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Dhafer Youssef is a virtuoso oud player and ethereal vocalist whose work cuts across boundaries, genres, and time. Whether someone is a seasoned music lover or a new listener, Dhafer can talk and connect with the listener invitingly. So welcoming yet his music has so many layers the more mindfully you listen to his music the more beauty it reveals. Dhafer's music speaks directly to the heart without the need to understand the lyrics of the songs even though the Arabic lyrics he uses are art itself. In this article, we will delve into the mystic world of Dhafer Youssef and how his rich cultural heritage and spirituality have shaped his music and view on life.
Dhafer Youssef was born in Teboulba, a small village on the coast of Tunisia. Born into a modest family with eight children, Dhafer comes from a long line of muazzins(the muezzin is the person who calls the crowd to the daily prayer Muslims call Azan). Born during the repressive reign of the dictator Ben Ali, Dhafer’s exposure to music comes from different sources. His musical training began when he was three. His grandfather took him to the Qur'anic school where he discovered his vocal potential. But his main tutor was his mom’s radio. In an interview, he said,
“Actually I come from the Qur'anic school. My grandfather was a muezzin, so religious music is part of my life. That’s really my background. But I have to say that the radio was the most important school for me. That was my window into the world. I was listening to the radio in my mother’s kitchen, and I have to tell you, I was listening to everything without making any judgment: rock, classical, Indian, Brazilian, African, everything.”
At the age of six, he discovered the resonance of his voice by singing in the local Hammam. But it was the sound of the oud, the North African lute, that excited him. "It felt like the sound of home," he recalls. "I’d hear music on the radio without knowing what it was, but the moment I heard the oud, it struck a deep chord within me." The connection ran so deep that he tried to craft his own instrument using tin cans and bits of string. "It was a hopeless attempt," he admitted. His father was not poor but with eight children in the house, they hardly could bear the luxury of buying an oud or music lessons.
Picking up melodies by ear and experimenting with his voice Dhafer started to get hired to sing at weddings at an early age. Saving up his earnings he at last bought a real oud. He learned oud and electric bass and discovered “groove” at the youth center in Teboulba. He relocated to Tunisia to attend the Nahj Zarkoun Conservatory in search of broader opportunities but becoming dissatisfied with the traditional teaching, he left for Vienna, Austria. He recalls.
“Everyone at home said, no, you’re crazy. You have a voice, you should stay here and sing. But I wasn’t listening.”
Dhafer Youssef's life underwent a significant change when he moved to Vienna to pursue his passion. He took on any job he could find to fund his life in Vienna, from washing dishes and windows to working as an Italian waiter despite not being Italian. He went through an ocean filled with diversity that changed the course of his artistic journey as he became fully immersed in the city's multiculturalism. Dhafer first enrolled in musicology, but quickly concluded that academic training wasn't for him. All of the struggles he chose to face paid off. During his stay, he discovered jazz and was introduced to Indian music through his jamming sessions in bars and clubs. In 1996 working with Anton Burger, Achim Tang, Jatinder Thakur, and Otto Leichner led to the creation of the album Musafir. The Porgy and Bess jazz club in Vienna offered him to arrange a series of monthly performances, practicing whatever he liked with whoever he wanted. However, he was playing with a tabla player every day and had already partnered with a violist. He had a cultural awakening. During this time, he formed his first band, Zeryab, with Austrian percussionist Gerhard Reiter. In nine months, he gained experience equivalent to ten years working with the French virtuoso.
In 1999 he debuted his first solo album, Malak. The album introduced the world to Dhafer’s fusion of jazz and traditional Arabic music. In 2001 working with Wolfgang Muthspiel (Guitar), Markus Stockhausen (Trumpet), Deepak Ram (Bansuri), Dieter Ilg (Bass), Mino Cinelu (Percussions), Rodericke Packe (Electronics), Will Calhoun (Drums) and Doug Wimbish (Bass), Dhafer created the album Electric Sufi. This experiment enabled him to use his voice as a separate instrument. In 2003 working with Electro-Jazz Scandinavian musicians he released Digital Prophecy. He was nominated two times for the BBC Awards for World Music 2003. 2006’s Shadow Devine was responsible for his 3rd BBC World Music nomination.
Working with Tigran Hamasyan, the drummer Mark Giuliana, and the double-bass player Chris Jennings he released his 5th album Abu Nawas Rhapsody. Released in 2013 according to DownBeat Magazine, Birds Requiem is one of the Top 10 Jazz Albums. The release received praise from music critics worldwide. He released three more albums 2016’s Diwan of Beauty and Odd, 2018’s Sounds of Mirrors, featuring Zakir Hussain on tabla and Hüsnü Şenlendirici on clarinet, and 2023’s Street of Minarets, with contributions from jazz legends Herbie Hancock, Marcus Miller, and Dave Holland. Throughout the years Dhafer Youssef has been a part of approximately 10 collaborations, showcasing his commitment to pushing musical boundaries.
Dhafer Youssef’s music and philosophy reflect a profound blend of humility, optimism, and spirituality. Deeply influenced by Sufi mysticism, he sees music as a personal form of prayer and a way to connect people beyond religious or cultural boundaries. It is this sincerity, spiritual depth, and unwavering optimism, that makes his music resonate so profoundly with listeners around the world. He explains,
“I’m not trying to teach anyone, or tell them what to do, I’m just trying to share with them my story. Because I really feel that I was born a musician. I know that my folks back home still worry about how I’m managing to live and I’d probably tell my own children if they were trying to choose between music and a more secure job, to take the secure job. This life is not always the easy way but the experience of playing with great musicians makes up for all the tough times and really makes me feel fulfilled. Whatever you use—oud or guitar or drums—you express your feeling,”
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