Sareban – Echoes in the Weave (Worlds Within Worlds, 2026)
On Echoes in the Weave, Swiss-born Afghan rabab player Mathieu Clavel, who records as Sareban, enters the rabab tradition at its deepest structural level.
Clavel’s musical formation places him close to one of its most consequential lines of transmission. His primary teacher, Ustad Daud Khan Sadozai, is one of the masters of the rabab. At the same time, Sareban also incorporates the legacies of rabab luminaries Ustad Mohammad Omar, Ustad Rahim Khushnawaz and Ustad Qurban Ali.
The title, Echoes in the Weave, proves apt. This is an album of interlaced inheritances: Afghan classical and folk music, Hindustani modal thought, Herati color, Kashmiri essences, Iranian flavors and Balochi elements. Clavel weaves these sources into a single fabric, balancing melody with exploratory passages.
The supporting musicians include Ludovic Ottiger, a longtime musical friend, plays the Rajasthani jaw harp (morchang), that generates a mesmerizing drone foundation. Afghan tabla player Faisal Salimi appears on several tracks. He adds a mix of skilled Hindustani classical and Afghan folk rhythms. Indian tabla maestro Subhajit Brahmachari, Turkish percussionist Sakir Ozan Uygan, and Iranian frame-drum specialist Shahab Eghbali each masterfully contribute diverse rhythmic traditions.
Most notable, perhaps, is that Echoes in the Weave does not feature electronics or Western harmonic superstructure.
Author: Tyler Bennet
