Source: The Express Tribune, 17 December 2016 — “First qawwal since Nusrat to compose film music” — https://tribune.com.pk/story/1266088/first-qawwal-since-nusrat-compose-film-music
Qawwals have been significant contributors to Pakistan’s music legacy, but only Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan could claim to have served as the music director for a film. Almost twenty years after his death, Hamza Akram of the Qawwal Bachon ka Gharana aimed to do the same.
In December 2016, Hamza was announced as the music director of the upcoming Pakistani film Rangreza, a love story starring Bilal Ashraf and Goher Rasheed, directed by Amir Mohiuddin. The film revolves around the fusion of qawwali and modern pop music, and Hamza was handling the qawwali part. “I have composed qawwali and Sufi music for Rangreza,” he told The Express Tribune. “There is also one fusion of rock and qawwali that I have composed.”
“This is a huge opportunity for me,” he said. “As easy it is to say that I am following up Nusrat sahab, it is an even bigger responsibility. I hope I am able to do justice to it.”
Asked about moving away from qawwali, he answered that a qawwal has to learn many different styles, because qawwali itself holds a variety of nuances. Trained in western classical music as well, he pointed out that when qawwals sing, they talk about how a lover’s eyes intoxicate you, and many different aspects of love — so they have to learn the feeling of everything. “So, essentially qawwali encapsulates everything.”
By then Hamza had already featured in cross-border collaborations, including the “Borderless Skies” project launched by Mahesh Bhatt and a trance track with DJ Damian Lazarus, and earlier that year he had released his debut album Sada-e-Sufi in India. He was touring with his group “Hamza Akram Taimoor Akram Qawwal & Bros”, and had previously been in the news for a collaboration with media personality Arjumand Azhar on a naat album featuring hymns penned by non-Muslims.
He was also proud that qawwali itself was coming to the fore. “Nowadays qawwali has become the latest trend in music. So, I am happy that this kind of music [is] reaching a larger audience. In fact, I am happy when I’m told that more people have started listening to it because of me and my family.”
This post is a rephrased summary of The Express Tribune’s report of 17 December 2016, shared here for our press archive. Read the original at the link above.
Leave a Reply