Biography
Temple of Sound blends contemporary dance rhythms with global musical traditions under the guidance of multi-instrumentalists Neil Sparkes and Count Dubulah. The pair launched their careers with the British dance ensemble Transglobal Underground in the early 1990s, contributing to that group’s first two albums, the 1993 release Dream of 100 Nations and International Times from 1994. Sparkes and Dubulah chose to strike out independently in 1996, which led directly to the creation of Temple of Sound. The resulting lineup added drummer Terry Neale, vocalist Diva Julianna, and bassist Lina Ikse Bergman, and the expanded collective issued its first independent album, Black Orchid. Sparkes separately established the project Neil Sparkes & Last Tribe in 1999 and released the album Burning Mask that same year. Temple of Sound soon reconvened, however, and delivered its second album, People’s Colony No. 1, in 2001; the record featured vocalist Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali, the nephew of legendary qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, plus bassist Jah Wobble and several other contributors.
Albums
