Salman Hanuman Lee, Habib Chishti - Sacred Trance Music from Taos Mountain (EP) (2021) [Hi-Res]

These tracks from the album invites us into the magical world of Habib Chishti, Sufi Master, and Singer. Habib (Patrick Arthur Lee) was born into a Jewish and Catholic home. He lived primarily in Taos, New Mexico starting at age 13.

When one meets Habib today, one sees a huggable bear of a man sharing the infectious twinkle in his eye. He looks like a wandering ascetic on a Himalayan path, yet well fed. His all-encompassing affection for humanity and the world helps one appreciate Habib’s multiple religious backgrounds.

Taos, New Mexico evokes magic, mystery, art, multiculturalism and majesty. Home to the Tiwa speaking Red Willow people of Taos Pueblo for more than a thousand years, home to Spanish settlers from 1600 and “Anglos” (which means everyone not Native American or Spanish) since shortly after the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Taos offers not only breathtaking scenery, refreshing air and light and the magnificent smells of adobe earth, pinion and sagebrush, but also the social problems and triumphant collaborations that come from three distinct cultures living together in what is still in many ways the Wild West.

Taos inspired some of the 20th Century’s most creative artists and writers but also struggles with aching poverty in all three communities. One of my friends exclaimed that Taos is like the Third World, with all its accompanying wonders and struggles, but with delicious safe water and reliable electricity. For Anglos who move to Taos, locals say that Taos Mountain either spits them out or integrates them without prejudice. I leave the truth of this to others and to The Mountain to decide. This famous Mountain lies on the Taos Pueblo reservation, north of the historic Taos Pueblo buildings and north of the early Hispanic fortified village known originally as Don Fernando de Taos.

— Bob Attiyeh

Read Bob Attiyeh’s complete letter here. More information on the album is provided in the 49-page PDF booklet.

Tracklist:
1 01. Habib Chishti;Salman Hanuman Lee - Hanuman Chalisa: Cycles 2-3 (12:07)
1 02. Habib Chishti;Salman Hanuman Lee;Shawnina Good Road Woman;Michael Carl Rosell - Sufi Dhikrs: Nos. 2-3 (16:01)