Sabir Mirza's new Album Mirpuri Rulez

Sabir mirza ghazel south asian music recording artist is involved in music schools and jam session performances, learn about fusing nursat style music with modern music productions. Mixing classical qawali with black music styles. Learn about bhangra desi style music. Sabirs eastern harmony academy can give you that chance to learn.

Eastern Harmony Academy was initially set up 5 years ago as a voluntary organisation and has experience delivering Asian music to the local community. It does regular performances for charities and supports local artists. Young Asians are growing unaware of south asia real music culture, that their ethnic group could offer. As a result an original loose association of performers and musicians worked together to develop a local understanding of these traditions. Sabir Mirza and Local academy members and community groups were the initial focus of the work. Recently a south asian music Academy has opened at 148 Bordesley Green, Birmingham in which regular performances have started to take place every Thursday from 8 to 11PM on a voluntary basis.

Sabir performs in the genres, performed by the late legend Nusrat Khan,

Nusrat fateh Ali Khan,

Nusrat was born in Faisalabad, Punjab on October 13, 1948 to Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, a distinguished musicologist, vocalist, instrumentalist, and skilled Qawwali performer. He had one brother, Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan. Initially, his father did not want Nusrat to follow him into the Qawwali business. He had his heart set on Nusrat choosing a much more respectable career path and becoming a doctor, because he felt south asian Qawwali artists had low social status. However, Nusrat showed such an aptitude for, and interest in, Qawwali that his father finally relented and started to train him in the art of Qawwali and he was also taught to sing within the classical framework of Khayal. This training was still incomplete when Ustad Fateh Ali Khan died in 1964 while Nusrat was still in school, and the training was continued by Nusrat's paternal uncle, Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan. Ten days after his father's death, Nusrat had a dream where his father came to him and told him to sing, touching his throat. Nusrat woke up singing, and was moved by the dream to decide that he would make Qawwali his career. His first public performance was at his father's funeral ceremony forty days later. Under the guidance of Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan, he became the group's leader in 1965 and the group was called Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mujahid Mubarak Ali Khan & Party. ("Party" is the term used in Qawwali for the supporting members of the group).

Sufi And Qawali Music

 

The Qawali is inextricably linked to the Sufi tradition; Sufism is a mystical school of Islamic thought which strives to attain truth and divine love by direct personal experience. In Arabic, this mysticism is known as tasawwuf. The difference between Sufism and mainstream Islam is simple. All Muslims believe that man is on a path to God (tariqah). However, where the mainstream Muslim believes that it is only possible to reach God after death at the final judgement, the Sufi believes that it is possible to reach God during ones life. To this end there are a number of different techniques and methods. The Qu'ran instructs man to remember God. This remembrance, known as dhikr, maybe either silent of vocal. The Qawali maybe viewed as an extension of the vocal form of this remembrance. By the end of the 11th century, there arose the tradition of the Sama. The Sama was often a spiritual concert, which included a vocalist and instrumentalists. These Samas took place under the direction of a spiritually respected man (Sheikh). There is a very specific psychological process which a Qawali follows. One starts with the singing of the song. In this psychological state the song is received in a manner that is not unlike standard forms of musical expression. The words are sung, quite repeatedly with variations intended to bring out deeper means of the lyrics. After awhile there is a repetition to the extent that the words cease to have a meaning. It is the goal here to lead the listener and performer alike into a trance (hal). In the ideal situation the participant is moved to a state of spiritual enlightenment (fana). One man who was inspired by the Hazrat Nizamuddin was Amir Khusru (1254- 1324). He was born in Mominpur (Padilla). His father was originally from Turkey, this gave the young boy a broader exposure to the rest of the Islamic world. His father died when he was eight years old, whereupon the job of raising him fell to his maternal grandfather. Amir Khusru was a legendary musician, statesman and philosopher. It is said that he was the advisor to 11 rulers of Delhi, particularly the rulers of the Khilji Dynasty Amir Khusru is so important to the development of Qawali that he is often (e rroneously) said to be the inventor of it. It is said that he mixed the various musical elements from Turkey, greater Persia and India together. Even today, we find the curious mixture of Persian moqquams with Indian rags. Recent years have seen the Qawali thrust into the international arena by such singers as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the Sabri brothers. Their fusion of traditional Indo-Pakistani influences with Western music has created quite a stir in the music world. In Pakistan alone their are over 2000 Qawali groups.

Kashmiri & Potowari Folk Music

Music tradition from this region goes a long way from well over thousands of years. singers used to perform using traditional music instruments such as, The Ghara (clay pot) Ghuongaru (traditional mini bells) and Chimta (steel tongs) in live theatres, mela's, weddings, harvest and general celebration and story telling which has been past from heart to heart through the generations. For last couple of hundred years few extra music instruments have been introduced such as, The Tabla, Dholak, Harmonium, The Sitar - Indian classical instrument, Sarangi and flute. In the UK the Mirpuri and Kashmiri community came after the first and second world war. After 3 generations up to this day they are very proud of their tradition and their language.

Bhangra Music

Bhangra is a lively form of folk dance and music that originates from the state of Punjab in Northern India and Pakistan. The roots of the dance date back to the 1400s, where Bhangra was performed by Punjabi farmers as a celebration for good harvests. Through time, the dance developed into what is known as Shaan Punjab the Pride of Punjab (literally “the light of Punjab”). Traditionally, the dance is performed by eight men standing in circle lead by the beat of the Dhol (a large drum played with sticks). The women typically performed another folk dance called Giddha, which is a very expressive form of dance that allowed Punjabi women to express their joys, frustrations, and feelings to each other. Accompanied by the beat of the dholak (a smaller drum played with the hands) and descriptive boliyaan (words or lyrics), Giddha is performed by at least eight women in a semicircle. Bhangra, Giddha, as well as many other kinds of folk dances are performed in Punjabi villages and towns to this day. Over the last decade, Bhangra dance and music have become immensely popular among the first and second generations of South Asian youth in North America and the United Kingdom. There are over 100 college teams in the United States and at least 10 national international intercollegiate and professional south asia Bhangra competitions. Bhangra artists in the UK especially singers, musicians and DJ's are experimenting with other forms of music such as, R'n'B Reggae Hip Hop etc. which are well recognized with a majority of the world.

Ghazal Music

Ghazal, The word originates from Arabic, meaning, “way or mannerism of talking to or talking about women.” Thus in fact it is an expression of love! But in this ever changing world the Ghazal has become a reflection of the life around us. This is a brief note on the evolution of Ghazal from a poetic form into a genre of light classical music. The beginnings of this evolution can be traced to the early 20th century. Many of its early exponents were classically trained singers who specialized in Khayaal and Thumri style of singing. However, unlike classical music which to this day is perceived as elitist, Ghazal have become popular with the common man. The magical combinations of beautiful lyrics and dulcet voices have enabled Ghazal and Ghazal singers to leave an indelible mark on the hearts and souls of Ghazal listeners everywhere. Ghazal has come a long way and so have Ghazal singers. The number of Ghazal singers has grown exponentially in the past decade or so. Yet few have been able to leave a lasting impression on the Ghazal scene. The old names endure - Begum Akhtar, K.L.Saigal. Mehdi Hassan Mehdi Hassan songs and music on MuziqPakistan.com, Ghulam Ali and Jagjit Singh