It all starts with the voice. At turns heavy and hulkingly powerful, yet agile and pointedly precise, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s vocal not only embodies the tradition of the Sufi qawwali but it is the emotive essence of singing itself. Descended from a 600-year-old lineage of qawwali singers, Nusrat’s voice has been singularly responsible for spreading the devotional music of Sufism to the world, ever since he became the leader of his family’s musical group in 1971. It is a formidable heritage for an ancient song. Originating in 10th Century Iran, qawwali is the music of Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam. Characterised by states of musical ecstasy and sophistication, qawwali singers are the mouthpiece of divine power, tasked with capturing the audience’s attention and heightening their consciousness to receive a spiritual message. Chain of Light is an album of previously unheard recordings of the singer and his qawwal party made at Real World Studios in 1990, whilst he was at the height of his vocal capabilities. Carefully restored from the original analogue tapes, this ‘lost album’ of traditional qawwals includes a pristine recording of the much-loved classic ‘Ya Allah Ya Rehman’, as well the only known performance of ‘Ya Gaus Ya Meeran’.
