Sultans of String are a two time Juno Award winning group, known for performing a wide array of genres, from Celtic to Gypsy-Jazz. After all, it ain’t easy to earn the label, “Canada’s ambassadors of musical diversity.”

Today, Elmore is premiering the music video for “Snake Charmer,” a track that shows off the group’s wide reaching influences, as inspired by South Asian rhythms and featuring sitar star Anwar Khurshid, whose music was featured in the Oscar Award winning Life of Pi. As the name hints, the track is also inspired by Indian and Pakistani snake charmers and the traditional tune they play to cobras– the most deadly snake on the subcontinent.

As bandmember Chris McKhool says, “To watch a snake charmer make a cobra weave and bob to their music is always fascinating to watch! Snake charmers are also often regarded as traditional healers and magicians, and they make and sell all manner of potions that purportedly do everything from curing the common cold to raising the dead. This song was very fun to record, to see how much sound we could get with only three people playing. Kevin on guitar is actually playing all the percussive elements by beating on his guitar, as well as the drum pedal he is playing with his foot.”

Give snake charmers’ designation as healers, it’s fitting that the seductive lure of the song may melt your stress away, with beautiful, layered and masterful string work. The video is a dreamlike kaleidoscope of images, with footage of the band performing live intercut with the vivid, ecstatic throngs of a Holi celebration– pink, purple, red and green swirling in a mesmerizing pace to the music.

Watch the video for “Snake Charmer” below.