Loop Guru

How can one describe a band that mixes middle eastern drum beats, deconstructed dance music, pop culture samples, transcendental remixes, ambient jungle rhythms and more chanting than the monks of Tibet? There are only two words: LOOP GURU.

If ever a band embodied the term "Global Villiage," it is Loop Guru. Using a deft combination of old world instruments and vocals with new technology, Loop Guru create a collage of sounds that are somewhat familiar yet still unprecedented. Like an aural vacation, Loop Guru are more of a guide to a higher consciousness that is part of celebration, part history but 100% fun.

More succinctly, Loop Guru are a protein shake for your head. In the blender are the literary works of William Burroughs, the films of Satyajit Ray, the philosophy of spiritual leader Ram Dass, the music of Brian Eno and the astral landscape of a Phillip 'K. Dick novel.

Called the "Godfathers of global fusion" by Melody Maker, Loop Guru core members, who go under the pseudonyms Salman Gita and Jamuud, have been working together for about ten years. Their first recorded collaborations were the singles, "Mrbet" in 1992 and "Paradigm Shuffle" in 1993. Both were voted Single of the Week by British weeklies NME and Melody Maker.

Following the release of a third single "Sus-san-tics," Loop Guru recorded their first full length release "Duniya" in 1994. "Duniya" reached #4 on the UK Indie charts and was named to Melody Maker's Top 40 albums of 1994. Loop Guru gained widespread UK and European exposure due to massive radio air-play, as well as amassing a legion of die hard fans due to their highly stimulating live shows.

While Loop Guru's recorded output has garnered rave reviews, the bands live show is equally, if not more, impressive. Having played over 100 dates in the UK alone in 1995, they also played shows in clubs from Tokyo to Switzerland to New York. On a larger scale, Loop Guru have played for enthusiastic crowds at massive outdoor shows like the Glastonbury festival and Peter Gabriel's WOMAD festival at Reading in the United Kingdom.

For the stateside release of Loop Guru's second full-length release entitled "Amrita...all these and the Japanes Soup Warrior", Loop Guru once again reach into their ever expanding bag of tricks that are sure to open your mind and your soul. Tracks like the techno-dance hybrid "Yayli" and the ambient slow burn "Fumi" are examples of the disparate yet cohesive element that make up Loop Guru's unique sound. According to Jamuud, "There are tunes you can hum but you have no idea what you're humming."

You've never heard anything like them before, nor will you ever hear anything like them again.

from Outer Sound

Single: Paradigm Shuffle / Hope

Track Listing:

Paradigm Shuffle - Dreaming with Kings
Hope - Riding on a Camel Somewhere
Hope - The Original Sin
Paradigm Shuffle - Bird of Paradise
Hope - The Mystery Eposch
Shrine - Dance for Buddha
Mrabet - A Saint by Accident
Paradigm Shuffle - Sensual Edge of Madness
Hope - Cameless Rub-a-Dub
Shrine - Dharmic Dub
Shrine - Love With a Few Hairs
Paradigm Shuffle - Count Dubulah's Hardcore

One of the first singles from Loop Guru ('93) and probably their best to date. Its not often you stumble upon a single with twelve mixes on it - twelve excellent mixes at that, to which Natasha Atlas and Count Dubulah, of Transglobal Underground fame, lone their talents. Hope is a beautiful, yet very sad sounding track, whilst Paradigm Shuffle is a lot faster, guided by Natasha's wonderful chanting.