East Pakistan Sky

Following releases on Glitterbeat Records in 2019 and 2020, here is another outstanding recording from the Pakistani master surti singer Ustad Saami. Although related to the much better-known genre of qawwali, surti is perhaps more contemplative and restrained. The only reasonable comparison I can think of is with the performances of dhrupad singers; there is the same deeply serious and systematic exploration of sound, imbued with the same deep sense of spirituality. Musically this translates into long, slow expositions of the mode, as in an alap, in which each note is subjected to a searching investigation. These are complemented by compositions that also have a weighty devotional quality. On this recording, the first – and major – track, ‘Night Falls (Desert Melody)’, devotes over two thirds of its performance time to the exploration of the individual notes of the mode. At just over 20 minutes in the tabla enters and we hear the beginning of a similarly slow and serious composition. The second, and much shorter, second track, ‘Prayer for Peace’, has no slow exposition, but rather is a quicker devotional song, showing off Ustad Saami’s fine control of ornamentation. Both tracks are mesmerising and wonderful examples of a musician at the height of his powers.