Kabir Mela: Classical Approaches

For this fourth volume of Sant Kabir’s music we move away from slick pop production to the classical and semi-classical world.   This collection is really quite impressive.  A double CD of over 2 hours of music performed by a diverse group of India’s (Abida Parveen is the sole Pakistani represented) top rung classical singers.

The CD opens with a bhajan (Bhajo re Man) sung by brothers Rajan and Sajan Mishra which from the very opening taal locks into a trance-inducing rhythm powered by their powerful voices and a supportive tabla. The brothers represent the Benaras gharana, Kabir’s purported city of birth so this track is especially meaningful.  This is followed by Ustad Rashid Khan, arguably India’s greatest living classical singer, singing Dukh mein Sumiran

Dukh Mein Simran Sab Kare, Sukh Mein Kare Na Koye
Jo Sukh Mein Simran Kare, Tau Dukh Kahe Ko Hoye

Translation

In anguish everyone prays to Him,
in joy does none
To One who prays in happiness,
how can sorrow come

And so the music flows. Incredibly high quality singing, wonderful arrangements and diverse styles.  The scholar, entrepreneur and artist Shubha Mudgal contributes two tracks as does Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar whose records should always be sought out.  He is one of my favourite bhajan masters.  Here he contributes a surprising (complete with piano, drums and guitar) interpretation of one of Kabir’s most beloved dohe, Mano Laago Mero Yaar 

जो सुख पावो राम भजन में,
सो सुख नाही अमीरी में ॥

Translation

The ecstasy I get from chanting God’s name/is greater than the pleasure  I find in riches

Abida Parveen‘s stunning Sahib Mera Ek Hai (see earlier post) opens the second CD which in some way is the more interesting of the two if you are looking for a bit of change up in styles.  The CD ends up a very almost jaunty rendition of Jhini Jhini Chadariya by Rekha Bhardwaj.

Just dip into this collection at any point and you’ll be sucked in, blown away and elevated to another plane.  This is true devotional music. Mystical music that comes from the spirit but resonates with our very human, pumping and aching hearts.

A five star compilation.

 

Track Listing:

Disc. 1

01 Bhajo re Man

02 Dukh Mein Sumiran

03 Na Kachu Ram Bina

04 Mero Haar Heraano

05 Beet Gaye Din

06 Mano Laago Mero Yaar

Disc. 2

01 Sahib Mera ek Hai

02 Amarpur le Chal ho Sajna

03 Saeen Bina Darad Kareje Hoye

04 Rehna Nahi

05 Bhajo re Bhaiya

06 Jhini Jhini Chadariya

KABIRcollection

Yad: A South Asian Folk Mixtape

 

I am in the United States for a few days to tend to final arrangements around my father who passed away in early August.   As I spend time with my family and reflect on his life and impact I am naturally overcome with memories.

Yad, is the Hindi/Urdu word for memory or remembrance. And as I was preparing some material for the service later this week I searched my system for some appropriate music to listen to.  Almost as if by design, I came across this mixtape I made a long time ago, which I had given the name Yad.

It is a good one. Beyond a diverse survey of ghazal, qawwali, bhajan, and geet I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this collection includes a number of poignant selections, not just the lovely title track by Rajasthani group, Musafir.

Track 5, Kiski Avaz Hai Ye Kaun Hai, Track 3, Ab Dekh Ke Ji Ghabrata, and Track 22, Koi Sunta Hai Gurgyani have got me feeling the significance of this moment.

But that’s just me. Those particular tracks, like all twenty-two, (more than 2 hours of wonderful music!) are not morbid or mournful songs. Rather they are expressions of the lively vibrancy of life as well as the the joy and zest of being alive that South Asian music encapsulates so dramatically.

Selected artists are both widely known as well as rather obscure. They hail from Afghanistan, India, Bengal and Nepal and as I mentioned above, cover the bases from the spiritual to secular (even military) sides of life!

Enjoy. I know I am!

Track Listing:

01 Yad [Musafir]

02 Heer Te Ranjhe Di Mulaqaat [Alam Lohar]

03 Ab Dekh Ke Ji Ghabrata [Attaullah Khan Niazi]

04 Dard dil [Jaipur Kawa Brass Band]

05 Kiski Avaz Hai Ye Kaun Hai [Jafar Hussain Khan Badayuni Qawwal]

06 Chor poreche babur bagane [Purna Chandra Das Baul & Ensemble]

07 Mahi Fouji [Mundri Lal]

08 Agaya Tu Phool Banke [Swarn Yamla Jatt]

09 Kya Haal Suranwan [Suraiya Multanikar]

10 Govinda Bhajan [J Mevandy]

11 Choon Nay Ba Nawa Amad [Nashenas]

12 Bhapang [Sama Khan, Natih Ram and Group]

13 Kis Cheez Ki Kami Hai Maula Teri Gali Mein [Sodhal Faqir Laghari]

14 Shaikh Ayaz Kalam [Jiji Zarina Baloch]

15 Mustang [Sur Sudha]

16 Jagga Jameya Thay Milan Vadhaiyan [Master Dilbahar]

17 Punal Paindi Thee Wal (Baba Ghulam Farid) [Zahida Parveen]

18 Zolrawar Bagh [Hakkam Khan]

19 Jugni [Swarn Noora]

21 Hum Jo Tareek Rahon Mein [Zia Mohyeddin]

22 Koi Sunta Hai Gurgyani [Prahlad Singh Tipanya]

YAD

 

Imagined Country: India

It has been a while since I’ve posted a playlist.

This one has a rather dull title and is not entirely accurate, for many of the tunes here are inspired by the rivers and regions of India as much as by her cities. And not a few are composed in honour of places in Pakistan.

But let’s not be too literalist.

India, like all places is a conceptual thing as much as a geography. And it was not so long ago that all of the subcontinent was considered India.

These are tunes from the diaspora and from outside of India. People peering back to where their forefathers came from or outsiders looking in.  Jazz, chill-out, dance jams, dark industrial grind core, bluegrass-ragas, fused and blended sounds.

Hope you enjoy.

Track List (vol. 1)

01 Ja Sha Taan (Transglobal Underground Karachi Deathcult Mix) [Fun Da Mental]

02 Bihu (Assam) [Deep Forest and Rahul Sharma]

03 CIA Contractor Freed Over Pakistan Killings [Vatican Shadow]

04 Ganges a Go-Go [DJ Shadow and Automator]

05 Agra [The Indian Core]

06 Bobbywood [The Bombay Royale]

07 Chittagong Chill [State of Bengal]

08 Letter from India [Paco de Lucia, Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin]

09 Adrift In Kerala [Bob Holyroyd]

10 Thillelo (Kerala)[Deep Forest and Rahul Sharma]

11 Karachi [Absolute Ensemble]

12 Calcutta Blues [Dave Brubeck Quartet]

GET IT HERE

Track Listing (Vol. 2)

13 Yamuna [Hindugrass]

14 Punjab [Rez Abbbasi Quartet]

15 Miles From India [John McLaughlin and friends]

16 G.T. Road [Clinton]

17 India [Zap Mama]

18 Life In Goa [Black Bombay]

19 Ganges Delta Blues [Ry Cooder and V.M. Bhatt]

20 Multani [Joe Harriott and John Mayer]

21 Sialkot [Sunny Jain Collective]

22 Rawalpindi Blues [Carla Bley]

23 Jaipur [Amancio D’Silva and Joe Harriott]

24 Himalaya Blues [Knut Reiersrud, Hans Fredrick Jacobsen and Vajra]

25 Karnatak journey [Black Bombay]

GET IT HERE

 

 

A (Genuinely) Rare Treasure: Links to Music Pakistan box set

In 2006 the semi-government private Pakistani company Shalimar Recording Company issued a boxset of 57 compact discs titled simply Music Pakistan.  Not marketed very well, if at all, it soon disappeared from view without making much of a ripple.   More the pity because this hefty chunk of digitised music is a massive contribution to the documentation and preservation of global musics.

Pakistan embodies a contradictory position as far as music goes.  It’s many regions, language groups and cultures are the source of some of the most profound and rich folk traditions on the planet.  And not just folk.  Pakistani classical musicians, though less well known than their Indian counterparts, are among the best in South Asia’s gharana-based music. And yet, the official music industry (which includes private companies, government and private broadcasters and government policy-makers) of Pakistan has demonstrated only the most cursory interest in preserving and promoting this unique heritage.

A commercial bias toward film music and passive aggressive stance towards classical music which was often dismissed as too much influenced by Hindu cultural antecedents was almost completely ignored. Folk music, always popular outside middle class living rooms, was left to its own devices, thriving or shrivelling depending on circumstances and shifting audiences.

Institutions like Lok Virsa Folk Heritage Institute in Islamabad tried heroically to bring to folk artists and their music to a national and international audience but always struggled to cope with  restrictive budgets, internal politics and a gargantuan task.  In the past decade or so private citizens have made fantastic contributions to reviving classical music by providing venues, events and recording opportunities for the elders as well as a small handful of up-and-comers. The work of Tehzeeb Foundation has been recognised for its quality not just among Pakistani music circles but on the international stage as well. And of course, the efforts of Sachal Studios and the TV hit show Coke Studio to resurrect the careers of Lahore film studio musicians and make folk music palatable to the Millennial Generation respectively are other high points in the revival of interest in Pakistan’s musical heritage.

But so much remains forgotten, undiscovered or simply ignored. The vaults of Pakistan TV and Radio,  recording companies EMI and Polydor not to mention private collections and archives controlled by various provincial governments  are surely bursting with hours and hours of wonderful music. Will it ever be released? My advice is, do not hold your breath.

Within this context then the Music Pakistan Boxset assumes huge significance.  Taken from the vaults of Radio Pakistan, the music on this vast collection covers classical, folk, spiritual (Sufiana), light classical and film music.  With some recordings stretching back to pre-Independence its focus is clearly on the 50s-80s.  Recent pop music, film music beyond Noor Jehan’s singing, qawwali and music from the smaller ethnic groups are sadly not even touched.   Documentation on individual artists is very minimal, the art work lack lustre and information about the tracks (in some instances) less than accurate and inconsistent.

But production values aside the history that is captured in these performances is simply and without exaggeration priceless.  In certain cases, the recordings are extremely rare.  For anyone with an interest at all in Punjabi, Pakistani, Sindhi, South Asian folk and classical music this collection is absolutely indispensable.  One particularly pleasing element of Music Pakistan is the large place given to female singers including: Zahida Parveen, Farida Khanum, Kajjan Begum, Mehnaz, Noor Jehan, Samar Iqbal, Iqbal Bano, Khurshid Begum, Mussarat Nazir and others.    Among the rare recordings are some early post-Independence performances by Ustad Bundoo Khan (sarangi) and Nazakhat and Salamat Ali Khan as young boys.

Sadly, some of the CDs (such as the Nazakhat/Salamat one referred to above) were poorly produced and unplayable! That frustrating inattention to quality and details that characterises bureaucracies with little interest in the work they are charged to carry out!

I was given a copy of the box set soon after it was released by a dear friend and over several years and several blogs have shared them with the wider world.  Throughout this process I have never once felt guilty about doing so, rather have viewed my efforts as altruistic: promoting and keeping alive a rich and diverse tradition of folk and classical music.  You might be able to find some of these CDs elsewhere on the internet but you’re unlikely to find so many in one place.  And while there are outlets that claim they will sell you the full boxset, I’ve not yet found place that actually will.  You will receive either an ‘Out of Stock’ message or be met with total silence.

Of the 57 original CDs I’ve managed to digitise 46.  I’ve made a 47th out of several stray tracks from original CDs that were poorly produced.  Sadly, that leaves 10 of the original, including ghazals by Barkat Ali Khan, light classical performances by Amanat Ali Kasuri and several others by artists I’ve lost track of.  [Confession: it took me a couple years before I understood exactly what I held in my hands and in that time I tossed out CDs that didn’t work! Fool that I am!]

I am trying, through my contacts to get hold of the outstanding 10 CDs and of course will share them if and when I do. But again: do not hold your breath.

Rather than lament on what is missing I invite you to drink deeply of what IS available.

Here are links to all 47 plus 1 CDs.

I have given each a serial number that does NOT correspond to the original.  That is for personal reasons of no particular consequence.  Simply my way of keeping track of this vast and amazing collection.

1. Ustad Umeed Ali Khan [Raga Kafi Kannada and Raga Emen]
2. Mohammad Tufail Niazi [Punjabi Folk Songs]
3. Salamat Ali [Urdu Ghazals]
4. Ustad Mohammad Sharif Poonchwaley [Classical Sitar] Vol. 1
5. Sadiq Ali Khan Mando and Master Sohni Khan [Classical Clarinet]
6. Roshan Ara Begum [Raga Mian ki Malhar, Raga Neki Kannara and Raga Maru Sarang]
7. Mai Bhaggi [Thar Folk Songs]
8. Ustad Amanat Ali Khan [Urdu Ghazals]
9. Ustad Nathoo Khan [Classical Sarangi]
10. Hamid Ali Bela [Punjabi Sufi Kalam]
11. Alam Lohar [Punjabi Folk Songs]
12. Ustad Nazakhat Ali Khan and Ustad Salamat Ali Khan [Raga Abhogi Kanhra and Raga Kamod]
13. Ustad Bundoo Khan [Classical Sarangi]
14. Musarrat Nazir [Punjabi Folk and Pop]
15. Noor Jehan [Film Hits Vol. 1] and [Vol. 2]
16. Saeen Ditta Qadri [Classical Flute/Bansuri]
17. Ijaz Hussain Hazarvi [Punjabi Ghazals]
18. Farida Khanum [Urdu Ghazals Vol. 1]
19. Farida Khanum [Urdu Ghazals Vol. 2]
20. Mukhtar Begum [Ghazals, Dadra and Thumri]
21. Saeen Marna and Munir Sarhady [Iktara and Sarinda]
22. Mohammad Jumman and Allan Faqir [Punjabi Folk]
23. Reshma [Thar Folk Songs]
24. Ustad Munawar Ali Khan [Classical Vocal]
25. Iqbal Bano [Thumris]
26. Ustad Amanat Ali Khan and Ustad Fateh Ali Khan [Raga Bageshri, Raga Multani, Raga Gujri Todi and Raga Pooria]
27. Ustad Amanat Ali Khan and Ustad Fateh Ali Khan [Raga Des, Raga Barbari, Raga Megh, Raga Malkauns and Raga Kedara]
28. Iqbal Bano [Urdu Ghazals Vol.1]
29. Iqbal Bano [Urdu Ghazals Vol.2]
30. Abida Parveen [Sufi Kalam]
31. Pathane Khan [Punjabi Sufi Kalam]
32. Ustad Mohammad Sharif Khan Poonchwaley [Classical Sitar Vol. 2]
33. Faiz Mohammad Baloch [Balochi Folk Songs]
34. Mehnaz and Kajjan Begum [Folk Songs]
35. Suriaya Multanikar [Punjabi Folk Songs]
36. Kheyal Mohammad [Pashto Folk Songs]
37. Ustad Misri Khan Jamali [Alghoza Folk]
38. Hamid Ali Khan [Urdu Ghazals]
39. Ghulam Ali [Urdu Ghazals Vol. 1]
40. Ghulam Ali [Urdu Ghazals Vol.2]
41. Mehnaz Begum [Urdu Ghazals]
42. Mehdi Hassan [Urdu Ghazals Vol. 1]
43. Mehdi Hassan [Urdu Ghazals Vol.2]
44. Ustad Habib Ali Khan [Classical Been]
45. Various Artists [Folk Sampler]
46. Zahida Parveen [Sufi Kalam]
47. Miscellany [Ustad Amanat Ali Khan Kasuri; Roshan Ara Begum; Bashir Ali Mahi]
48. Ustad Barkat Ali Khan [Urdu Ghazals]
49. Ustad Shaukat Hussain Khan [Classical Tabla]
50. Various Artists [Classical & Light Classical Vocal]
51. Bashir Ali Mahi [Light Classical Vocal/ thumri]
52. Various Artists [Rare Classical Recordings]
53. Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan [Classical Vocal]
54. Ustad Nazakhat Ali Khan and Ustad Salamat Ali Khan [Classical Vocal]
55. Roshanara Begum [Classical Vocal]
56. Various Artists [Classical Vocal]

 

NOTE: AS AND WHEN THE 10 MISSING DISCS ARE DISCOVERED THEY WILL BE ADDED TO THIS LIST. IF ANYONE IS ABLE TO TRACE ANY OF THEM PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

Time Capsule of Delight: Golden Era of Sri Lankan Popular Music

This poster comes from a time and place that no longer exists.   In 1972 after centuries of being known (at least to those who didn’t live there) as the fabled emerald tear drop of Ceylon, the country took the much more ancient name of Sri Lanka.

Though very different from the country it is so geographically close to there are of course  connections of history, faith, legend and people that are now completely entangled.  For most children of the 80s and 90s and 00s, Sri Lanka is infamous (but not unique by any means) for trying to unentangle that heritage with violence.  Tamil Tigers. Peoples Liberation Fronts. Civil War. All of these displaced images (and the reality) of the most beautiful beaches in the world, a lush hinterland and some of the nicest people on earth.

I first visited Sri Lanka in 1977. A longish haired, lungi wearing hippie who crossed the strait between Rameshwaram and Talaimanar on a rusty large steamship.  I fell instantly in love. The greenery. The tea plantations. The white sand. How life was so inexpensive. I think I spent the princely sum of $50 for a 10 day visit (including accommodation and transportation costs).

During those ten days I discovered a band called Supertramp. Some French Swiss longhair had it on his Sony tape recorder. Sadly, the music of the land I was visiting didn’t even register.  And it would be several more decades before it would.

Even now I consider myself an infant in the nursery school of Sri Lankan music and have nothing meaningful to say about it that others have not. Baila is probably the island’s most well known popular form of dance music and traces it roots to the Portuguese time.  But to limit the music of Sri Lanka to the baila would be akin to identifying Punjabi music as only bhangra.

And here, dear readers is evidence of that statement.

This is a recording which can only be described as delightful. A 30 track tour across Serendip in which including bubbly baila you will be treated to folk, rural and urban species of sound from all round.

Six out of five!

Out of the park.

Get down and get back up again!

Track Listing:

01Instrumental Baila Medley

02 Soken Pala Ne

03 Gamen Liyumak

04 Naan Unnai Thedum

05 Instrumental Baila Medley

06 Netha Giya Hematana

07 Kaffiringha

08 Ceremonial Drums

09 Jeevithe Vasanthaye

10 Anbil Valarnthai

11 Pinna Mal

12 Mama Bohoma Bayauna

13 Vairodi Wannama

14 Handa Haami

15 Goyam Gee

16 Eka Dawasak

17 Mindada Heesara

18 Roshi

19 Sigiriya

20 Deepa Tupe Vihare

21 Drum Orchestra

22 Gavaskar the Century Maker

23 Bolanda Katha

24 Sinidu Sudu Muthu

25 Malli

26 City of Colombo (with Noeline Mendis)

27 Durakathanaya

28 Amma

29 Kimada Naave

30 Perakumba Davasa

SRILANKAGOLD