Tens of music fans, media representatives and Islamic chanting aficionados flocked to the Virgin store located at Al-Roshan Mall Thursday to witness the signing of the latest Album “Beloved” by the renowned Islamic chanter Masoud Kurtis. The album seeks to portray the charisma of the Prophet (pbuh) and how his recitation would evoke the rawest of emotions inside listeners and includes a re-modeled rendition of Imam Al-Busairi's famous “Burda” poem, dedicated to the love for the Prophet (pbuh). “It was just an unusual scene to behold here in one of the largest stores chiefly devoted to the music industry,” remarked an Indian fan of Kurtis' work at the event. In an interview with Saudi Gazette, Kurtis remarked that in the midst of the countless artists who often sound the same in this field, a “breath of fresh air” needs to surface. “A glimmering light sometimes explodes through the dark seas of redundant and over-recycled music,” he explained. “And this is the case with the new wave of Islamic chanting - the nasheed - which has become a need, particularly in this period of the widespread pervasiveness of purposeless music which has been deviating our youth for decades.” He added that the nasheed genre can transcend other musical genres to higher levels and more respectable standards. Born and raised in Macedonia and of Turkish origin, Kurtis was educated in Britain and seems to reveal every part of the world in him. He beautifully translates this cultural diversity into his extraordinary music, which plays inside countless Muslim homes around the world. Music formed an integral part of Kurtis' life from a very early age and he wasted no time in pursuing his passion for it. As a young boy with exceptional vocal talent, he became quickly noticed for his renditions of nasheeds. Soon afterwards, he started performing with local choirs and nasheed groups and made several international visits to Turkey and the Balkans. His talent spans much further than music, due in part to coming from a religious and scholarly family. He studied Islamic Law and Jurisprudence at the European Institute of Human Sciences in Wales, and is also a talented multi-linguist with proficiency in five languages - which he seamlessly combines in his songs. creating an exceptionally universal form of ‘music'. With the release of his first album, “Salawat”, Kurtis quickly grabbed the attention of the Muslim world, both in the East and the West and won the hearts of thousands of fans with his strong and powerful voice and passionate renditions. “Salawat” was the top ringtone in Kuwait for five consecutive weeks as well as in many other Muslim countries too. Kurtis' gift is continuing to grow, and his latest album “Beloved” is vivid proof of his success. Along with artists like Sami Yusuf, Maher, Nazeel and Hamza Robertson, Kurtis' contribution to nasheeds has made Muslim youth around the world fans of such a meaningful form of ‘music'. The music, lyrics and compositions in this new album, combined with the supremacy of Kurtis's vocals, have truly taken nasheeds to a completely new level.
