With their debut studio album Explode Yourself, experimental ensemble Love Unfold the Sun delivers an immersive trek through free jazz, Middle Eastern modalities, and raw hard rock energy. Searing and hypnotic, the record captures the band’s balance of wild improvisation and complex interplay—refined from their live performances into a tighter, yet no less visceral, studio statement. We spoke with guitarist and oudist Mustafa Dill to dig into the band’s sonic approach, the evolution behind Explode Yourself, and the spirit that drives their sound.
First off, congratulations on the release of Explode Yourself! What does this album represent for you personally and artistically?
Thanks so much! After two live releases, it was time to document what the band truly does, with the kind of detail a studio setting allows. And in the wake of other things that we’ll talk about below, it was also the right time, energy wise, to capture that.
The album was born out of your recovery from both cancer and heart surgery. How did those experiences shape the music and message of Explode Yourself?
I certainly emerged from both with a renewed appreciation of life, which is of course the gag-inducing Hallmark card cliché—“life is so precious to me now, I don’t take things for granted,” blah blah blah. That is true, but it’s only half the story.
The other and more impactful side of that coin is that now there’s no energy for bullshit: cancer is fatiguing, full-tilt open heart surgery is hella fatiguing and took more than a bit to bounce back from. So one doesn’t have the stamina or patience for nonsense any more. My level of “I don’t give a fuck”-ery is astronomical now! [laughs]
I have to pour my energy into whatever available bandwidth I have, for what matters. So I prioritize—but because of that, what I prioritize to gets pretty condensed, intensified. It has my all.
That in turn allowed the music to be more streamlined, more direct, more focused: trim away the excesses, get rid of agendas and categories—whether this music had to be this or that, a “free jazz” album, a prog album, a style, a genre. None of that matters. Just let it—be. As such, this album is probably the most direct and focused work I’ve done to date.
That intensification I just mentioned, along with the zero tolerance for BS, also gives this album a certain attitude and spirit throughout, I think. And some tunes really show that edge.
The album also feels like the most accessible work I’ve ever done—not by design or agenda, but by simply streamlining, not worrying about genres, and getting directly on with it to the heart of the matter, so to speak: creating joy and offering love.
The phrase “explode yourself” is striking—what does it mean to you, and how does it connect to the themes of the album?
You know those refrigerator magnets with the cut-up individual words? One day about 10 years ago, I came home and my son had put up on the fridge with those magnets: “explode yourself then convulse.” Nothing else, no context, just that. I thought, damn, there’s a song title there…
So the tune was created back then.
But it found its true meaning and place in this album, in the wake of the health issues. Exploding yourself with, and for, the love of life! The title also hints a bit to the common energies between sex and improvised music—I’m talking at the deep energetic level, where the core of your essence lives, where your atoms vibrate. From the parallel shapes and undulations of bodies and wave forms, to sonic and physical vibrations, to either act being vulnerable, honest, open states of consciousness that require both connection and release to others. Both processes tap into a very deep and common well of the life force.
How would you describe the sound of Love Unfold the Sun to someone who hasn’t heard your music before?
Someone once said, more or less, at a gig to me; “If Mahavishnu, Miles and Broetzmann’s Die Like A Dog quartet had a party in an Istanbul punk/metal club, it would be you guys.” That’s a pretty fair assessment.
(Actually she was a little more risqué than that, implying a post-orgy love child between Mahavishnu, Miles, the Die Like A Dog quartet, Oum Koulthoum, Turkish makam improvisations and Black Sabbath, but I cleaned up the reference for most press. [laughs]).
Usually I tell people who are curious and wouldn’t know those references that it’s a hard classic rock/metal/Middle Eastern/free jazz mashup band.
Your group is known for a freer approach to the world/jazz fusion genre. What sets your musical interplay apart from others in the same space?
I’m pretty steeped in free jazz, as all the band members are, so the output comes from that operational perspective. I did a lot of acoustic solo work in the ’90s in the free jazz/improvised music space (in those days I was exploring how free jazz and improvised music ideas would mesh with pre-Paco De Lucia flamenco elements) and had the good fortune to meet and work with some luminaries and play some important festivals and venues in the genre (FMP, Nickesldorf).
At the same time, there’s my cultural background, which we’ll get into below, and I’m also a rock and roll kid. [laughs] So that’s a part of it, too.
Everyone in this band has that free jazz background and sensibility and sensitivity – in free jazz, it’s all about the listening to each other—and they each bring that to the table, full force. I wouldn’t have it any other way: I sought out that skillset when finding bandmates, and I’m so blessed. And they’re not afraid to rock, either.
I think others in the world music/fusion space may not always come from that background and experience in free jazz, or hard rock and metal, for that matter. Or if they do, maybe they just don’t love those genres as much. [laughs] Which is fine. They’re just coming from somewhere else, and they bring their own thing and create their own beauty.
Can you talk about the process of recording the debut album—how did the studio environment influence the group’s dynamic and energy?
Well, it’s the debut studio album… We’ve done live releases, but those can have issues technically, so we needed to get into a better environment and document in detail what we’re capable of. We tracked it all in three days, and all the soloing and interplay is live (except for the guitar solo in Delirium, which I had to retrack), so we kept it honest to what we do.
At the same time, being in the studio allowed me to fill out the timbral and textural palette some, so I went back and overdubbed a bit—some backing power chords, doubling the backing riffs; replaying some of the written melodies a little cleaner, a harmony line in near the end of Steppe Up. The oud solo over the intro in Explode Yourself and the oud in the bridge in Delirium were also post group session additions… So, little light touches here and there, but not detracting from what we do as a unit.
What role does improvisation play in your compositions, both live and in the studio?
It’s huge! I love the dialogue and conversational aspect in free jazz, I live for that. I’d rather dialogue with my bandmates than do a static solo. There’s room for soloing, sure, and the need for it timbrally and texturally to break things up a bit, but the magic happens in the conversations, for me.
The compositions—and I try to provide strong ones for us—are the mere springboards, the frameworks, for the improvisation. The improv is the focus.
The written material is the fuel for the journey. When we start playing, it’s our collective duty and responsibility, and joy, to create and offer up that journey for the listener, take them with us.
As a guitarist and oudist, how do you navigate blending traditional and modern musical languages?
I grew up in a very mutli-culti environment, with my father being German-Irish and my mom Mexican, with a Lebanese branch in her family tree. So I grew up listening to mariachi, flamenco, Oum Koulthoum, Fairuz, the Beatles, Herb Alpert, Broadway musicals, etc. It was a very eclectic musical household!
There was also a stretch of living in France as a kid, and that exposed me to all the North African/Maghreb influences, where we were living (Montpellier). And Montpellier is quite close to the Camargue region, which has a strong flamenco element–so along with the Maghreb presence, I had additional reinforcement to the earlier flamenco and Middle Eastern childhood exposures.
Coming back to the States I discovered rock ‘n’ roll, and gradually went more and more into prog, then into fusion, then very briefly into straight jazz/bebop, then into free jazz.
So it all comes out—I’m a product of all that mix and those environments.
But how all of that can meld cohesively is what continually, perpetually interests me. That’s probably at the core of all my work, the constant thread.
Over the years, some elements have been more to the fore than others. The acoustic ’90s work, for example, had a more traditional cultural element. Pray For Brain (the band I had about 10 years ago) was more prog-rock, more cerebral (and a tad gentler than LUTS).
But Love Unfold The Sun is, I think, the first band I’ve put together that can bring all those spaces together in equal measure, in a unified, organic way. And I think this album conveys that ability for that vision, over the span of it.
Early on, I realized that to focus on any one of those spaces – i.e., to be an exclusively traditional flamenco player or oudist or rock guitarist or jazz head – would be dishonest to myself and deny the other aspects of my background. So I simply honor that diversity, embrace it all and celebrate life in my own skin, be authentic to my totality and let that synthesis flow out in the work…hopefully in an interesting, organic and cohesive way.
We could do a deeper dive on technically how I approach juxtaposing and navigating traditional and modern musical vocabularies by breaking down a tune or two, though that’s probably too detailed for this article. But let me know if you wanna go there…
Was there a particular moment during the making of Explode Yourself that felt like a breakthrough or emotional turning point for you?
That happened in post-production. Only after it was all mixed and I was reviewing the first mastering passes, did it hit me, how joyous, how streamlined, how unencumbered and free it felt. And it took me a hot minute to put it together, why it was that way…, which we talked about at the top of our convo.
I’m glad it hit me later, rather than during the process: it would have overlaid an agenda, it would have forced a mandate of “Im going to make an album that will be celebratory out of all of these experiences”. But it just happened of its own, and the epiphany of why it feels as it does came later.
The album radiates joy and vitality. Was that an intentional contrast to the heaviness of your health journey, or a natural evolution of your mindset?
I am so glad and pleased you picked up on that! Thank you!!
That really is what it’s about: It’s a raucous, joyous celebration, – exploding yourself with and for the love of life, as I said, – vehicles for musical conversations stripped to the core to let the music breathe and live and play.
It wasn’t an intentional contrast to the health issues, but more a natural outgrowth from them – that streamlining and condensing process, as we talked about above.
I don’t view the health challenges as heavy, by the way. Yes, they were serious and recovery from both was grueling, , but what it gave me – to be able to revitalize and streamline and focus, to say no to nonsense and agendas – such a blessing, such a gift. Serious and painful gifts, no doubt, but I’m grateful for them.
Who are some key musical influences—global or otherwise—that helped shape the sound of this record?
We talked about the broader influences above, but specific influences – artists that were game changers for me – include, but not limited to, and in rough order of discovery:
Led Zeppelin, live. I’ll put it to you that they were the most free jazz and telepathic rock band live , ever, and I loved them for that. Grateful Dead and jam bands improvise, but GD and many of the jam bands don’t listen to each other – they’re not responding, just playing and noodling. No telepathy, no true interplay or sensitivity. And LZ’s writing was impeccable.
I could expand at length, but you have finite space 🙂
McLaughlin/Mahavishnu. Out of all the fusion bands of the time, their degree of interplay and telepathy was astonishing, and they coupled it with some of the most sophisticated and elegant writing of the era, IMO. That’s an unbeatable combination – and parallel to LZ in their own way on those two qualities – and the benchmark both bands set in how to marry those two elements has stayed with me.
Stravinsky , Rite of Spring; Alban Berg, Wozzek Game changers. What you learn from those two works compositionally – how to create so much from such tightly controlled parameters and initial resources – will last you a lifetime, both in composing and improvising.
Cecil Taylor. Huge game changer. I had the blessing to know him and work with him briefly. Profound, almost too profound to discuss. Suffice to say, deep and permanent in shaping my outlook, how I organize material, etc.
Peter Broetzmann free jazz legendary saxophonist/taragoto – ist, also no longer with us, sadly. I think his Die Like A Dog Quartet , along with Cecil’s trio with Tony Oxley and William Parker, was probably the best free jazz group in the last 30 years. The rapport, the listening, the synchronicity and sensitivity, the wisdom to lay out, the dynamic and timbral range, . …
A big model/template for LUTS, actually, not just in the lineup (trumpet/bass /drums as the other band members), but in how they did what they did.
I had the good fortune to meet him several times as well. We talked about doing something, but it never came to pass.
Munir Bashir, Necati Celik, Iraqi and Turkish oud players, respectively. Though my family branch is Lebanese, my oud vocabulary gravitates more to the Turkish style – just feel a deep affinity with it – and some Iraqi school as well.
After the open heart surgery, I found myself listening to a lot of modern progressive metal. Weird choice for recovery music! 🙂 I discovered Jinjer – such an amazing band. And for me to like a band with no soloing or improvisation is saying a lot! But their writing is high craft and complex without ever being showy, then their execution of that material so tight and flawless, and Tatiana’s vocal deliveries so wide ranging and impassioned. Brilliant, brilliant band.
Early formative guitar influences would run the standard gamut: Page, Lifeson, Howe, Zappa, etc. An underrated one from those days no one talks about is Kim Mitchell of Max Webster: great writing, and his melodic /harmonic choices in his lead playing so unique.
What does the Southwestern U.S. scene bring to your music? Has the environment or local culture played a role in your sound?
I think geographically, the desert here, the mountains, the sky and quality of light here, are inspiring to be around, so that influences, perhaps. The free jazz/creative/improvised music scene here is actually quite strong now, creatively at least, if not economically. Chris Jonas, who does a ton of amazing things and whom I met on the Cecil gig, lives here now; Jeremy Bleich; Jim Goetsch is here, Kim Stone (of the Rippingtons and Spyrogyra) is here, David Forlano, Trey Gunn… a bunch of interesting folk have settled here, so it’s a very creative place to be.
What do you hope listeners walk away with after experiencing Explode Yourself?
If they pick up on the vitality and joy as you have, then I’m very happy, and very blessed and honored! We will have done our job, if those qualities resonate with others.
Looking ahead, what’s next for you and Love Unfold the Sun—touring, more releases, collaborations?
I would love, love, LOVE to tour this band! I’m ready, and would love to offer what we do on a wider scale. We’ll see how the response is to the release, and start working from that.
I’m planning on a solo acoustic release late summer /early fall – revisiting the territories I was doing in the 90s, as mentioned above, but with a fresh perspective. There will be oud on it as well. I may expand the free flamenco concept to a group setting; that’s something I’m seriously thinking of.
I also have a lot of archive material that just surfaced from helping my mother move – so I have some of those acoustic concerts from the 90s, early incarnations of LUTS from the 2000s, a live duo set with Ava Mendoza…. Lots to pour through, evaluate, see if it’s release-worthy or not.
Karl Sanders (of the death metal band Nile) and I have talked about doing a duo project together; hopefully we can make some headway in 2025 on getting that going.
LUTS drummer Dave Wayne and I are also in a band called Present Moment, a free funk/jazz collective spearheaded by saxophonist/keyboardist Jim Goetsch and with Kim Stone on bass. Present Moment also has a new CD out now as well. I’m interested to see where that band goes, too!
Explode Yourself is out now via Norumba Records and is available from Bandcamp. Follow Love Unfold the Sun on Facebook.
