Unheard recordings by the legendary Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who passed away 27 years ago, have been released for the first time. The tapes, discovered in the archives of Real World Records in Box, Wiltshire, were created by musician Peter Gabriel in 1990 but remained unissued for decades, forgotten by the production team.
Odhrán Mullan, who stumbled upon the tapes while cataloguing the record company’s archives during a move, expressed his astonishment at the musical performances. “When I started working there, I was told he was the best singer who ever lived, and I didn’t believe them. But after listening, I realized it was 100% true,” he shared.
The restoration process required gently heating the tapes to remove moisture before experts could safely digitize the content. Mullan noted, “A tape that old can’t just be played on the tape machine as it will damage it, and when it was digitized, we knew the performances were incredible.”
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, hailed as one of the world’s greatest Qawwali singers, was introduced to a wider audience after performing at the WOMAD Festival, which Gabriel founded, in 1985. Qawwali, a devotional music genre that originated in the Indian subcontinent in the 13th century, features a lead vocalist and side singers improvising melodies.
The newly released album, titled Chain of Light, celebrates Khan’s enduring musical legacy. Muhammad Ayyub, who introduced Khan to Peter Gabriel in 1980, expressed his delight at the discovery, stating, “People are excited all over the world about this release. His tunes appealed so widely, and even today, people are singing these songs. His legacy will last for centuries.”
