To listen to Mercan Dede is to be irresistibly drawn into a mezmerizing spiritual and emotional experience whether you wish it or not.

From his early days in Canada in the 1990s as a DJ (in which he still continues in his techno alter ego Arkin Allen) he has developed, in a relatively short time, into a fascinating and accomplished composer, arranger and musician. On this album, Su, meaning water, he again brings together a characteristic collaboration with globally diverse performers, including singers from Turkey and Tunisia and of course the Canadian, Hugh Marsh whose electric violin playing and other talents have long been one of the indispensible mainstays of the Dede recorded and live sound. Using orthodox Sufi and other instruments, the human voice, sampled sounds, mixing and electronica Dede seamlessly manipulates and weaves them into a shifting landscape of music, a manifestation in sound appositely embodying the Sufi belief of pantheism.

With thematic titling, as is his habit, rythmic and ritualistic, the album starts quietly and slowly with a understated track, Ab-i Ru, but if it was anyone other than Dede it would be merely ambient homogeneity. And the first half of the album, although undeniably beautifull, does feel rather too even in pace and texture. The best of these first tracks is Ab-i Beka with the lush, breathy voice of Susheela Raman floating above the music. The latter half of the album is dominated by the potency and strength of other distinguished and distinctive voices, and Su truly becomes alive and moves away from the more flowing meditational tracks with Ab-i Cesm an anonymous song from the Kerkuk region arranged by Dede and Sabahat Akkiraz, the Turkish folk vocalist, a haunting and extraordinary track with the voice of Akkiraz rising powerfully above the demanding grinding and discordant sounds. Ab-i Beste has a similar any edge to it but with a devotional like chant of poetry written by Abdi of Urfa. Dhafer Youssef's outstanding and remarkable voice on Ab-i Hazan climbs to heady acoustic heights that will make your hair stand on end and Turkish rapper Ceza finishes Ab-i Nafi with snappy rolling vocals but for me this ends rather too abruptly; I wanted to hear more from him.

Mercan Dede's Su is not for peripheral listening - sit or lie down or even have a gentle whirl and give yourself up the beauty of the rich layers of accumulating sound that is idiosyncratic of his recordings.

Su doesn't quite achieve the breathtaking holistic quality of his last album, Nar, but is for the most part is very satisfyingly and successfully different and we wouldn't want or expect less than that from him. It is still exquisite and magical enough to listen to again and again and I have. What is disappointing is the lack of accompanying information.I always like to know more about an album as well as what I can hear and would have loved to have had some illuminating sleeve notes. Being able to read the lyrics (in translation), where there are lyrics, and a little about the concept and background of the album and artists always adds to my enjoyment and understanding. I wonder if this is a deliberate descision on the part of Dede to keep us guessing or even to make us think?