A new album of unheard melodies by renowned Qawwal Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan will be disclosed on September 20, 2024, almost 27 years after his death.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (NFAK) recorded several universally acknowledged albums with Peter Gabriel during the 1990s. Recently, he found a lost album from 1989, Chain of Light, by NFAK, in his tape archives of Real World Records.
The official social media team of NFAK broke the news to his fans with the caption, “Joined by his eight-strong party of singers and musicians, Chain of Light presents four traditional qawwals — including one which has never been heard before — and captures Khan at the height of his vocal capabilities in pristine sonic quality.”
The album was recorded in April 1990 at Real World Studios. At that time, he also recorded “Mustt Mustt” with a Canadian producer, Michael Brook.
In 1985, NFAK performed at the WOMAD festival for the first time in front of a Western audience. He also gained fame for introducing Sufi devotional music in Western media. After this, Peter Gabriel signed with NFAK and recorded several universally renowned albums, including “Chain of Light.”
“I’ve had the privilege to work with a ton of different musicians from all over the world in my time, but perhaps the greatest singer of them all was Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan,” says Peter Gabriel. “What he could do and make you feel with his voice was quite extraordinary, and we are very proud to have played a role in getting him to a much wider global audience. It was a real delight when we discovered this tape was in our library. This album shows him at his peak. It’s a wonderful record.”
“There is an amazing clarity to these performances,” producer Michael Brook added. “They are more harmonically adventurous than the other songs that Nusrat was recording at the time, and the whole group is firing on all cylinders.”
“1990 was a key point in Nusrat’s career. It was the beginning of him crossing over into a Western audience,” Khan’s longtime international manager, Rashid Ahmed-Din, says. “Everything just clicked. He always wanted to experiment and not be limited to one sound; these tracks express that movement beyond.”
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“There is an amazing clarity to these performances,” producer Michael Brook says of the recordings. “They are more harmonically adventurous than the other songs that Nusrat was recording at the time, and the whole group is firing on all cylinders.”
Chain of Light track list includes an Urdu Qawwali “Ya Allah Ya Rehman”, Punjabi Sufi Kalam “Aaj Sik Mitran Di” by Peer Meher Ali Shah, Urdu Sufi Kalam “Ya Gaus Ya Meeran” by Nasir Udin Nasir and Persian Qawwali “Khabram Raseed Imshab” by Amir Khusro (Father of Qawwali).
The Team of Chain of Light include Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (vocals, harmonium), Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan (vocals, harmonium), Dildar Hussain (tabla), Mujahid Ali (senior chorus), Rehmat Ali (chorus), Rahat Ali (chorus), Asad Ali (chorus), Ghulam Farid (chorus) and Khalid Mahmood (chorus).
Apart from this album, there’s another surprise for the NFAK fans by Islamabad-based Saiyna Bashir Studio. They are making a documentary on the biogeography of NFAK, which is expected to be released at the end of Earlier this year, the British Council contacted Saiyna Bashir Studio to help Real World Records promote the newly found album.
NFAK died at the age of 48 in April 1997. After his death, no stone was unturned to release his concerts and albums. Finding the Album – Chain of Light – is a miracle for NFAK fans worldwide. It will be released on September 20 and is available for pre-orders in different formats.
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