His life is amazing...His father was himself a writer and a sufi mystic out of city life...
he was merely fasting and praying all day long younger... But he sees spiritual life too easy this way... He goes in the world to change it by his action and fortify his own resolve and meditate not in the confort of a cave but in city life ...
He is a mystic of high level and his music is not well recorded because he only play in private and family and with selected invitation only for prayers... He improvised to play... he was considered at ten years old as the greatest master of tanbur...
his music is only to tune our consciousness toward ectasy by God presence ...
all recording were made by disciples using tape recorder ... he never played for show or in public...
no other musician i hear is so impressive on a string instruments as improvisation ...very complex rythmic ...
His music is not so much beautiful as captivating and moving as a lava flow carrying all heart... We cannot understand is music out of understanding a true prayer : attention focus on pure love...
By the way Yehudi Menuhin goes to see the musician praying with his tanbur, and he said that it was the greatest musical experience of his life.. I bought the first cd because of this recommendation ...
As you had heard his tanbur was unique because no one had one with these two chords tuned as vibrating drones...
His music is not classical persian music...He improvize it all ...
Interesting short Bio of Ostad Elahi:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaw7eWzgWr0
This video explains that Elahi designed an instrument with two strings that are deliberately not quite in tune. I noticed this effect as soon as I began listening to the track. This is a very different approach than what I’m used to as a guitar player!
... And another, longer film: