Gonjasufi – A Sufi and a Killer (2010) [Warp] // Grade: B+

I hate the overuse of the word “seminal”. I try to use it very sparingly, so you when I do throw it out there, it retains its meaning (or so I hope). Warp is a label that truly earns the “seminal” title. They celebrated their 20th Anniversary last year and have continually brought forth some of the most interesting names (and sounds) in electronic music.

Recent Warp signee Gonjasufi fits well into the label’s eclectic roster. Sumach Valentine (Gonjasufi) was impressive on his split 7″ Kowboyz & Indianz / My Only Friend and his full-length Warp debut, A Sufi and a Killer, builds on the dark mysticism those already familiar with his name expect. Produced by the all-star team of Flying Lotus, Gaslamp Killer and Mainframe, A Sufi and a Killer is a fascinating journey through dark musical alleys filled with Eastern psychedelia, found samples, hip-hop beats and cryptic, poetic vocals that nod to trip-hop.

Creatively speaking, A Sufi and a Killer is an A+++ of an album. The production is inventive, warped and haunting. It’s the perfect base for Valentine’s prophetic vocal mélange. Much like a Flying Lotus album, A Sufi and a Killer is a wide-spanning combination of track lengths that tell a story through their beats when listened to in succession. It’s not an album where you’ll want to pull apart the individual elements. Just let them flow as they’re intended and you’ll take away much more.

Valentine’s vocals fluctuate between bouts of melodic spoken word and impassioned breakdowns. He runs the gamut from Tricky to Gil Scott-Heron to Saul Williams, but at times (see “She Gone”), he lets loose too much and the vocals veer into interesting, but hard listens. Valentine still needs to find that vocal balance where restraint doesn’t have to mean boring. And he has a ways to go.

A Sufi and a Killer is one of those albums that even though it’s far from perfect in some respects, is so creatively exciting that though it might not get an A+ overall, it will undoubtedly still be a favorite come year-end.

- Scrooge McFuck