Night Song

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan here teams up with Canadian composer/songwriter Michael Brook to create an interesting addition to the world music genre. Combining elements of pop with ambient sounds and traditional Islamic music, NIGHT SONG seeks to combine seemingly disparate musical cultures.

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Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan here teams up with Canadian composer/songwriter Michael Brook to create an interesting addition to the world music genre. Combining elements of pop with ambient sounds and traditional Islamic music, NIGHT SONG seeks to combine seemingly disparate musical cultures.
Blending together Nusrat's qawwali melodies with a backbeat and lush swells from guitars, Brook creates a hypnotic groove that speaks both to the religious and secular minded listener. Interspersing elements of mainstream Western music with the ancient Sufi singing style of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is more than a novelty, however. This album urges one to reconsider the relationship between Western and Eastern musical traditions; both spheres contain a zest for expression and musical storytelling that lends itself well to such collaboration. Highlights include the brooding "Sweet Pain" and the digitally enhanced "My Comfort Remains".

Rolling Stone (2/22/96, p.60)
- 4 Stars (out of 5)
- "...the Pakistani singer...has not only the stylistic qualities that appeal to Western ears but also the talent necessary to tear through the scrim of exoticism that often cloaks world music, delivering a consuming musical experience..."

New York Times (3/17/96, sec.2, p.35)
- "Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan has one of the great voices on the planet and is one of the great improvisers too....NIGHT SONG is a Westerner's dream of mysticism; the collaboration produces special, moody music."

Musician (4/96, p.92)
- "...Khan has never really rocked the way he does here....his ornamentation underscored the music's rhythmic flow, playing off the drums and synth pulse as avidly as any pop star..."

JazzTimes (3/96, pp.82-121)
- "...a fruitful collaboration....Nothing so profound as Khan's Qaawwali expression is heard here, but Khan/Brooks find some fascinating sonic topics to have a dialogue over....It's a party with an undercurrent of spiritual investigation."

Entertainment Weekly (2/23-3/1/96, p.126)
- "...Purists may prefer Khan's earlier, more traditional releases, but this is a fine starting place for the uninitiated." - Rating: B+