Merçan Dede – Dede believes that when you combine digital, electronic sounds with handmade, human ones, you can create a universal language capable of uniting old and young, ancient and modern, East and West. It's a bold claim, but the Turkish-born, Montreal-based musician/producer/DJ has the career and the music to back it up. When he takes the stage with his group Secret Tribe, he hovers off to the side behind his turntables and electronics, occasionally picking up a traditional wooden flute or ney to float in sweet, breathy melodies, while masters of the kanun (zither), clarinet, darbuka (hand drum), and whatever other instruments he's decided to include that night adorn his grooves and spin magical, trance-like melodies to match the swirls of the group's spectacular dervish dancer, Mira Burke.

This contrast between electronica and classical or folkloric art goes to the heart of the Sufi philosophy that guides this unique artist. These things are not really separate," says Dede, "The essence of Sufism is counterpoint. Everything exists with its opposite. On the one hand, I do electronic music. The other side is this really acoustic, traditional music. Dede doesn't just bring in any old traditional sounds and sights to embellish his techno beats.