Shahen Shah is being released on LP for the first time in many years as part of a series of vinyl releases of classic Real World albums.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was a man of impressive, even daunting, stature. The emotional intensity and soaring power of his voice transcend all boundaries of language and religion and have popularised this beautiful and inspirational music beyond Muslim peoples to audiences worldwide.
Qawwali
Qawwali means literally utterance and the Qawwal is the mouthpiece of Divine Power: We do not sing, we are made to sing. This is the devotional music of the Sufis the mystical sect of Islam, intended to elevate the spirit and bring both performer and listener closer to God.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was considered the greatest living exponent of Qawwali. A man of impressive, even daunting stature, the emotional intensity and soaring power of his voice transcends all boundaries of language and religion and has popularised this beautiful and inspirational music beyond Muslim people to audiences world-wide.
The strength and power of Qawwali as a form is used to convey a mystic, religious message. The best Qawwal draws and holds the audiences attention, altering the listeners state of consciousness to make it intensely receptive of the content.
At the heart of Sufism is the heart itself: devotional love of God (Allah), His profit (Mohammed) and His friend (Ali). Music is the vehicle to reach the heart and attain a state of Grace or enlightenment, a stateless state or Marifat the inner knowledge.
The music provides an intangible interplay between form and content, dwelling upoin particular works to create a wider context, allowing simple language to attain greater depths. The trance-inducing repetition of a sentence or phrase indicates both the obvious and hidden context, taking the audience into a discover of new meanings, sudden revelations, new significances, new departures.
Both performer and listener are drawn into this heightened experience words are repeated until all meaning is exhausted and only the purity of the form remains a universal understanding transcending even linguistic barriers.
In the lyric of one Qawwali song we are warned Do not accept the heart that is the slave to reason embrace the uninhibited release of energy, the pleasure of ecstasy beyond the rational plane. In the communal, ritualised setting of the a Qawwali session members of the audience are often brought to a state of trance chanting, swaying and clapping, even falling into physical convulsions. This is the state of mind or hal reached at the climax of the music and the point where money is showered onto the stage by the ecstatic audience.
Qawwali originated with the foundation of the Christi order of Sufis in Khorosan in the early 10th century and was brought to the Indian Sub-Continent in the 12th century. Traditionally, a Qawwali performance is heard at the shrine of a saint or a gathering of the brotherhood. Today the Qawwal will sing at all major events such as marriages and religious feasts, and even in an increasing number of secular contexts, remaining still the most popular form of musical expression in Pakistan.
The performers sit in a close group. Small hand-pumped harmoniums provide the melody, whilst the rhythm is maintained by tabla or dholak and the hand-clapping of the chorus. The music builds from the opening alap to increasingly louder and higher crescendos. The chorus, highlighting salient parts in the form of a refrain, echo the melodies sung by Nusrat. Over the solid rhythmic foundation the singer elaborates subtle vocal lines, accompanied by dramatic gestures of the hands and arms.
The lyrics are generally in Urdu (Persian), drawing upon the symbolic richness and beauty of the language and its ancient mystic traditions.
For the Sufis, spiritual advancement through music comes to both performer and audience, for there are two forms of Grace, neither greater than the other Those with a melodious voice and those endowed with the faculties to appreciate them.
This page displays your general account information.
You can edit your details by clicking the "Change" button in corresponding sections of the form.
| Username: | |
| First Name: | |
| Last Name: | |
| Email: | |
| Privacy Policy: | |
| Password: | [ hidden ] |
In this section you can review orders you have placed under this account. If you order has been completed, you will be able to download an invoice for it in PDF format by clicking the corresponding link. You will need to have PDF reader application installed on your computer such as Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view it.
| Order ID | Status | Order Date | TOTAL | Invoice |
|---|
This section displays your current wishlist.
| Product Cover | Product Name | Availability | Action | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
For faster checkout, use your personal Address Book to save addresses to which your orders may be shipped or billed.
To create a new Address Book entry, enter the information requested by the form below, then click Save. To edit an entry, click the Edit button, make any changes to the entry, then click Save. To delete an entry, click Delete.
| Address Name | Date | Actions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Address Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Address ID | |
| Date Modified |
| Address Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Address Title | |
| First Name | |
| Middle Name | |
| Last Name | |
| Company | |
| Country | |
| Address Line 1 | |
| Address Line 2 | |
| City | |
| State | |
| Postcode | |
| Phone | |
| FAX |
Please fill in the form below to add address to your personal address book. Please note that the fields marked with asterisk ( * ) are mandatory.
Please fill in the form below to edit address from your personal address book. Please note that the fields marked with asterisk ( * ) are mandatory.
Are you sure you want to delete this address?
This section allows you to access and delete all data, which we hold on you.
You can download your entire profile data by clicking 'Download' or delete your account by clicking 'DELETE' buttons below.
Please note that by clicking the 'DELETE' button below you are consciously agreeing to remove all information related to your account and therefore you will no longer be able to access it. This operation cannot be UNDONE.
We're more than happy to have a friendly chat with you about any problems or queries you may have, record related or otherwise.
You can contact Phonica Records via email at customerservice@phonicarecords.com or by telephone on 02070256071 between 11:30 and 19:30 Monday to Saturday.
For faster checkout, use your personal Address Book to save addresses to which your orders may be shipped or billed.
To create a new Address Book entry, enter the information requested by the form below, then click Save. To edit an entry, click the Edit button, make any changes to the entry, then click Save. To delete an entry, click Delete.
Before reaching for the phone we do ask that you have a quick read through the following, just in case we can save you the keystrokes or the cost of a phone call.
We aim to dispatch the same day if orders are placed before 4pm Monday to Friday so anytime after this we can usually say that they are “on their way”. Depending on which delivery service you choose we may be able to track your records, please see shipping methods below.
Sometimes packages do go missing. We have to allow a certain period of time for us to be able to consider items lost.
UK – 15 working days.
Overseas – 28 working days.
While these may seem excessive, we have known items to take this long and it is only after these periods have elapsed that we can claim for compensation.
If you are able to add a record to your basket on the website then it is almost definitely in stock. Our website stock is shared with our physical shop and is updated constantly. However, sometimes things go missing or are sold in the shop at the same time as on our website. If we are unable to completely fulfil your order we will contact to let you know whether we might be able to source another copy of the record or whether we will have to adjust your order and payment.
| Product | Type | Qty | Unit Price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You haven't added any products to your basket yet. | ||||
| Totals | |
|---|---|
| Product Total | £0.00 |
| Order Total | £0.00 |
| 0 | |
| Total does not include shipping or VAT (sales tax) charges | |
| Free Shipping |
|---|
| Our normal shipping is FREE to the Mainland UK if you spend at least £60 including VAT on goods. |
| Free Shipping Hint |
|---|
You will be entitled to free shipping
if you spend another £60 (including VAT!) - UK customers only. You are entitled to "Free Shipping"! - UK customers only. |
| You may also be interested in ... |
|---|
|
To access your account, enter your e-mail address and password below.
Don't have an account yet? Create one!
If you don't remember your password, click Forgot your Password? to have your new password emailed to you.
Please remember that password is case-sensitive.
Phonica Records now also supports Facebook and Twitter logins. If you have an account with one of those social services, you can use it to log in to our website. Please click one of the corresponding buttons below in order to do that.
Sign up for an account today and benefit from faster checkout and more site features.
Note that passwords must be at least between four (4) to ten (10) characters long.
Already have an account? Login!
If you don't remember your password, click Forgot your Password? to have your new password emailed to you.
Enter the e-mail address associated with your account. Click submit to have your new password e-mailed to you.
If you don't remember your email address, but know other details about your account we can try to find it out for you. Please contact customerservice@phonicarecords.com.
Use the form below to perform an advanced search of our database.
51 Poland Street
London W1F 7LZ
Email: customerservice@phonicarecords.com
Registered in England and Wales under no. 04625246.
Phonica Records
The Phonica website is now closed, until circumstances change. We will announce on social media & a newsletter when we are back and operating again. Thank you!
