently: New York City
// Genre: Sufi Music, World Music, (Raga) Jazz
// Website: www.falsamusic.com
Bio
Sufi Music for Voice | Invoking Meditation, Transcendence, and Conversation.
Raised in the Sufi city of Multan, Pakistan, Umer Piracha was classically trained in voice from the age of four. Today, his contemporary arrangements of 14th-century Sufi music captivate audiences from Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to NPR broadcasts. Collaborating with a diverse range of improvisational musicians, Umer transcends cultural boundaries and genre norms to craft performances that invite meditation, conversation, and transcendence.
Stay connected with Umer's journey by following @falsamusic on Instagram, and Falsa on Facebook
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Albums:
Book of Ragas Vol.2 A blend of American jazz and Eastern Indian scales along with Umer’s Sufi vocal improvisations.
American Sufi Contemporary arrangements of ancient music, transcending genre-specificity and cultural preconceptions, in collaboration with a diverse array of improvisational world musicians.
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Based in New York City, Umer Piracha draws his musical roots from 14th-century Sufi music, a form of Indian classical mysticism echoing Rumi's elevating poetry. Through contemporary arrangements and collaborations with a diverse array of improvisational world musicians, Umer transcends genre-specificity and cultural preconceptions.
Performing both solo and under the project 'Falsa,' he crafts musical experiences that span the spectrum from minimalist meditative to raga jazz fusion, and from high-energy world improvisation to more immersive, ritual-communitas oriented performances with dancers and stunning visuals. At the core, Umer seeks to normalize the transcendent experience inherent in music.
The name 'Falsa' holds a profound personal and mystical connection for Umer. It refers to a tropical berry native to India and Pakistan, symbolizing the Sufi concept of longing for union after a state of separation. This resonates deeply with Umer's own life experience – after spending a decade unable to return to Pakistan due to complex immigration bureaucracies, his eventual homecoming and tasting the fruit again served as a cathartic realization. Umer discovered that "home is something you cannot take with you, you have to return to it”.
Follow Umer @UmerPiracha and @falsamusic on Instagram, and Falsa Music on Facebook
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