Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. He was primarily a singer of qawwali — a form of Sufi devotional music. Often called the "Shahenshah-e-Qawwali", he is considered by The New York Times to be the greatest qawwali singer of his generation. He was described as the fourth greatest singer of all time by LA Weekly in 2016. He was known for his vocal abilities and could perform at a high level of intensity for several hours. Khan is widely credited with introducing qawwali music to international audiences. He was also a master in Hindustani classical music.
Qawwali is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing originating in South Asia. Originally performed at Sufi shrines or dargahs throughout South Asia, it is famous throughout Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and has also gained mainstream popularity and an international audience as of the late 20th century.
Real World Records is a British record label specializing in world music. It was founded in 1989 by English musician Peter Gabriel and original members of WOMAD. A majority of the works released on Real World Records feature music recorded at Real World Studios, in Box, Wiltshire, England.
Michael Brook is a Canadian guitarist, inventor, music producer, and film music composer. He plays in many genres, including rock, electronica, world music, minimalism and film scores. His collaborations with musicians around the world have made him "one of the most sought-after producers in the music industry." Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Brook lives in Los Angeles. He is the creator of the Infinite Guitar.
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is a Pakistani singer, primarily Qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music. Khan is one of the most popular and highest paid singers in Pakistan. He is the nephew of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, son of Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan and grandson of Qawwali singer Fateh Ali Khan. In addition to Qawwali, he also performs ghazals and other light music. He is also well-known as a playback singer in Hindi cinema and the Pakistan film industry.
Nitin Sawhney is a British musician, producer and composer. A recipient of the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award in 2017, among multiple international awards throughout his career. Sawhney's work combines Asian and other worldwide influences with elements of electronica and often explores themes such as multiculturalism, politics, and spirituality. Sawhney is also active in the promotion of arts and cultural matters, is chair of the PRS Foundation, sits on the board of trustees of theatre company Complicité, and is a patron of numerous film festivals, venues, and educational institutions. In 2021 he was an ambassador for the Royal Albert Hall.
Fateh Ali Khan Jullundhri Qawwal was a classical singer and a qawwali musician in the 1940s and 1950s.
Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan was a Pakistani musician, who played the harmonium in Qawwali music. He was also a member of a well-known family of Qawwali musicians, the Qawwal Bacchon gharana, he was the younger brother of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the son of Fateh Ali Khan, the nephew of Mubarak Ali Khan, and the father of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
Badar Miandad Khan, also known as Badar Ali Khan, was a Pakistani qawwali singer. He released several albums in Pakistan. Several albums were also released under UK and Indian labels.
Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali is a Pakistani Qawwali group, headed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's nephews, Rizwan and Muazzam. They have performed at several editions of WOMAD since 1998, and have recorded several albums.
Filmi qawwali is a form of qawwali music found in the Lollywood, Dhallywood, Tollywood, and Bollywood film industries.
Star Rise is a remix from two previous Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan–Michael Brook collaborations. The album was dedicated to the memory of Khan, who died prior to the album's completion, and released posthumously by Real World Records.
Night Song is a collaborative studio album by Pakistani qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Canadian ambient musician, guitarist and producer Michael Brook. Recorded in 1995 and released in 1996 on Real World Records, it was Khan's last album released on the label during his lifetime. Khan and Brook had previously collaborated for Mustt Mustt (1990), a critically acclaimed world fusion album said to have led Pakistani youth to discover Sufi religious music. The two had not worked for some time but collaborated again for a new album in 1995, naming the album Night Song. The album was produced by Brook, who developed an innovative but difficult production process for the album. Khan recorded improvisations for the album, and Brook had to decide which sections, some of which were an hour long, were the best and how they were going to fit together, without having a structural point of reference to start with or aim towards. He had components recorded on multi-track tapes, and created each track part by part, overdubbing his instrumentation atop of it, a manual process that predated easy forms of digital editing.
Dama Dam Mast Qalandar is a spiritual Sufi qawwali written in the honour of the most revered Sufi saint of Sindh, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (1177–1274) of Sehwan Sharif. The origins of the poem is unknown, since no recordings or written documents exist mentioning it prior to the 1950s. However, legends around the Shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan suggest that the original poem was initially written by the 13th-century Sufi poet Amir Khusrow, then further modified by Bulleh Shah in the 18th century. The poem includes a reference to the town of Sehwan, and the word "Lal" can refer to Lal Shahbaz Qalandar as a young man, his legendary ruby glow, or his red dress. Bulleh Shah gave an entirely different color to the qawwali, adding verses in praises of Shahbaz Qalandar and giving it a large tint of Sindhi culture. It also venerates Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of prophet Muhammad.
"Sanson Ki Mala Pe" is a Hindi devotional poem written by Mirabai in the 16th-century. It is one of many bhajans she wrote in honor of Lord Krishna. It was later re-written as a song and was performed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan during his first visit to India in 1979 at the wedding of Rishi Kapoor. The song is frequently sung at Hindu devotional gatherings.
Most of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's early music was recorded with Rehmat Gramophone House later turned RGH Label. Throughout the ’70s and early ’80s Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan released hundreds of cassettes, most of them containing one or two lengthy songs. Chris Nickson, of Global Rhythm, argues that trying to make order of Khan's entire discography would be a nightmare.
The Day, the Night, the Dawn, the Dusk is an album by the Pakistani musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, released in 1991.
"Tumhe Dillagi" is a ghazal song written by lyricist Purnam Allahabadi and composed by prominent Sufi singer of Pakistan Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
"Mere Rashke Qamar" is a ghazal-qawwali written by Urdu poet Fana Buland Shehri and composed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. It was first performed in 1988 by Khan, and popularized by him and his nephew Rahat Fateh Ali Khan several times in different concerts.
"Sochta Hoon" is a ghazal-qawwali written and performed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, originally in UK 1985 Tour on 28 February at Allah Ditta Centre Birmingham. It had been popularized by him and his nephew Rahat Fateh Ali Khan several times in different concerts.
