WOMAD

Mastana, Qawwali du Rajasthan

From India

We’ve always been up for some devotional qawwali singing in this particular corner of Reading on every last weekend in July. The great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was a frequent flyer to these parts before his untimely death in 1997; his nephews Rizwan and Muazzam have been familiar faces since, whether with or without that dubwise duo Temple Of Sound. Mastana, formed six years ago by the decidedly eclectic classical musician Ishak Ali Kawa, draw on musicians from both the classical and qawwali worlds and, as such, enjoy a particularly strong and individual sound. Their name translates, from Urdu, as ‘serenity’ and that’s absolutely spot on as a description too. The combination of harmonium and tablas is one that’s impossible not to commune with – when exultant voices are layered upon them, a wave of well-being gently moves through even the most tortured of souls. It’s spiritually akin to the effect of North African trance music. Why not give (inner) peace a chance?Catch this if you like… Nusrat Ali Fateh Khan or Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali.