Ustad Dildar Hussain Khan: Sur Sangeet (Kanaga)

 |   |  1 min read

Sar Tajen Ke Taj
Ustad Dildar Hussain Khan: Sur Sangeet (Kanaga)

At any Womad one of the most transcendental and transporting musical events is when singers of the Sufi qawwali tradition appear.

Usually fronting a large group of supportive singers and percussion players, the main vocalist is capable of tremedous flights of impassioned, yearning spiritual intensity. It must be hard not to be moved by it.

At recent performances too you find people seem to be spontaneously drawn to their feet to dance in increasing ecstacy. It is music which has that much power.

The most famous qawwali singer was the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, but Ustad Dildar Hussain Khan comes from a fine lineage (his father was a qawwali singer) and as a young man he was invited to join Nusrat's ensemble where he remained for 28 years until Nusrat's death in '97.

Because Nusrat was someone who reached across musical borders (he performed with Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and Peter Gabriel), Dildar and his group -- which includes three of his sons including Abrar Hussain who features on vocal alongside his father on this recording -- this powerful recording of uplifting songs and percussion is much more vibrant than many recordings.

The percussion is prominent, which gives the music an even more driving presence, and sometimes hits such a powerful groove you yearn for the remix album.

However the compelling focus remains on those extraordinary vocals which carry these sometimes lengthy pieces (six of the eight are over nine and a half minutes, the exotically yearning Ya Farid with harmonium to the fore over a gorgeous 13 minutes-plus).

But the percussion instrumentals Dhamaal and Kaharva -- which hit angular beats in an almost handclap funky style -- have a sharp pop economy at fewer than five minutes each, even though they come from a centuries old tradition.

A wonderful recording, prepare to be transported.

For more on qawwali singers and the tradition, including interviews, start here

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   World Music from Elsewhere articles index

Sabrina Malheiros: New Morning; Deluxe Edition (Far Out/Southbound)

Sabrina Malheiros: New Morning; Deluxe Edition (Far Out/Southbound)

Regular readers of Elsewhere will know that not too much of that self-satisfied, cooler-than-you, breathy bossa gets a look in. It bores me witless. But here is an exception: this is cool for... > Read more

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE WORLD MUSIC QUESTIONNAIRE . . . Dayme Arocena

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE WORLD MUSIC QUESTIONNAIRE . . . Dayme Arocena

Singer, composer, arranger and bandleader, DaymĂ© Arocena was recently dubbed by The Guardian as “Cuba’s finest vocalist”. The young Afro-Cuban artist, mentored... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT . . . LORRAINE CROSBY: To Hell, and back to the bingo halls

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT . . . LORRAINE CROSBY: To Hell, and back to the bingo halls

When Simon Cowell kicked Lorraine Crosby off the second round of the UK X Factor competition in 2005 saying she lacked “star quality”, he may well have been right. But she could... > Read more

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Andre Manella (aka Sonic Delusion)

THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Andre Manella (aka Sonic Delusion)

Sonic Delusion is the impressive one-man band/promoter/facilitator and all-round ball of energy Andre Manella who has just released his fifth album, Anything Goes. He lives works and plays... > Read more