At the WOMAD Festival in 1985, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and his ensemble, Party, gave one of their finest performances outside Pakistan. It marked the beginning of one of the most remarkable international careers not only in world music, but in the world of music as a whole. Qawwali is the devotional music of the Sufis, the mystical tradition within Islam. Its purpose is to elevate the spirit by bringing both performers and listeners closer to God. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was the undisputed master of this art form and, in my opinion, possessed one of the three greatest male voices I have ever heard (the other two being Tim Buckley and Demetrio Stratos). "Devotional Songs" was one of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's earliest releases on Peter Gabriel's Realworld label. Originally issued alongside "Love Songs", the two albums neatly separate the central themes of Sufism: faith and love. Both are approached through ecstasy, and this music is genuinely ecstatic. It needs no translation to convey its profound spirituality, but also its joy of life, of music, and of love. It speaks a universal language. Almost thirty years after Khan's death, this music has lost none of its beauty or its power to captivate.