"achingly beautiful vocal" The Guardian
Divine Shadows
"five stars" Observer
"Aarset and Youssef have forged a thrilling new sound that could make Divine Shadows a crossover hit"
The Guardian
"... a meditative thing of frequent beauty and unquestionable tastefulness."
The Independent On Sunday
"This heady, enticing cultural clash - the sensual warmth of Youssef's Middle East meets the cool sensuality of his European collaborators...has yielded moments of quite sublime beauty... the results approach the hypnotically sublime."
Jazzwise
"there's got to be something pretty astonishing coming out that will prevent this being my album of the year!"
Fiona Talkington, BBC Radio 3 Late Junction
Digital Prophecy
"Intricate melodies and textures abound"
The Times
"Youssef's music marries ancient meditative sounds of Arabic origin with up-to-the-second electronica, fractured acoustic funk and jazz-influenced improvisation. Youssef's music continues to cast a considerable spell."
Mojo
"Supple grooves and subtle soundscapesmake a calm but impassioned plea for understanding and dialogue and invite you in like cool, tiled architecture on a sweltering day"
BBC Online
"Genuine musical and emotional beauty"
"a tantalizing record"
Jazzwise
"astounding
Birmingham Post
Electric Sufi
"What sets this album apart is the jazzy backbeat of boopy percussion and cool brass topped by some awesomely eerie vocals - soft and fluent and soaring in the mystical style of the Muslim Sufis. It's spellbinding."
Traveller
"a stroke of genius..... a beguiling mix of the passionate spirituality infusing qwaali and the visceral appeal of cutting-edge electronic music."
BBC Music Magazine
"In a territory full of self-indulgent ramblings, this CD stands out as intensely musicals, focused and yes, spiritual, in a designer sort of way. He's not only a fine oud player, but a spectacular vocalist. This is a CD and a musician I want to keep coming to."
Evening Standard
Live reviews
"the kind of gig you watched and prayed would never end, charged with such magic that you knew you would be telling people about it in years to come"
Straight No Chaser
"really raises the roof"
The Guardian
"achingly beautiful vocal"
The Guardian
"I believe we were lucky to be in that enchanted loft. We were seeing the beginnings of something that is going to make waves...."
"the atmosphere was electric and you saw an audience transported"
The Evening Standard
"It's music that tethers Third world beats to First World technology, a thin cross-cultural membrane connecting the ancient with the modern, the sacred with the profane."
Mojo
"...the Tunisian vocalist and oud virtuoso juxtaposes the ancient, mystical, hypnotic music of Islamic Sufism with the textures of electric jazz."
Time Out
