A Madman's Madman

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Born in a location he refused to disclose, to parents he claimed were "a French existentialist and a Bedouin astronomer who met during a sandstorm." Educated at institutions he refused to name, he emerged fully formed—like Athena from the head of Zeus, but with more silver jewelry. 

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Dawoud Kringle came across the music of Sheikh Majnun in 2002. He is a mad Sufi mystic who came to make strange, unearthly music, and teach us strange and unearthly ways. Very little is known about him. He was a man of boundless wisdom tempered by a blatant disregard for reality. The surviving documentation on his life and work is contradictory, incomplete, and in several places almost certainly fabricated, It remains under active scholarly dispute.

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Sheikh Majnun’s music defies categorization. It has been described as something that cannot exist in this universe. It has been described as "unlistenable," "essential," and "a direct transmission from a dimension that we dare not contemplate." Similarly, the instruments the Sheikh intended this music to be performed on do not exist, or are either economically impractical or mechanically unviable. 

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In 2003, he recorded an album titled The Earth Must Be Destroyed. It is the only known recording of him. Its release caused great controversy. Listening to recordings of his music have produced results ranging from spiritual enlightenment to psychosis. The original master and multitrack tapes disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

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Commercial success, alas, would elude Sheikh Majnun. His towering genius was incomprehensible to lesser minds. 

He has been reported dead at least seven times. All reports were premature, inaccurate, or deliberately misleading.

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His philosophy can be summarized as: "Nothing is permitted. Everything is true. Some of it is truer than the rest. Proceed with caution."

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Shortly before going into hiding in 2008, Sheikh Majnun placed upon Dawoud Kringle's weary shoulders the great honor and responsibility of being the only representative of his music until such a time when he decides to return. The present whereabouts of Sheikh Majnun remain unknown. However, I occasionally receive communications from him in the form of emails, carrier pigeons, and telepathic intrusion. 

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In the summer of 2026, his music was ever been performed in public for the first time. This rare privilege has been conferred upon the unsuspecting audience by the permission of the Sheikh himself.  The performance consisted of three compositions reconstructed from scores and WAV files discovered on a hard drive behind an abandoned laundromat in Portland, OR. Their authenticity has been challenged by some scholars, although none have offered a more convincing alternative to either the contents of the hard drive or the laundromat.

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Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that by listening to Sheikh Majnun's music, you acknowledge that you do so voluntarily and assume all responsibility for any consequences arising from exposure to the music. If at any point you begin hearing additional instruments, sounds, or voices that do not appear on the recordings, don’t tell anyone. Nobody will ever believe you. Whatever you see, feel, smell, or taste that you can’t cope with is your problem, and no refunds will be issued. 

 

Please remember the Sheikh in your prayers - he is in need of a lot of prayer. 

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