While relocating their archives in 2021, Real World Studios discovered the motherlode, a tape from April 1990 featuring a recording session by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and his group. The recording features four traditional qawwali songs, including one which has never been heard before, and will now be released as Chain of Light.

The date of these recordings is significant as 1990 was the year Nusrat also recorded Musst Musst, a breakthrough international album, and followed his appearance on the title track of Peter Gabriel's Passion in 1989. Discussing the discovery of Nusrat's 'lost album' and his impact as a singer, Gabriel says: "I’ve had the privilege to work with a tonne of different musicians from all over the world in my time, but perhaps the greatest singer of them all was Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. What he could do and make you feel with his voice was quite extraordinary and we were very proud to have played a role in getting him to a much wider global audience. It was a real delight when we found out this tape had been in our library. This album really shows him at his peak. It’s a wonderful record."

Chain of Light features Nusrat with an eight-strong party of singers and musicians, and features popular qawwali songs 'Ya Allah Ya Rehman', 'Aaj Sik Mitran Di' and 'Ya Gaus Ya Meeran', as well as 'Khabram Raseed Imshab', from his family repertoire. Discussing the album, Michael Brook – who worked with Nusrat on Musst Musst – shares: "There is an amazing clarity to these performances. They are more harmonically adventurous than the other songs that Nusrat was recording at the time and the whole group is firing on all cylinders."

Fans of Nusrat will also be glad to know that a biopic of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's life is in the making and will be released at the end of 2025. Produced by Islamabad-based Saiyna Bashir Studios and titled Ustad, it aims to be the definitive documentary film of Nusrat and will include rare and unseen footage as well as contributions from family, friends and collaborators.

Chain of Light will be released September 20 by Real World Records on CD, standard LP and limited edition LP – pre-orders are available now