NFAK's 'Chain of Light' is finally here

Over three decades after it was first captured, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's hypnotic voice is back with the posthumous album Chain of Light, which dropped on September 20, 2024, via Peter Gabriel's Real World Records.

Spanning just four tracks but a powerful 41 minutes, this release revives the legendary qawwali maestro, who passed away at 48 in 1997. Songs like Ya Allah Ya Rehman and Aaj Sik Mitran Di immediately hit listeners with nostalgia and the intensity cranks up with Ya Gaus Ya Meeran, while Khabram Raseed Imshab rounds things off on a more light-hearted note, as per Rolling Stone India.

According to Real World Records, Chain of Light was recorded at their studio in April 1990, during the same period Nusrat was working on Mustt Mustt with Canadian producer Michael Brook. The album features Nusrat on harmonium and vocals, accompanied by his brother Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan, tabla virtuoso Dildar Hussain, and an ensemble of chorus members including Mujahid Ali, Rehmat Ali, Rahat Ali, Asad Ali, Ghulam Farid, and Khalid Mahmood.

When Real World Records first announced the album in June, Gabriel, founder of the label and former frontman of Genesis, expressed his admiration in a statement. "I've had the honour of collaborating with countless artists from around the globe, but Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was, without question, one of the greatest vocalists I've ever encountered," he said. "What he could evoke with just his voice was beyond remarkable, and we're incredibly proud to have played a role in bringing his music to a larger global audience. Finding this forgotten recording in our archives was such a joy, and this album captures him at his very best. It's truly something special." The tapes for Chain of Light were rediscovered in 2021 while the label was moving its archives, having been misplaced in storage for years.