Peter Gabriel re-records ‘Biko’ for online event Playing for Change
The new version of the 1980 classic features 25 musicians, including Yo-Yo Ma and Angélique Kidjo.
Sat, 13 February 21
The Sabri Brothers
Pakistan's foremost and best-loved Qawwali ensemble, the Sabri Brothers, thrilled audiences all over the world for over 30 years.
With stunning virtuosity, brilliant exposition and tremendous power, they convey a subtlety and sensitive beauty in their singing, led by the soaring voices of Haji Ghulam Farid Sabri, whose periodic refrain of ‘Allah’ between songs was to become a Sabri signature, and his younger brother Haji Maqbool Sabri.
Both were internationally respected for their raw, energetic, highly original style in delivering popular numbers from the traditional Qawwali repertoire, and a distinctive percussion style. This, in combination with a direct and magnetic live presence, made for a wholly unique musical experience – to which thousands of aficionados will testify.
Many consider the Sabri’s instrumentally more adventurous, rougher and more soulful than Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s Party. Whichever, the stature of both in Pakistan is colossal.
The Sabri Brothers made music as a conduit for divine expression, summed up in the vision of the Beloved evoked when singing ‘Kali Kamaliya Wale’:
"The wish that keeps me alive is you/ The world that we live in is you/ O the beloved one of Allah, you have come to show us the way/ The right way/ The way of peace, of love, of humanity/ The way to God."
Ghulam Farid Sabri died on 5 April 1994 in Karachi following a heart attack.
Maqbool Ahmed Sabri died on 21 September 2011 in South Africa, also from a heart attack.
Releases
-
Ya Habib
Recorded, as if in concert, at Real World Studios, Ya Habib consists of four long Qawwali songs, each combining powerful, sensitive, often improvised vocals with rhythmic percussion, thudding tabla and mesmeric harmonium drones.
Further reading
Daby Touré releases ‘Bilady’, announces expanded edition his album Stereo Spirit
The new version of Stereo Spirit will include three previously unreleased tracks.
Fri, 27 November 20
Late Night Laments: Track by Track
Tim Bowness talks us through the songs on his new album, Late Night Laments.
Tue, 15 September 20
Track of the day: ‘Oppenheimer’ by Loney dear
Loney dear's latest single was inspired by the American theoretical physicist, J.R. Oppenheimer.
Fri, 05 March 21