Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s lost album to be released after 34 years
After a 34-year wait, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s album ‘Chain of Light’ is ready to mesmerize fans of the maestro. The album is scheduled to debut on September 20, 2024, seventeen years since his death.
The qawaali king’s Instagram account stated, “Today we are very proud to announce the release of Chain of Light — a lost album by the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Party. It will be released by @realworldrec on 20 September 2024.”
The album will feature the great Nusrat himself along with eight other artists and will include a never-before-heard qawwali. The recordings took place in April 1990 at Real World Studios.
Resham, a renowned actress in the entertainment industry, praised Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, highlighting his global fame as a musician and his humanity. In the past few years, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has been involved in various controversies, including alleged tax evasion and being caught on camera drinking and assaulting an employee. Despite these controversies. Recently, he was honored with the Hilal e Imtiaz award, sparking criticism due to his past actions, such as being filmed assaulting someone, yet still receiving national recognition. She was invited as a guest on Ahmed Ali Butt’s show.
She said, “When such a renowned name, not just in Pakistan but also beyond its borders, brings honor to our country, it elevates respect for our nation. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has contributed significantly to enhancing the dignity of our country. Recently, I was deeply moved by a statement made by Rahat jee. He not only sought forgiveness from those affected by his carelessness but also asked for forgiveness from Allah first, then from all of us. In my opinion, Rahat jee immense respect has increased even more. I cannot express it in words.”
Its been 26 years since Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan passed away, leaving the country in such deep mourning that it hasn’t ended yet.
And though his nephew Rahat Fateh Ali Khan became a star in his own right, the Nusrat sized hole in our souls remained hollow.
Until now.
A viral video showing Rahat’s son Shahzaman, has taken social media by storm, astonishing users because of how similar the son sounds to the original maestro, Nusrat.
A twitter user Dan Qayyum, shared the video, shot at a concert in the USA.
Maybe I’m getting overly excited but Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s son sounds like a very young Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the OG!
Soon fans of the Qawalli singer from both Pakistan and India showered praises on young Shahnazam’s talent, proving that by the end of the day music does truly transcend borders!
Nusrat saab was another league but still I would say that he is carrying forward the legacy !! https://t.co/sZVRkIeWJ9
Shahnazam does not have an official Instagram account, but many users have spotted him in concert rehersals with his father, where he once even wrote a caption:
What a great dad he is! Lets me occupy his seat as he takes mine. Knowing that i still have to earn this seat but still how willingly he wants to see me on this seat. How blessed I am to have a father & an Ustad like my dad❤️ – Shahzaman Ali Khan ”
After a powerful acting debut in Hum TV’s Raqeeb Se, Hadiqa Kiani has enthralled fans with her first qawaali Jaanay Iss Dil.
In an exclusive interview with The Current, Hadiqa revealed that Jaanay Iss Dil is Indo-Pak’s “first-ever female qawwali“.
The composition is nothing like anything has Kiani has ever done before. The award-winning singer collaborated with the legendary qawaali icon, late Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s patent Tabla player, Ustad Dildar Hussain for Jaanay Iss Dil.
“Qawaali is indeed the purest form of music. Having had the opportunity to jump into a genre that is somewhat outside my comfort zone, I have an even greater appreciation for the art that is Qawaali,” said Kiani while talking about her latest venture. “The opportunity to work with Ustad Dildar Hussain, someone who has been an important part of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s entourage was nothing short of extraordinary.”
Later, while celebrating the qawwali’s success and the response it got, Hadiqa said that “this was a project of love”, adding that she is grateful that her audiences “were able to connect to our message through the power of pure music.”
“No auto-tuners, no heavy machines, just the beauty of our regional music, our language, our instruments,” she added.
Meanwhile, the poetry of the qawwali has been selected by Abrar Hussain and verses of numerous classic poets have been incorporated to enrich it with Girah Bundi.
The qawwali has been musically arranged and recorded live by one of Pakistan’s leading music producers and Hadiqa’s long-time collaborator and brother, Irfan Kiani, without the use of click track or auto-tuners. Kiani also incorporated the all-elusive Sarangi instrument to add to the beauty of this qawaali. The sound has been mixed and mastered by Eva Kiani.
The qawaali has been produced by Mian Yousaf Salahuddin for Sufiscore and has been visually captured by director Abdullah Haris. Mohsin Naveed Ranjha did the wardrobe while Shahama Sajid designed the set.
As Punjab grapples with coronavirus outbreak and poor economic situation, the provincial government has asked its deputy commissioners to promote ‘qawali’ in the province.
The News reported that Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has directed the DCs to have qawali performance in their respective areas and also promote them on cable networks.
In addition, these civil servants have also been asked to send weekly reports to the Chief Minister’s Office about the concerts.
It reported “a regular monitoring mechanism” has been devised and the CM wants the DCs to send his office the pictures of the programmes as well.
The report claimed that the order to promote qawalis in the province might have come from Banigala — residence of PM Imran Khan where he lives with his spouse Bushra Bibi.
The chief minister has faced a lot of criticism for his inability to run the province. During the two-year tenure of Buzdar, there has been a decline in almost departments of the provincial government.
During his rule, at least six police chief of the province have been changed, five chief secretaries have been shown the door, but things have remained the same.
However, despite all the odds, the PM has decided to stick with Buzdar and said he would emerge as the best chief minister of Punjab.
