Dhafer Youssef

Dhafer Youssef

Singer, ud master and composer Dhafer Youssef, born in Tunisia in 1967, started singing at the age of five. Unlike his grandfather, the muezzin of the local mosque, Youssef tries to improve his voice by singing songs he hears on his mother's radio.

He was introduced to the ud, bass guitar and groove at a youth center in his hometown of Tabulbah. After playing at weddings and having a go at the conservatory of the capital Tunis, he was not satisfied and moved to Austria to develop further musically. When he discovered that he wasn't looking for an academic education after all, the master fell under the spell of jazz and ethnic tones like Indian music.

He released his first album in 1996 and his music continues to mature today. In 2001 the second album "Electric Sufi" is released. With this mainly electronic album, Dhaffer Yousef not only succeeds in experimenting perfectly, he also positions his voice as an instrument in itself. The Tunisian star, who has signed many different projects and musical collaborations and countless touching albums, continues to work with Turkish musicians such as Hüsnü Şenlendirici.