Devotional Songs

Notables: - Allah Hoo Allah Hoo - Yaad-E-Nabi Gulshan Mehka

The musicianship is clearly impressive, and the singer had strong pipes, but the music is not for me. I am unlikely to go back to this.

For religious music, it's pretty pleasant to listen to.

What was that… never heard of this artist and will probably not revisit… but that music had feeling and I appreciate that.

Cool stuff. I don't know what he's saying so a lot of the music blends together. But I enjoyed listening to it. I could see myself putting this on for background music while working. But this is the kind of stuff that I like getting exposed to on this list.

3 out of 5. Nice in a world music way but it all started to blend after a while.

Alright

Enjoyable in small doses but still listenable for the whole album.

difficult to find. not sure if I heard the right album, but the music was good.

pretty nice

Not horrible, but didn't do much for me.

I appreciated the time with this, wish it grew on me a little bit more as it continued

Fun!

Kind of an interesting choice for an album here. Glad to see some representation of non-Western music. The album is an enjoyable listen, the music is good and you can feel the passion that went into making the album. It's hard to rate it because it is so different from most of the albums we've listened to but I think it stands as a solid 3 because while I wouldn't seek it out again I can enjoy it.

I'm glad they threw in some non western music. Ultimately, I find it hard to really enjoy music like this that sounds so different from what I'm used to but it's refreshing hearing new scales and vocal approach

This music transports you too a different time and place, I can almost smell the food cooking, the crowds, the busy streets and packed roads of cars wrestling for space. Music of many restaurants, cafes and family gatherings. Hypnotic, different and really enjoyable... when in the right headspace. Great vocals and range, non stop party tunes equally good for zoning out into some work task.

this guy's vocals are kinda insane, I can definitely appreciate the skill but unfortunately I am so not into this style of music

Fine. Different. Neutral.

Cool timing and energy. It got a little loud/involved for me at times.

Definitely not in the realm of my normal listens, but this was very nice. It's good music, what can I say. Not sure how much I'll return to this, but felt good to step into this world for a moment.

Hard to rate this one. It is undeniable that Nusrat has great vocal skills that clearly communicate the religious fervor he feels. I find myself being culturally too distant or misaligned to fully enjoy more if this. I can also not be harsh on an album for being an excellent introduction to an entirely new aspect of music culture. Points for showing me something new of the world I guess.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ another album that was hard to look for. had to either search for a user playlist on Spotify or some random playlist on YouTube to find what I was looking for the last couple tracks were good listening, but the first few were a little hard on the ears in my opinion. even so, i enjoyed the last half of the album enough to not give it too poorly of a score

Slightly surprised Nathan by listening to this at dinner but actually quite soothing

399/1089 - One of my main biases as a Western listener is my love for polyphony. Polyphony (and counterpoint) is fairly unique to the West and got really advanced in the Classical music era and has a fair bit of influence on modern music as well. While polyphony is a lot rarer to come by in World and Eastern music, heterophony is easier to come by and isn't common in Western music at all. There's a bit of that in this album with multiple people singing the same melody but adding their own individual inflections at their own times and it's always an intriguing sound to hear and something I think Western musicians should explore more. Overall a pleasant listen though I wish there were more varied sections of the songs given the length of all of them.

Very catchy and upbeat. I enjoy hearing music from different cultures and languages.

Shoukran habibi, nice jalabba

I don't have a problem with this music, but I wouldn't choose to sit down and listen to it. The only one that approached being something that stood out and I liked was "Ali Maula Ali Maula Ali Dam Dam"

interesting

This list sometimes has some really interesting recommendations. Today, I'm discovering the sound of Qawwali music, a style of Islamic music. This album is quite simple to describe. It is a collection of six very similar songs in which the main attraction is the particular style of singing, since the rhythms are static and the instruments are placed in the background, with they only purpose is to introduce the song and serve as accompaniment to the voice while creating a bit of ambience. The album sounds very hypnotic and spiritual, primarily due to the overly repeated "choruses" (if they could be call such a thing) and echoic sound. Another aspect that contributes is the religions themes of devotion, hence the name of the album. My complain about the songs are how lengthy they feel. They last from six and a half minutes to eight minutes, which is not really that long, but the main problem is the over use of repetition that gets a bit tiring towards the end of each track. Overall, I thought it was a great an unique experience. This was certainly a type of sound I've never dedicated my time to before.

I’ve always liked Indian/Pakistani music. This is fine - But I never listen to music like this “just because” though

The best kind of world music

69/100. Not my usual cup of tea, but I ended up enjoying it more than I expected. The instrumentation is strong and the vocals sit right on top with incredible presence and emotion. I didn’t understand much of the language, but you can absolutely feel the essence of the music.

Have no idea what the lyrics are, but didnt matter! Really enjoyed the album. To hear the type of instruments played that you would not hear in Western music was amazing! Really enjoyable album, and would listen to it again, no bother!

A difficult one to rate. It's interesting and well performed, that's for sure. I can't comment on the lyrics because I don't understand them, but the music itself is good. The songs do go on a bit long, though. I think if each track had been a minute or two shorter then it'd have been much more enjoyable for me, but I'm probably missing something.

I had no enthusiasm for this when it came up and whilst the music is an interesting diversion I doubt I would ever choose to listen to it again under normal circumstances. However, as a soundtrack to run to, it worked really well- so 3 stars and I might even put it on again.

Ganske fine rytmer, men meget ensformige sange. Det er nok stilen. PÅ den anden side rart med et indslag af verdensmusik.

No cóż. To przynajmniej było coś innego. Ale niestety, w pewnym momencie miałam wrażenie, że słucham w kółko tego samego. Oraz że wszystkie piosenki z tego kręgu kulturowego brzmią identycznie. Chyba mam za ciasne horyzonty, aby w pełni docenić ten album. 5/10

Nothing against Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, but this was a tough listen. At least trying to listen to the “Love & Devotion” double album version on Spotify. I’m sure this is really good qawwali music, but I don’t have any kind of reference point to measure against. Admittedly, a blind spot in my world music repertoire.

I enjoyed it: what’s interesting about this project is coming across genres that I am unfamiliar with. I find myself trying to relate to more familiar genres and struggle to simply listen to the album in front of me

Surprised at how almost-Western sounding this is. Starting off, it kinda just sounded like a blues jam. Pretty quickly its like "OK yeah, traditional Islamic music" but for a bit it did have me thinking of blues, haha. But yeah. Same as most non-western traditional/folk, I just don't have the experience or vocabulary to really engage with this. It sounds good. But I don't know of a situation where I'd sit down a listen to this in my daily life.

Overall not bad, enjoyed some songs: Standout songs: Haq Ali Ali Haq

Enfin de la musique du monde! Mais bon 1x c’est assez. Allah ooh allah ooooooooh

Very pretty songs, quite a long album tho for not loads of variance. I guess God really is that great!

This album is filled with hypnotic rhythms that I would happily listen to for twice their runtime. The songs are fairly long -- most in the 6+ minute range -- but as they stretch out and lock into the groove, time just melts away. And Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan elevates the music with spectacular vocals. When he lets loose and riffs, you just have to stop what you're doing and smile. He's a great performer. 3.5

Nice listen, can definitely feel the idea of these being devotional songs as they have that droning worship-y sort of sound to them that tends to be prevalent regardless of the religion. I enjoyed it! I do think some of the songs were pretty repetitive, even knowing that this is the style. Vocals are really quite nice.

It’s not my vibe but is strangely calming.

0/6 bekannt 6,5/10 Beste Songs: Allah hoo Allah hoo, Ali mula Ali mula Ali dam dam, ni main Jogi de naal Erinnert mich an die Musik die beim Griechen gespielt wird Ich hab noch nie jemanden gesehen der so viele Alben hat

I can appreciate the talent, but it's not my cup of tea.

pretty cool music, well produced. I am just not the target audience. I'm sure this music means a lot to someone but that is not me

Acho que isso me fez recordar por que eu comecei a querer ouvir os 1001 álbuns: ver e ouvir coisas novas, conhecer coisas completamente fora do que eu normalmente escuto, faço e vejo, experimentar o novo e ter contato com outras culturas. Excelente álbum.

Low 3,5

Mig skortir þekkingu og samhengi til að meta þessa plötu til fullnustu, get ekki heyrt mikinn mun á henni og annarri indópakistanskri tónlist. Þetta er flott svo langt sem það nær til mín, en þó ekki svo að mig langi endilega í þriðja snúninginn.

A bit long for pakistani music

Hard to rate this… I went for a 2 hour walk and listened through. Never switched it off but it did not hold my attention. Won’t be buying it.

This is good. He can definitely sing.

This led me to Abida Parveen who should be on this list! But this album was damn good - I found it beautiful and meditative.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, angivelig en legende i den pakistanske og indiske musikkverden. Sjangeren er qawwali, en form for lovsang innen den islamske retningen sufi. Hypnotiske og stemningsfulle melodier med lovprisende vokaler. Sangene er alle rundt syv minutter lange og rimelig homogene. Jeg lyttet til dobbeltalbumet Love & Devotion, da dette var den eneste muligheten på Spotify, og jeg likte Devotion-siden (som jeg tross alt har blitt bedt om å lytte til her) hakket bedre enn sin motpart. God intensitet og til tider ganske så fengende. Var innledningsvis ganske innstilt på en toer, men tror jaggu vi skal dra til med en treer her. Kunne nesten strekt meg til en firer. Top 3: Allah Hoo Allah Hoo, Haq Ali Ali Haq, Ali Maula Ali Maula Ali Dam Dam

Dit was eigenlijk heel erg lachen en goede vibe. Prima hele album opgehad zonder dat het saai werd. Maar ik denk niet dat ik hier heel vaak naar terug zou gaan, erg niche

Aantal nummers waren echt een feestje. Ruime 3 sterren

1.5 uur Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan gaat er niet in op deze zondagmiddag. Stukkie geluisterd wel en man, het is te horen waarom zo veel mensen dit bewonderen. Boeiende melodietjes, goeie instrumentatie. De Spotify pagina van deze kerel is echt bizar, wat een platen en wat een diversiteit aan artwork.

Interessantes Album, aber ein mal hören reicht mir.

Finde ja schon mal gut, wenn über den Tellerrand geschaut wird. Die Vocals sind stark. Echt schwierig für mich zu bewerten, weil es so ganz andere Harmonien hat. Hat mich herausgefordert wie interessiert.

This was a rewarding listen, even if it’s not something I’d naturally reach for. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s voice is undeniably powerful, and the performances carry a sense of purpose and intensity that’s easy to respect. There’s a real feeling of being transported somewhere else entirely. This album functions almost like a cultural portal, pulling me into a musical tradition far outside my usual frame of reference. That said, it’s not my thing in a personal, day-to-day listening sense. The repetition and long-form structure are clearly intentional and central to the experience, but they also keep me at a certain distance. I’m more aware of the artistry than emotionally swept up by it. I’m glad I spent time with this record. It broadened my perspective and reminded me how many different ways music can function beyond entertainment or songcraft. I won’t be adding it to my regular rotation, but I recognize the mastery and the depth of tradition behind it. A solid three stars for me: impressive, culturally rich, and worthwhile to hear, even if it doesn’t become part of my musical life going forward.

So glad this project exposed me to an album like this. I enjoyed this so much - musically rich and vibrant and the singing js beautiful. I don’t know a word he is singing but the feeling comes through so clearly - completely captured me.

When I was listening to this I imagined this music would be playing outside of an outlet mall in Asia like we have Taylor Swift outside Best Buy and Ulta store. I have no idea why, just the vibe I got from it.

Super cool! Nice to learn about this type of music and hear it.

Very cool and unique music (at least when it comes to this list lol) quite enjoyable although not sure I’m coming back to it since the songs really do sound like hymns.

Playing "Shahbaaz" rather than this, as this is not on Apple currently... but damn, this guy is prolific! Dozens, nay hundreds of recordings over the past several decades. No way I can commit to a deep dive here, but it is exciting music.

Pretty decent Punjab music

I think it sounded ok, but it kept on disappearing into the background while i did other things and didnt grab my attention very well. Ali Msula was the only exception

Lovely to know this exists. Can't say that I'll ever seek it out. That's my fault, not the music's.

the songs are way too long but i enjoyed what they had to offer for a few minutes.

Yeah, whatever.

Enjoyable to have on in the background

2.8 It's interesting but to be honest I'm not interested. First track was the only one I actively enjoyed and would come back to. Too far outside my knowledge zone I fear.

Not my cup of tea but some interesting elements

Qawwali music rocks. What a voice. No idea what he's saying, but that probably helps it. Great productive background music.

Not the music I would listen too, and sounds all the same to me, but surprisingly good

if you enjoy Qawwali it's fine. I'm not in devotional things.

There is something raw and basic about Devotional Songs that is irresistible. The passion is palpable and the rhythm is intoxicating. This is the sort of stuff I'd like to have more of on this list.

7 / 10

World music is always a mixed bag. I almost guarantee I’ve already stated that during one or multiple of these reviews so far. The ratings are generally always very low, and I can generally always understand why. It’s music from a different culture that often speaks an entirely different language. Unfairly, a lot of people are immediately going to not vibe with that. I’ve had multiple of these albums at this point, including some notably of Spanish, African, French, Hindi and Indian origins. Not all of them are bangers, but to be honest, this one was pretty good. High energy, energetic vocals that aren’t overbearing, and a good usage of some very prominent traditional South Asian instruments. While thematically similar, the songs on this album all have a unique feel to them, and even if I can’t understand them, I can kind of pick up what it is they’re trying to say and appreciate it for what it is. My favorite of the bunch this time was “Ali Maula Ali Maula Ali Dam Dam”. Never in a million lifetimes would I have bothered seeking this album out, but thanks to the site, I was able to enjoy this today, and it surprised me with how good it was. A pretty solid 3.6/5 stars. No skips here, just a fairly consistently good blend of catchy World music. Right on.

Jeg har svært ved at høre forskel på Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan plader, men jeg kan altid godt lide dem!

Beautiful guitars and of course power vocalist- just as a western trained listener hard to really know/fully enjoy sounds like Qawwali.

Had a really nice vibe to it, but it gets very repetitive after a while

This was strange but after a while I found myself grooving to it

It was fine.

Interesting. Glad I double-checked the track-listing and found that half of what was on the Spotify version was bonus. An interesting 45mins of listening. As a friend following this list but unable/unwilling to comment said, it's the sort of music I'd hear in an Arab country and find it very interesting and engaging, especially hearing live. But hard for the Western ear to listen to it on the way to work or whatever. Hard to rate, but cool inclusion

Not really for me

Massive Attacks allra första (?) officiella insats på skiva var en remix av Nusrats "Musst musst" (Duck pond dub mix), den är löjligt bra. Det är min enda relation till Nusrat sen tidigare. Jag kan ingenting om sån här musik. Det tar en stund men sen kommer man in den. Det är hypnotiskt, ibland närmast fysiskt. Det är tydligt att Nusrat är dedikerad till sin uppgift och musiken verksr både välspelad och passionersd. Visst jag kan sakna en tung bas eller en bastrumma, det hade gjort det lättare för mig. Men det är också spännande med ett tonspråk (säger man så?) som jag inte har nån relation till men som samtidigt kan ha en markant effekt på mig. Jag kommer kanske inte lyssna på det igen, men nästa jag stöter på det kommer jag åtminstone ha nån form av förhållande till det som är övervägande positiv.

3 - it was good. His voice reminded me of boss nass

A strange journey into another culture with solid results.

Honestly started out thinking I wouldn't make it through this whole album but it really started to grow on me after a while.

He sounds like Paul McCartney shout-singing at some points.

Like Ravi Shankar previously, I can see why this is on this list. It’s an interesting listen, can clearly hear the passion in the voice and why he is so revered in this genre of music

I had a ton of trouble finding this album but once I had and listened through it, it's interesting. Not what I expected at all from this challenge but certainly interesting

Music is fine. Can’t really say anything about the lyrics.

If nothing else, it's a one-of-a-kind album. I thought I might accidentally summon a spirit this morning. Favorite Track: "Allah Hoo Allah Hoo".

In a nutshell: a love everlasting. Quick lesson on Qawaali: The root word of Qawaali is Qawl, which means “utterance” in Arabic. Someone who recites Qawl is a Qawwāl. Qawaali are songs of love, joy and devotion in Islamic culture. They can be steady, fast, trance like or all of the above. I like it. This kinda reminds me of raga. I’m going to take the opportunity to raise a talking point about international music and western audiences. India Uncut writer Amit Verma interviewed Nusrat’s nephew, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, about his uncle’s music. Verna asked “(did) he adapt his music for Western Audiences? Was there a difference between the music he performed in Pakistan and that abroad?” “There had to be,” says Rahat. “The music he performed abroad had much more of classical content. Foreigners didn’t understand our language and our lyrics, so the music had to work harder.” (Source: https://nusratonline.com/blog/music-intro/) The music does work harder here, but the instruments (eg percussion) completely doesn’t detract from the vocals. Overall: 5/10

Based purely on the name I thought I would have trouble even making it through. To my surprise I enjoyed listening but I don’t see going back to it.

Interesting. Very powerful voice!

This was actually a pretty interesting album to listen to and research. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is from Pakistan, and the style of music he performs here is called Qawwali, which is tied to Islamic mysticism and rooted in Indian and Pakistani traditions. This particular album is a compilation of tracks released on Real World Records, a label founded by Peter Gabriel as part of a broader push to bring world music to Western audiences. Over the years, this album has been heavily sampled by electronic and hip hop producers, which shows how influential it’s been outside its original context. Overall, it’s a fun listen that really pulls you in with its trance like repetition, but at least for me, it feels more like a one time listen kind of album rather than something I’d revisit regularly.

Made clearing out Monday emails more enjoyable. Head bobs galore. Would've enjoyed some banger collabs some modern musicians.

Did I like this? Yes. Did I need 90 minutes of it? No.

I'm not really sure what this is, especially as someone mostly unfamiliar with Eastern music. But I thought it was pretty good and enjoyable anyway. Glad to get something so far out of my wheelhouse. Overall: 3.3/5

Like a Led Zep 3 era Pakistani cover band, but with less sex and more songs about fictional deities.

3.5

Not my favourite type of music, but his voice is really good. 3.5 stars

Thought this was a good album with some really nice melodies. Maybe my favorite "world music" album we've had so far. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan has an incredible voice. 3.5 stars.

Pretty sensational voice. I can see why Jeff Buckley was such a worshipper of his. Carlsberg don’t do curry houses but if they did they’d probably have had this guy and his group play to guests every evening and sending their ears and their tastebuds into rapture. Not just songs of love and devotion but also ideal songs for lamb madras and chicken jalfrezi.

Part of me feels 'token global music entry', but the other part of me is really happy it's here. A big reason for this project for me is to discover things that are important, meaningful, and hopefully good in some context. This is one of those where I never would have come across it, and even if I had, I doubt I would have been curious enough to put it on and give it an honest listen. That said, after a listen, it's not something that I'll necessarily reach to put on, but I'm happy with what I hear along the way.

I assume this is the Pakistani Cliff? Every track starts really promisingly. But then becomes dreadfully wailey dreadfully quickly (with the exception of "Allah Who?" and "Ali Dum Dum" which have cracking singalong choruses). All the tracks are also overly long. But then this is not my culture so I have nothing to relate it to. However, I'm certain that if I gave Cliff Richard's 'Cliff at Christmas' to the Taliban to review, then it would be returned very promptly with a "Meh" and 1 star. I like to think I'm better and more gracious than the Taliban.

This was new territory for me. I enjoyed it. I found it interesting, vast and rhythmic, but the songs seemed to all blur into one. At an hour and a half in length it did overstay its welcome a little for me, and I wanted the music to change direction but it never did. Out of my comfort zone but in a positive way. A strong 3.

Its hard to rate things like this

Sort of washes over you after a while. Nice at least to have something not as Anglo centric as the vast majority of this list 3*

I can dig it, but I can't understand it.

Well, this really isn’t my thing, I found it to be pleasant enough and enjoyable, particularly as background music. I must admit that when I was listening to it, the music had stopped for several minutes before I realized that the album had ended.

Listening to this album is a double issue, both from the language barrier from me not understanding the language, and the different musical and cultural expectations that this record lives within, which I'm completely ignorant of. This album was never meant for someone like me. And yet I can't say I didn't enjoy it. It's deeply hypnotic, gets you into a sort of a trance listening to it, but it doesn't give the same brain scratch feeling that other albums do. Solid album, I see why it's on this list. I enjoyed it but don't plan on revisiting it. 3/5

V/rv

Once again I find it rather difficult to rate these "world" albums. This one was pretty enjoyable though. Favorite track: Ali Maula Ali Maula Ali Dam Dam

I need a lesson in what to listen for with some kinds of non-western music. So I don’t feel like I’m qualified to judge. Interesting from what I can take it but I wouldn’t rely on my opinion. I couldn’t find this on Apple Music or Spotify so I listened to a playlist someone compiled with the same name.

good! funky! it was good and not at all what i'd normally listen to!

++: Haq Ali Ali Haq, Ali Maula Ali Maula Ali Dam Dam, Ni Main Jogi De Naal +: Allah Hoo Allah Hoo, Yaad-E-Nabi Gulshan Mehka, Mast Nazroon Se Allah Bacchae 7,2/10

Interesting. Never heard of this one before.

It sounds like someone doing Jeff Buckley impressions. Seriously though, nice melodies and Indian instrumentation.

Pleasantly surprised musically how good this is. The drums can be hypnotic, the guitar pleasant & his voice is wonderful. I can't speak lyrically as there is a language barrier but I'm kinda assuming this is this culture's gospel music. I'll probably never listen to this again but I'm glad I did.

There's nothing really bad about this, but this isn't anything I have any interest in listening to.

This was definitely interesting but not really my thing. I'm overall glad for the one listen I guess. Impressive vocals for sure, even if I couldn't follow along with the language.

I quite enjoyed a few songs. But it was a bit long and repetitive. Ok on the whole 3 ⭐️

I’m beginning to think that someone actually reads this stuff. After yesterday slagging off an Indian film soundtrack which had somehow made it onto this list, I get this. I said that the soundtrack yesterday was an embarrassment to the great array of Asian musicians of which there are hundreds if not thousands of examples. So along comes this one. Whilst totally unknown to me prior to today it is one of the good examples of Indian music out there and a good representative of this genre that some would say is underrepresented on this list. My knowledge of this genre is virtually nil so I purely listen to see if it pulls any of my strings. Well, just a bit and it is a world away from yesterday’s offering. But when I have previously popped my toe into this type of music it is the likes of Ravi Shankar which I have enjoyed more than what is on this album. 3/5 13/8/25

I can't really evaluate anything in the genre, this one is fine, though as an entire album it's a bit much. Is pretty mesmerizing though.

Very appreciative of getting something a bit different. I think for me this was more a curio than a new favourite, but I definitely enjoyed it whilst it was on.

Such a change from my usual music, but interesting enough to get 3

It was okay

I have no cultural connection to this so it is hard to say if it holds up against other similar albums, but I didn’t hate it. I’m never going to listen again, but it wasn’t bad and boring like a lot of this list is.

This was different and the eastern rhythms were interesting but once you've heard one song, you've pretty much heard them all. The call and response got to be repetitive quite quickly so something like this might be better in smaller doses.

Favorite songs: Ali Maula Ali Maula Ali Dam Dam, Woh Hata Rahe Hain Pardah, Allah Hoo Allah Hoo Least favorite songs: Mast Nazron Se Allah Bachae 3/5

Not bad. No idea why this is on here.

Good

Enjoyed this, but I'll be damned if it didn't make me ravenously hungry for an Indian buffet. Also the first album I've been served up that didn't have a Wikipedia page.

I do feel a certain joy and contemplation while listening, which I think just hints at what really lies behind his music.

Ha, I just said I wouldn't hold my breath for other non-English stuff, and here comes this. Another confusing album, since 'Devotional Songs' was a real release, but this is a reissue(?) called 'Love & Devotion' with probably(?) the same content? Hmph. At least it's something different. I never listened to qawwali before, and let's be real, I probably won't in the future. It's too opaque for me -- I don't know any Urdu, if I've even correctly ID'd the language here*, and the sound is pleasant, but I end up mentally relegating it to the background just because I don't know what the lyrics mean, and they seem like the main draw for this genre! I think I liked what I'm assuming is the Love half (first 6) more than the Devotion half (second 6). *OK, it's both Urdu & Punjabi (and a tiny bit of Persian), and also: Jeff Buckley was a big Nusrat fan and even covered 'Yeh Jo Halka Saroor Hae'! That's more fun than 500 Hallelujah covers. Highlight: 'Un Ke Dar Pen Pohchne to Payen' (seemed more energetic than the rest), 'Allah Hoo Allah Hoo' (mainly because of the transparent vibe)

Considering this was 1.5hrs I didn’t get as bored as I thought I would

Hypnotic. I find this much more listenable than the Fela Kuti album that came before, though they both feature long-groove songs that just carry and carry. Ali Khan's keening vocals contrasted with the chanting/droning singers and the chugging-engine drums put me in kind of a trance. Play it all day.

i liked his voice

Came into this not knowing what to expect. It's tough for me to grade relative to anything else because I'm totally unfamiliar with this kind of music, but on its own merits I found it pleasurable. Don't know that I would seek it or something similar out again, but I wouldn't mind it if I come across it.

While it isn't my thing, I can appreciate the talent behind it.

Well I enjoyed this a million times more than expected. When people talk about how the Project can help them 'get into world music', I think they probably mean 'listen to Graceland and remember Buena Vista Social Club', but this is the real good stuff. It's very moving, the instruments are fascinating and new to my ears. It loses marks because I was fairly pleased when it finished, and found it hard to distinguish song by song very much. Me problems though.

Has a good beat, you can dance to it.

A bit more repetitive than I usually like, but the harmonium always sounds pretty cool. Towards the end I started getting more hooked in, and the repetition started to get hypnotic.

You can definitely recognise that the vocals are good and that Nusrat is talented, however the type of music is not really a personal vibe and it would be interesting to hear him in other styles to see how the talent carries over. Overall 2.5/5 with a bump to 3.

A song was missing on Spotify. Don't think I needed to listen, I got the vibe. Vocal is impressive. Spotify link leads to a double-release Love Songs and Devotional Songs. I realised half way through the last song on the former. 3/5.

Interesting but the collection of Love and Devotion was way too long for a comfortable listen at 1h:30m

Not available on Apple Music, but ended up listening to Mustt Mustt. Pretty good album and I don't ever listen to religious music. I guess I liked it because I can't understand the lyrics

Not my genre of music, but very well performed.

5.5/10 Highlight: Haq Ali Ali Haq

I've never heard of Nursat Fateh Ali Khan or this album, but I'm always down to experience something new. I've reviewed a few albums from south central Asia, but I don't think any of them were Qawwali music. I'm curious to see what this album has in store! I found Devotional Songs to be fine overall. I think if I had a better understanding of music theory and composition, I might be able to better appreciate the sound of this album. However, I still thought this album was enjoyable and interesting to listen to. Much like the cuica in Brazilian music, I was really drawn to the sound of the sound of the tabla on these songs. There's just something about its sound that I really enjoyed on this album. I obviously didn't understand the lyrics on this album, but I thought the singing was full of passion, and it's impressive that NFAK is able to sing with that kind of intensity for long periods of time. The only song that really stood out to me was "Ali Maula Ali Maula Ali Dam Dam." I loved the hand claps and the rhythm of the instruments, and there was a really great melody under the hand claps as well. After that, I felt that I appreciated the album more, as I was able to get more of an understanding of what to listen to. I wasn't blown away by this album, but it sounds like the sort of thing that would grow on me if I became more familiar with it.

It was interesting. Glad to have heard it. But it's not for me. I may skip adding one of these to the playlist. If they weren't so long I'd toss one on there though. ~2.7 stars

Finally something different! However, songs sound very similar 3/5

5.5/10

I was not familiar with this artist or these songs, but I dug it.

***An ok album

Interesting style but a bit long

This is an album (I think?) very much outside my comfort zone, so I find it nearly impossible to judge it much beyond representing a genre that I have heard when travelling or in certain shops/restaurants. That said, I can hear that the quality of the musicianship is high, and the rhythms are great. There is a strong, positive mood, and listening does transport me back to happy memories in India. I doubt I'll be tempted to play much again in the future, but will happily listen again if it were playing.

Not something I'd listen to again in a hurry but it kept me moving! I didn't hate it!

Nice sound a lot of nusrats albums sound similar

this is probably awesome. i really dug that massive attack remix of whatever it was from about 30 years ago. but it’s not on here

3,25

This was a weird experience. I'm not even sure I listened to the right album. It's supposed to be "Devotional Songs" but the album cover and the Spotify link are to a differently-titled album, released in 1988 instead of 1992. I spent a while poking at this but decided to just listen to it and move on with my life. I liked this a lot. It's not a new genre I'm going to explore or anything, but I found it to be perfectly serviceable background music.

This was at least interesting because it’s pretty far removed from anything I normally listen to. I would not go so far as to say I liked it or will likely revisit it.

I generally liked this album, but as it went on the music started to fade into the background as a generally enjoyable but unremarkable backdrop to my workday. I was mostly introduced to music from India / Pakistan through classic Bollywood music and movies and I find album to be a welcome addition to my overall musical map but I may not make too may trips back here over time.

Well, this is absolutely outside of my usual wheelhouse but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued — the album wasn’t on Apple Music so I had to resort to YouTube for it, and I had a good time with it! Khan has a pretty cool biography, and a list of heavy-hitters as collaborators, too. I wouldn’t say I can see myself throwing this on at random, but the music is mesmerizing when you’re in the right headspace for it.

It was surprisingly nice.

You can definitely feel the joy come through in these songs. To my ears, they all sound a bit too similar. I didn't dislike any of them, and yes I could tell them apart, but being that I'm not particularly familiar with qawwali music, they didn't sound very different. The end result for me, I enjoyed the listen, I get why people love his music, but I likely wouldn't put it on again. Favorites: "Yaad-E-Nabi Gulshan Mehka"(had a little different sound than the rest, so it stood out)

During the first track I was afraid I wouldn't get through the whole thing, but then I got into the groove and was able to appreciate the musicianship here. Not a genre I'll return to, but I'm glad to have heard it. 3.3

While it is very interesting, and I am glad to know it, I am unsure how frequently I would revisit.

I don't know what the guy is saying but he can really sing. There is an amazing amount of volume coming out of this guy, it must be amazing live. Not sure if I would listen to this again but I don't regret hearing it.

This is the iconic voice of Indian/Pakistani songs for generations. The music is good, but generic to my ear.

It's a nice change of pace. No idea what the words are, but it's pleasant enough to listen to. Good, energetic background music for me. 3.5*

Good vibes

Respect. I'm not sure how much I enjoyed this (not as much as I should have), but I wouldn't skip this if it popped up on shuffle.

Interesting listen, but not really my style. It is nice to hear something from outside the US and UK.

3.25

Favorite Track: Haq Ali Ali Haq

Unique, refreshing, and pleasant. While I enjoyed it, the songs were far to repetitive and unnecessarily long.

Overall, an album I enjoyed, and particularly Fateh's vocal power. Some of the vocal runs dotted throughout the album are indescribably good. I also like the pacey tempo, and call-and-response carrying the listener along. There are a couple of tracks which fall into a slower dirge; which offer little respite given each track is eight minutes long. I don't know what they're singing about - but it sounds like they're into it, and that's pretty infectious. A high three.

i honestly avoided this one for a few days because i was intimidated by the length, but i liked it more than i thought. admittedly a bit repetitive, and not my usual fare, but it wasn't bad as a work soundtrack.

while it's nice to get a break from the usual forgettable 90s/00s britpop, 90 minutes of qawwali devotional music was not really on my radar. this guy seems like a household name to many people so this is just my own anglocentric ignorance showing, but it felt pretty repetitive and similar to me. not my favorite but there were some cool bits throughout. favorites: yeh jo halka saroor hae, sanson ki mala pey

It's interesting at least. Definitely not up my alley.

Not my bailiwick. So take my review with a grain of salt. 3 stars means it’s good joyous music.

I'm glad I listened to this Pakistani music, and it contained some good ambience. Though I wish I realised that it was a double release instead of a single release. Alas, it was a good album.

almost had a heart attack when seeing the length but i only need to listen to the second half Anyways this is completely fine but I’ve also never in my life had the compulsion to listen to word music outside of challenges like this so

No frame of reference to say if this is good devotional music or not but I vibed with it.

nice

I mean, the album's name doesn't lie. These certainly are some devotional songs alright. Honestly, I've become kind of numb to the whole "world music album with no wikipedia article" thing at this point seeing as this is at least the fourth time it's happened. This is a pretty unique album as far as this album list is concerned. This is an album comprised of 6 Islamic hymns from Pakistani artist Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. More specifically, these are Qawwali songs, which I guess is a specific type of devotional song. Now, I'm not particularly well-versed on the culture this music comes from. However, I am pretty well-versed at this point on what I like in music, and I can definitely say that there are some things to like about the contents of this album. The singing is pretty good. It's perfect for this style of music. The instrumentation is quite engaging. The rhythms and melodies are pretty good. I wasn't able to find good translations of the writings, but I'm sure it's good, albeit heavily focused on the whole Islam thing. The songs are a bit long too, but I'm sure there's a reason for that. I don't know if this specific album needs to be here, but I can't say I'm upset that I listened to this. I never would've listened to an album like this if it weren't for this album project. I think that's pretty cool. The album's good, but not for me personally. 3/5.

The Good: It’s all about devotion… The Bad: In a language I don’t understand… The Ugly: a double album… There really isn’t too much one needs to say about this album, except that the rhythm and cadence can bring you into a lull and make time fly. As it is impossible to know what Nusrat is trying to tell us, I will go by him, most likely, wanting there to be world peace! Maybe, at some point, I will listen to this album again, for now, straight down the middle 3*

Doing

Not my jam, but 8 can see how people would like it. 2.5/5

I was only able to find one song from this album on YouTube since it’s not available on Apple Music. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I do, even though I can’t understand the lyrics, it’s full of energy and spirit.

It was decent I guess

Couldn’t get this one on iTunes so had to listen to videos on YouTube. Strangely wonderful if a bit samey after a while!

Je vibais quand même fort au début, mais rendu à la moitié, soit à la quarante-cinquième minutes, les chants élégiaques et hypnotiquement répétitif ont eu raison de ma patience

Nice to come across something truly different on this list, even if I wasn't mesmerised by it. Made for some pleasant background listening for a while.

Technically good and I am a big fan of this but it was a lotttt and I couldn't do a full hour and a half

Las pocas veces que este sitio me genera un álbum no occidental, me alegro. Este álbum es de música religiosa sufi, conocida como Qawwali. Es un tipo de música que induce al trance, con una instrumentación muy simple, típica de la música indostaní (palmas, tabla y mandolina), que cumple su papel religioso. Aunque el álbum completo se me haya hecho un poco repetitivo, creo que está hecho con mucha pasión y gusto, y merece una buena nota.

Felt a little too long but pretty good

A calming and pleasing album - I suppose that’s the point of devotional songs.

It certainly is interesting to listen to something like this and, having never heard it before, understand it through the lens of a band like Talking Heads, or even artists like Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon. I am not well versed in "world music" (what an awful term!) and so it's nice to get an opportunity to check this out. That said, I wouldn't make this a regular part of my musical diet, so the rating is largely due to that. Great inclusion on the 1001.

3.5

It's far from my preferred type of music, but after so many albums (and a lot of mediocre stuff), I should always pay some respect to this kind of inclusion that allows me to taste really different kinds of music.

Album is listed on Spotify as Love and Devotion, though I wish there was a Wikipedia page for why this individual album was selected. Always interesting to learn about a new kind of music, and qawwali really delivered a lot of emotion and pride without the need for understanding

Interesting and different. I'm glad I heard it. But not my cup of tea.

Listenable

I got halfway through Side B, then had to head home. But I hold a place for music with lyrics in languages I do not understand; they can be very meditative, like chanting or noise machines. This closed out the workweek nicely with me, and despite lack of understanding or familiarity with the music, I could detect the album's arc and through line.

Well that was a lot of devotional chanting. An hour in I came to and felt like I had been hypnotized, at which point I turned it off.

In a list that tends to be very Anglo-/West-centric, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's Devotional Songs was a delight. Prior to listening (and doing some light research) I knew nothing of Kahn's work, but this is exactly what I was hoping for from this list; something different that I may not have heard before. His devotional songs and singing style are a delight. Though these are religious songs, they are quite catchy and listenable. The language barrier actually helps keep these songs from being too heavy-handed. The instrumentation is great, but the real highlights are the vocal performances. Sometimes chanted, sometimes sung, the vocals soar. Very enjoyable and from such a prolific artist. Very thankful for the variety this adds to an otherwise Less Neil Young, more stuff like this.

Het verwachtingspatroon is erg laag vooraf bij het zien van een album als dit. Als ik dit op het werk op zou zetten, dan verlies ik de helft van de klanten, als het al niet meer is. Daarom maar op zondagochtend beluisterd, wat ook een prima dag is voor wereldmuziek. Ik had eigenlijk meer punjabi geluid verwacht, dengadengadenga van zo'n typerende sitar of iets dergelijks. Maar de stem is meer arabisch/oosters, wat de naam vd artiest misschien ook gedeeltelijk weggaf. Er zit wel veel gitaar in, akoestisch met name en veel ritmisch handgeklap, wat me best veel doet denken aan Spaanse flamenco. De combinatie met de stem maakt het alleen wat zweveriger, bezwerend. Alsof hij optreedt met een slang die uit een mand komt. Het is uiteraard geen muziek die ik vaker ga opzetten, maar de uitgebreide albumversie heb ik toch redelijk eenvoudig doorstaan. Normaal zou dit een 2 opleveren denk ik, maar ik ben in een goede bui, dus laten we voor de flamenco invloeden een bonussterretje geven.

I can dig some of this.

A nice change from the constant push of British new wave rock. On another day I might have given it 4, but not today.

I feel like each song had a good idea but they didn't go anywhere. Singing is top notch, I just wanted less monotony from each track. Also double albums are ROUGH if you're not a fan already. I'm not letting that hurt the score though.

I enjoyed this I’ll say. I love the robustness of his voice, definitely full of passion and happy fervor. The background instruments that I don’t know the names for were cool and vibrant. I get why people like this guy enough for him to make approx 4 and half million albums.

World music is always hard to judge, but I didn't hate it

beautiful but repetitive. I get that that's probably intentional since it is religious, but that doesn't mean I have to love it. My favourite parts were when he breaks from the repetition, but that doesn't happen enough for me to bump to 4 stars.

Surely essential but loooong

Laulu soi moitteetta ja soittimetkin. Hyvältä kuulostaa. Hienon kuuloinen kieli. Mutta biisien välille kaipaisin enemmän eroja, hokemista on.

Feel out of my depth trying to review this. It's a neat sound, though not something I'd actively revisit. The language barrier and album length turned it into a background music blur.

I'm sure it's the language barrier, but ultimately couldn't really get excited about this - and found the songs started to blend together. A pleasant enough listen that fell into the background, but not anything I'd go back to.

Hypnotic music, very chill listening, not sure how often I'll come back to it though

I just let this was over me. No real thoughts

I have no idea what to make of this. I assume it’s good within its genre but I just cannot give an informed take here.

Je crois avoir écouté "Love Songs" aussi pour rien, mais "Devotional Songs" était vraiment supérieur. Bien que c'était un peu répétitif et que les chansons étaient longues, je me perdais un peu dans cet univers et j'avais l'impression de voyager. Un grand respect à cet artiste. 7/10

Favorite Track: Woh Hata Rahe Hain Pardah

pretty pleasant one to just let wash over you, but doesn't really stick with me

Yes! Didn’t expect to listen to this centre but a sound work from home listen

Quite long

Good supper making music.i love some Arabic/middle eastern jams

I enjoy the Rhythm and percussion of this. Culturaly miles away from me however.

I enjoy the vibes. It has quite a lot of variety even with me being very unfamiliar with the style.

Not available on Apple Music. May try to find on YouTube.

Glad I can find stuff like this. Was nice to listen to it once

I dont listen to music like this enough to give it a proper rating

Pleasant enough, not really my thing but glad Ive listened too, just doubt I ever will again

Really hope I listened to the correct album because that was quite difficult to find. The Youtube visualization of clouds to go along with the music was a great touch. The music itself was very soothing and found myself bopping along to the different instruments that i would not normally hear. My favorite part was some of those noises he made with that tongue of his

Very cool world music, love the guitar and rhythms

Our first Pakistani artist? Not sure, but really good album, always a welcome change of pace to get something beyond US/UK. Really great grooves and energy all over this thing, love the acoustic guitars that give it a Mediterranean feel. Favorite tracks: Woh Hata Rahe, Yaadan Vichhre, Haq Ali Ali Haq. Album art: Nothing too special, it's got that "museum exhibit" vibe. Cool colors though. 3.5/5

Hmm. I mean it's not terrible. I don't feel too strongly about it one way or the other. It's good music. Just not exactly my taste. Kind of long and repetitive too.

3/5

3.5/5. Pretty good, I did not mind listening to this.

Onironisch echt wel leuk, duurt wel ziek lang. Denk alleen niet dat het leuk moet zijn, maarja

(I know it’s been pointed out by others, but the album shown is actually a double album, consisting of both Devotional Songs, as well as another album called Love Songs. On Spotify, only the second disc is mentioned in the actual book. This can help spare you from spending 90 minutes on one album.) I had zero idea what I was getting into with this one. I have never heard of Nusrat before and I had no idea knowing whatever the hell Qawwali even was. Apparently, Nusrat was immensely talented and was highly regarded even to this day. And I’ll confess that I can see that through this album, as I surprisingly kind of enjoyed it. The songs are long and a tad repetitive for my tastes, but the rhythms in the tracks are enticing. They’re really infectious and Nusrat gives every track his all. Devotional is certainly the word for it. I can’t say this album blew me away, but it was good through and through. It’s a 3 from me, but it feels more like a 3.5. I wish we could do half stars. Favorite track: Yaad-E-Nabi Gulshan Mehka Other Hits: Allah Hoo Allah Hoo, Ali Maula Ali Maula Ali Dam Dam, Ni Main Jogi De Naal

Yeah I mean, it's cool.

I know nothing about this style of music, so I can't really judge it against its peers. I will say I enjoyed it as work background music quite a bit.

You could have played the first five seconds of most of these and expected a banger 1964 protest song to come out.

Above and beyond all else, Khan has a voice that made me sit up and pay attention. The power, timbre and rather athletic leaps he is able to make, impress. The music, too, whilst feeling less 'anchored' than much of what I'm familiar with, throbs and pulses with inexorable insistence. Whilst I didn't step away desperate to hear more, this trip outside of my comfort (and knowledge) zone was welcome. Much to admire here.

Here's an album that's obviously very tied to the culture from which it comes. The songs are almost hymn-like in nature, with consistent repetition and chanting, each at roughly 7+ minutes apiece. As a common westerner, there's a tough barrier of entry, even if the songs are technically proficient and vocally dynamic. It was pretty tough to keep invested in this one, but I feel it's a bit unfair to rate it low just because of that. As with most World albums, I just don't think I'm qualified to rate this fairly.

A meditative, trance-like listening experience awaits all those willing to try on a different perspective.

I don't know why it's on the list. I'm not fully into that kind of music. Religious mantras are not my favorite, but it gets the pass, since it's made with thoughts and passion. Way better than some albums on this list.

- Man sieht ja häufig aufgeblähte Diskografien von Künstler*innen bei Spotify. Aber ich habe noch nie so ein Kilometer langes Monument gesehen wie dieses - Ich bin ehrlich: Ich hab den Scheiß bei Youtube gesucht und nicht länger als 10 Minuten gehört. - Ähnlich wie bei unserem Freund der indischen Folklore. Sehr authentisch und stimmungsvoll und Nachts auf einem Dach in Marrakesh würde mir bei Nusrats Mukke das Herz aufblühen. - Außerhalb dieses Kontexts ist leider nicht mehr als ein interessanter Blick durch ein weltmusikalisches Fenster 2,75/5

I liked it as a novelty but it didn't really hit me.

Hm, another musical tourism album (for me). I remember hearing water drums at some point as a teenager and loving how exotic they sounded, but I'll admit I never really delved into South Asian music much. So, I enjoyed hearing the water drums. :) Other than that, it's pretty hard to gauge what makes this album and artist particularly noteworthy, although Wikipedia helpfully tells me that he was one of the greatest Qawwali singers of all time; I'm not an aficionado of Sufi devotional music, but I'll take their word on it. And I learned from the project's 2005 book edition that this album was his biggest (Peter Gabriel owned) Real World label release, and after getting showcased at a 1983 WOMAD concert. And after reading a bit about the Sufi devotional music tradition, I realized why I was vaguely reminded of this incredible whirling dervish museum in Konya, Turkey (Mevlana Museum), as the museum had Sufi devotional music playing in ceiling speakers throughout the museum's exhibits, and while the museum's music selection sounded quite different than this album's music, the ecstatic purpose was similar.

I don't think I understand the nature of this music to review this though I did enjoy it playing in the background as I worked.

Some great vibes. Some of the tracks got me moving. Tracks 5 and 6 not so much. Might re visit some of the songs.

didn't expect to like it as much as i did tbhhh

Middle Eastern/Indian singing, made me want to be eating Indian food

No idea what happened so I’ll give it an average of. 3/5

Different African music that I wouldn’t normally be exposed to

I'm probably not the best demographic to rate this. I'm sure it was important, but in general it just put me into a state of focus. It really helped me focus on doing other things. I did find it interesting how it seems somewhat traditional, but borrowed a few sounds from western pop music of the time, especially on the production side. Best Songs: Allah Hoo Allah Hoo, Ali Maula... Worst Songs: Ni main Jogi De Naal

gostei em

Siis sinällänsä taas ihan siisti eksoottinen kokemus, mutta puolitoista tuntia on aika pitkä kun ei sillein osaa erottaa yksityiskohtia kappaleista. Arabialaista kansanmusiikkia. Kitara ja laulu vahvimpana. Paras Ali Maula Ali Maula Ali Dam Dam

I’m definitely not in a position to critically evaluate this album. But general feeling - I didn’t feel an overwhelming need to turn it off, but also wasn’t looking forward to the next song at any point.

Good background music

Interesting!

Cool! Lively singing and pretty diverse instrumentation

Most strange sensations, my dude. Really positive start, but about 40 minutes in I began to feel kinda disoriented. Never experienced that before. Must have been the demons exiting my brain. 40 minutes later it went back to an amazing close though.

I appreciate this for what it is in the genre/world realm. For my taste, I can appreciate and enjoy in small doses in a few settings, a very few. 2.5/5

I found this quite enjoyable and oddly hypnotic. This dude only lived to the age of 48 but recorded 125+ albums. Pretty amazing. And more props to Peter Gabriel for the release of this album on his Realworld label. I can appreciate its inclusion in this list given it’s out of the norm world music.

For what this was, I definitely enjoyed it. This guy must be the GOAT of this genre, given his inclusion here and the fact that he has roughly 3,000 albums

I didn't have access to much of this album. But the couple minutes I heard sounded pretty ok. 3/5

Man, what a breeze of fresh air from hearing so much rock on this list. I don’t know if it was actually good, or I was just starved of something different, but I really enjoyed listening to this. Strong 3!

Not a music style I have a lot of experience or interest in but it was decent. Couldn't tell what made this album special but it was very different from all the other stuff on this list so there is that. A nice vibe to have on while doing something else.

OK, but a bit monotonous after a while

Mister book author filled the quota. Good for him. Good for everyone. Mister book author wrote that the artist... did not live to see 9/11? Uhhhhh, not sure why that was important but okay Nice to hear something new for a change. I have no desire to listen to it again, but it was fun, and not just because it's exotic.

6 songs?? Shortest album yet. They're longer songs at least. Oh wow this is definitely different than other albums on this list. Honestly it sounds exactly like the style of Indian/South Asian music but I can't tell if it's good or not.

Hyvä albumi

I had a productive afternoon of drafting plans while listening to this which is *not* its intended purpose. Sounded great and I enjoyed it despite the language/culture barrier.

This was a pretty cool sound to start the day with! I enjoyed it and it was great background music, although I probably wouldn't listen again. I would have never been exposed to the music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan if it hadn't been for this project, and I am glad that I have now heard it.

Another album of music I am glad to learn exists, although I didn't enjoy it as much as Cheb Khaled. It seems female vocalists are rare in Sufi devotional music but I'll be curious to check into that more.

An enjoyable listen but sounded all similar to me

Nice change of pace from what I’ve had so far on the list. Pretty easy listen. No strong opinions either way but overall enjoyable.

Dudes an insanely good singer, the full 1 and a half hour album was pre long and repetitive tho.

A pretty interesting look into a genre that I had never heard of in qawwali music. I was somewhat familiar with Sufism, so it wasn’t completely out of sorts for me, but still interesting. I did find the runtime a little long and it seems that maybe the generator doesn’t send you to the right album, but it was good for a taste of this genre.

I enjoyed it, but it was difficult for me to single out Nusrat. I know his vocals from the few songs he had done for other artists that I know ("Signal To Noise" by Peter Gabriel). Still, the songs had slightly different tempos and moods so you could tell the difference between them. I did not like how the last song ended. It seemed like they lost the idea, and it just... petered out. I think I need a second listen to it, but I just felt like there are better examples of his stuff.

This was good. Strong vocals from Kahn and good beats. I don't know how unique it was compared to other Qawwali or world music albums but I could listen to it again, or on repeat in the background. I may not reach for it when I really need a music pick me up but I wouldn't be disappointed if it was played.

I can't even begin to describe this. Fascinating, yet unmemorable.

Definitely something new for me and an interesting experience. For sure a good singer. That said, it wasn't entirely my style and I didn't enjoy it all that much. But definitely fine to play in the background to set a certain mood or to evoke a culture about which I know much less than it deserves.

This is a LOT But I enjoyed it for a while

This is the random weird shit I love on this list. I've never heard of it before and while I didn't enjoy it all that much, I appreciated something different.

great performances of music that I would not likely listen to outside of this list. I do think it feels very lively for a recording.

Worth listening to, though I wouldn't again. High musicality.

The idea of this excites me more than the reality I’m afraid. I generally really enjoy non English language music but this is a bit too relentless for me. I’ll add a star for not being in English, but this isn’t something I want to come back to really