From Mere Rashke Qamar to Afreen Afreen; every music lover must have had these songs in their playlist once in a while. Such is the aura of the legendary singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, popularly known as the King of Qawali, who introduced qawali to the western world.
Born on October 13, 1948, in Faisalabad, Pakistan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was a Pakistani singer who is considered one of the greatest performers of qawwali, a Sufi Muslim devotional music characterized by simple melodies, forceful rhythms, and energetic improvisations that encourage a state of euphoria in the listener.
Following his father’s death, Nusrat continued to study the recordings of his father and uncles, using them as a springboard from which to develop his own style. Within just a few years he had established himself throughout Pakistan as the outstanding qawwal of his generation, singing powerfully and expressively in a very high register (a family trademark), with remarkable stamina and melodic creativity. In concert he was usually accompanied by tabla (a pair of single-headed drums played with the hands), harmoniums (or reed organs; small keyboard instruments with a foot-operated bellows), and backing vocals.
As he matured as a performer, Nusrat made various adjustments to his style, such as increasing the tempo, as a means to elevate qawwali to a new level of aesthetic and spiritual resonance with contemporary and international audiences. He had a vast repertoire including not only the Khusrau songs in Hindi and Farsi from the original classical qawali repertoire but also the vastly rich body of work left by Punjabi mystic poets of the past.
Khan is often credited as one of the progenitors of “world music. Widely acclaimed for his spiritual charisma and distinctive exuberance, he was one of the first and most important artists to popularize qawali, then considered an “arcane religious tradition”, to Western audiences. His powerful vocal presentations, which could last up to 10 hours, brought forth a craze for his music all over Europe.
In 1985 he gave a concert in the United Kingdom, and word of his talent began to spread. He was soon performing regularly throughout Europe. He first toured the United States in 1989, and in the 1990s he contributed to the sound tracks of several popular films. Nusrat also worked with a number of internationally recognized figures in popular and art music. Popular musician Peter Gabriel promoted Nusrat on the world music circuit through his WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) festivals and through recordings on his Real World Records label. Meanwhile, composer Michael Brook helped increase the accessibility of Nusrat’s vocalizations by recasting them within Western rhythmic frameworks.
Nusrat believed in the universality of the musical message and strove throughout his career to make his music transcend religious and cultural boundaries.
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/art/qawwali
https://www.darbar.org/article/legendary-figures-nusrat-fateh-ali-khan-the-qawwali-powerhouse