PRESS
“Through their music, one enters the translucent world of dream landscapes.”
- NRC Handelsblad
“This music is as soft as moonlight and no less magical. The songs on Secret Poetry are subtle, and develop with the patience of planets slowly orbiting the sun. Ultimately, it’s the strength of the melodies and the seductive way they are brought to a full bloom that carries this gorgeous album, and really make it stand out from the crowd.”
- Bandcamp (UK)
“The group “Arifa,” which was founded in Amsterdam in 2010 and appeared two years ago in Cuba, returned with their mix of Eastern music and jazz. It was a special moment for many people to hear such intense and emotional music, equally powerful and so different to the passion that characterizes to Cuban works.”
- Havana LIbre
“Immediately after the start of the concert, the qualities of the band Arifa, founded only a year ago, shined through. The quartet plays chamber music that leads the listeners far away from their daily burdens. With standing ovations the audience expressed their appreciation for Arifa’s music.”
- Leidsch Dagblad
“Their music is just as diverse as their origins, moving from traditional Turkish and Arabic orient sounds to jazz and classical music. Arifa’s inspired arrangements and inventive compositions create an intense, radiant atmosphere.”
- Jazzahead
“This sumptuous album places Arifa very high in the pantheon of world music in Europe. We where conquered by this album which breaths the wind,the space,the time and the infinite.”
- Babel Med (France)
“The music of this unconventional ensemble is not just animated, its thrilling, it’s not obtrusive but intrusive. Arifa was the biggest surprise of the 2010 Dutch Jazz & World Meeting.”
- VPRO Magazine
“Words, nor stars, can do this record justice. The only option is to remain in silence. Beyond Babylon, the first album of this exquisite quartet, was already delightful, and Anatolian Alchemy easily exceeds it.”
- Mixedworldmusic.com by Ton Maas
“By upholding the intimate ambiance and by maintaining the precedence of (musical) depth over an easy gratification of the audience, the eleven tracks form an inviolable cohesion.”
- Jazzflits
“Arifa combines the musical heritage of Babylon, Istanbul, Bucharest and Amsterdam with electronics and contemporary improvisations. The result transcends the sum of its parts and a journey far into the realm of imagination.”
- Songlines Magazine (UK)
“Beyond Babylon – voted best world music release of 2010 Made In The Netherlands.”
- Mixed World Music Magazine
“The compositions, though unmistakably rooted in Turkish or classical Arabic music, are subtly harmonized and injected with styles borrowed from jazz, Balkan music and contemporary Western classical music. This makes for a fiery and compelling ensemble.”
- Volkskrant, Neherlands (*****)
“Immediately after the start of the concert, the qualities of the band Arifa, founded only a year ago, shined through. The quartet plays chamber music that leads the listeners far away from their daily burdens. With standing ovations the audience expressed their appreciation for Arifa’s music.”
- Leidsch Dagblad
“The sound of Arifa is a musical voyage of magical scales and subtle nuances where the listener enters its sound and becomes the center point of its interactions. Only to realize much later that being one with music is still possible in this crazy, hectic world of ours. A masterpiece!”
- Studio Globe
“Arifa enchanted the Bimhuis audience with fascinating music from the Middle East.”
- Cultuur Podium, Netherlands
“Arifa’s album “Beyond Babylon” has a wonderful atmosphere, starting with moving, new-age-like sounds and evolves into a rich oriental, sometimes wild adventure.”
- Slagwerkkrant (The Drummers Magazine)
“Top-quality musicians do not necessarily produce naturally interesting music. Arifa, however, is even greater than the sum of its parts.”
- Radio 6, Netherlands
“Arifa were a big hit with the whole Birmingham City University team at the Dutch Jazz World Meeting.”
- Birmingham City University
“With Arifa, the boundaries of jazz are limitless, and they introduced to the Cuban public fantastic Middle-Eastern music profoundly combined with jazz.”
- Granma, La Havana
“The originality of the arrangements find its match in truly fresh compositions, and daring instrumentation, harmonies and melodies.”
- Songlines
“Dutch quartet Arifa is currently one of the most promising Dutch world music ensembles around. Moving between traditional oriental sounds, jazz and improvised music.”
- Music Center Netherlands
“Seemingly simple themes are transformed into little gems, stimulating and activating the soul by adding irregular modes and rhythms.”
- Musicframes.nl
“Ancient wisdom from the East is reinterpreted through an enlightened Western conceptual framework, resulting in splendid musical alchemy.”
- Parool National Newspaper
“Meticulous, almost cinematographic soundscapes – enticing and melancholic.”