Peace

AMG Review of Peace

Rick Anderson
All Music Guide

Shortly after Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's untimely death in 1997 at the age of 49, the Real World label released a tribute compilation that featured remixes of Khan's songs by various members of London's Asian Underground scene; there were jungle and house mixes, an ambient setting or two, and generally a good overview of what was then the cutting edge of British dance music, presented through the lens of qawwali, the devotional Sufi music of which Khan had been the greatest contemporary master. This album is somewhat similar. It consists of tracks he recorded in collaboration with young DJs on the Indian and Pakistani scenes, with whom he created a successful fusion of qawwali and modern dance pop; the electric guitar riff that opens "Faith & Happiness," the pulsing house beat that powers "Oh My Heart," and the bhangra rhythm woven throughout "My Lover Remix" are all technically alien to the qawwali tradition, but Khan's incredibly powerful singing fits the new settings perfectly and fuses the two genres successfully. Highly recommended.