File spoon-archives/seminar-12.archive/transl-asia_1998/seminar-12.9805, message 10


Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 13:53:51 +0100 (BST)
From: Caroline Osella <Caroline.Osella-AT-durham.ac.uk>
Subject: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan


I know it's a long time since BASAS, but I only just got a minute to
breathe.... 

Someone asked where we'd put the above, and a reply came back that he fits
in the Guradian-reading world music type of slot.   He undoubtedly does,
but I think he might be (have been) a bit more polymorhpous than this....

I have several cassettes/ cds of his work, and came to them as follows:-

(1) Radio Asia, 558, London-based community radio, breakfast programme
back in 92, run in English by young British Asian guy (who was he?? forgot
his name) for mixed age but mostly Asian audience. Played a mix of old
Lata / Rafi type film songs and newer bhangra / Asian disco type stuff.  I
have taped from the radio a track introduced by the DJ with comments like
"The mighty Khan" and "It's a bit early in the morning for all this
chill-out stuff"; the track was presented as a sort of druggy, jazzy thing
which older listeners wouldn't 'get'.

(2) I have (shame!!) a CD from the dreaded Peter Gabriel's 'realworld'
collection, bought in HMV world music section, sat alongside eg drummers
from Mali and so on.

(3)  I  have a disco'ed up cassette bought in Paris in the club/dance
section of FNAC, sat alongside eg MC Solaar

(4) Finally, a 'straight' cassette of devotional music bought in a
Southall music shop, sat alongside other Muslim devotionals / Hindu
bhajans

I think the various outlets and presentations of cds/cassettes suggests
that the Khan is/was a more complex phenomenon than the Gabriel worldmusic
reading of him suggests.  

Any thoughts?

Caroline Osella
Durham, UK.



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