The 6 best Qawwali tracks of all time
Qawwali
Sufi devotional singing from the shrines of Delhi and the Punjab, seven centuries old and still performed as a party of voices, harmonium and clapping hands driving a listener towards ecstasy rather than towards a chorus.
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Amir Khusrau / Chhaap Tilak Sab Chheeni
Written by the man usually credited with inventing the form, welding Persian, Arabic, Turkic and Indian singing into one thing. Seven hundred years later every qawwal party still has it in the set.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan / Mustt Mustt
Michael Brook puts a loop and a bassline under the greatest voice of the century and it loses nothing. The record that carried qawwali to people who had no idea what they were hearing.
Sabri Brothers / Tajdar-e-Haram
The most beloved qawwali in Pakistan, and a masterclass in the slow build — twenty minutes before anyone raises their voice, and by then the room has gone.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan / Allah Hoo Allah Hoo
Two words, repeated for a quarter of an hour, accelerating. The most efficient demonstration anywhere of what repetition is actually for, and it predates every dance record on this site by six centuries.
Amir Khusrau / Aaj Rang Hai
Sung on the death anniversary of his teacher, and still the closing piece at Nizamuddin's shrine. Devotional music where the devotion is to a person, not a doctrine.
Sabri Brothers / Bhar Do Jholi Meri
A plea, repeated until the repetition becomes the argument. The Sabris built their reputation on records that refuse to resolve until the audience does it for them.