Al Kauthar is a musical ensemble based in Granada, in the south of Spain. It had its beginning in 2005 in the recitals of Hamza Castro playing the Turkish reed flute called the ney. In the same year he got to know the cellist Salma Vives and they decided to work together. In one of their recitals in Valencia they invited the percussionist Muhammad Scott and from then on decided to work as a trio. In 2007 with the arrival of the violinist and singer Ali Keeler the group became a quartet and it is in this formation that the group became known as Al Kauthar. In the same year the group were joined by the flamenco guitarist and composer Ali ´Chipo` Guerrero who contributed both as a guitarist and composer for about a year.
The music is of a spiritual nature, this being reflected in the name of the group, Al Kauthar, an Arabic word referring to a river in paradise.
The music of Al Kauthar is a combination of instrumental pieces and songs, most of which are in Arabic. The lyrics are mainly drawn from the poetry of well known sufi poets such as Ibn Arabi and al Shushtari and deal with the themes of Divine Love and the sufi path.
The repertoire of Al Kauthar consists of arrangements of traditional songs of Turkish, Andalusi and Arabic origin, as well as original compositions with an array of influences from Western Classical, Flamenco and Celtic musical forms.The music is interspersed with improvised passages which give their music a freshness and spontaneity.
The ensemble has performed in many concerts and festivals throughout Spain, France and Germany. They played two years running at the Sufi Soul Festival held near the city of Cologne in Germany, and at the Festival of Sufi Culture in Fez, Morocco in April 2010. In August 2010, they gave several concerts in Istanbul.
In December 2010, they took part in the Seventh International Festival of Andalusi Music in Casablanca.
They also work with other musicians from Turkish, Flamenco and Moroccan traditions. Recently they have been joined by two musicians from Morocco who are based in Granada – the singer and lute player Uthman Yaqubi, experienced in Andalusi, Arabic and Flamenco genres, and the qanun player Yusuf Al Mezghildi who has an international reputation in both Andalusi and Arabic genres.
Their first album ‘Ruh’ was released in March 2010.