# Chain of Light

Chain of Light is a studio album by Pakistani qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, published posthumously on 20 September 2024. The album features four traditional qawwali compositions recorded in 1990. It remained unreleased until rediscovered in 2021, after being lost for 27 years. Produced by Michael Brook under the label Real World Records, the album is a part of Khan's collaborations, which began after his appearance at the WOMAD festival.
The title Chain of Light, is taken from a phrase within one of the Sufi devotional poems featured on the record. However, the context and its authorship remains uncertain. The tracks on Chain of Light remained unreleased and were lost for several years before being rediscovered during an archival reorganization.

## Rediscovery

In 2021, the tapes for Chain of Light were rediscovered by one of the employees of the Real World Records Odhrán Mullan while cataloguing items in the archives of Real World Records after the company moved to a new location. The tapes were stored at Real World Records' archive, which included World War II-era Nissen huts. Before being digitized, the tapes had to be carefully treated. Due to their age, they were slightly heated to remove moisture, as playing them directly would have caused damage.
These recordings were remastered with the possibilities for a representation of his musical style during the period of his career.

## Background

Khan's association with Real World Records began following his performance at the 1985 WOMAD festival, where his qawwali style gained the attention of Peter Gabriel. This led to a collaboration between the two, with Khan contributing to Gabriel's 1989 album Passion, which was the soundtrack for Martin Scorsese's film The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). This partnership helped elevate Khan's profile outside Pakistan. This collaboration played a central role in working on Chain of Light album.
The album was recorded in April 1990 at Real World Studios in Box, a village in the Cotswolds, UK. This was during the same period that Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was collaborating with Canadian producer Michael Brook on Mustt Mustt. The recordings took place following Khan's collaboration with Peter Gabriel.
While some of the material from this session was released on albums such as Mustt Mustt (1990) and Night Song (1996), the tracks that make up Chain of Light remained unreleased at the time.

## Composition

The album features Khan on vocals and harmonium, with his musical group Nusrat Khan Fateh Ali & Party, comprised eight members, including brother Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan, tabla virtuoso Dildar Hussain, and chorus team including Mujahid Ali, Rehmat Ali, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (nephew), Asad Ali, Khalid Mahmood, Ghulam Farid Sabri.
It features traditional qawwali compositions, with Khan's team providing backing vocals. The ten minutes-long opening track, "Ya Allah Ya Rehman", follows the familiar structure of traditional qawwali, with Khan's vocals leading a rhythmic tabla groove and a harmonium. The track features Urdu language which is originally sung by Khan himself.
The second track, "Aaj Sik Mitran Di", begins with a slow tempo, before making way into fast-paced vocal improvisations in sargam (syllabic vocalization). The third track, "Ya Gaus Ya Meeran", is a nine-minute composition noted for its vocal complexity and devotional poetry of Sufism. It features tempos and rhythmic patterns throughout, featuring Khan's ability to intricate counterpoint and harmony. Khan utilized varied musical interpretation through the track.
The fourth and the last track titled "Khabram Raseed Imshab" features Khan's different vocal range, traits for which he was known. Its lyrics are derived from a Persian poem also titled Khabram Raseed Imshab by Amir Khusrau, a 13th century Indian Persian-language poet. It is originally sung by Khan's father Fateh Ali Khan and his uncle whose name is not known.

## Launch

The launch of Chain of Light, described as a "lost album" by Variety, Rolling Stone, and The Telegraph, among others, was hosted in Pakistan. The project was a collaboration between Pakistan-based Saiyna Bashir Studios and Peter Gabriel's Real World Records.
Supported by the British Council, a series of launch events were organized in various cities, including Islamabad, Pakistan. It was released in Manchester on 10 September 2024, and Birmingham on 11 September. The album launch event was later organized in Paris on 13 September. The final pre-release took place in London, UK on 19 September 2024. It was officially dropped on 20 September 2024.

## Reception

The Guardian ranked it the top global album of 2024. Music critic Suanshu Khurana from The Indian Express described the album as "a gift to the world" with 4/5 rating.
Writing for The Guardian in 2024, reviewer Ammar Kalia described Chain of Light as "...provides an extraordinary example of Khan's voice" with 5/5 rating.
While referring to the album release, Pakistani daily newspaper The Express Tribune described it as "a treasure trove of unreleased recordings".

## Track listing

All tracks are composed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Khan features in the lead vocals, while Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Party members perform vocals in the background. Tracks are produced by Michael Brook and recorded by David Bottrill.

## Personnel

* Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – lead vocals, harmonium and lead tabla
* Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan – tabla
* Dildar Hussain – tabla
* Rahat Fateh Ali Khan – background vocals
* Nusrat Khan Fateh Ali & Party – background vocals