KARACHI: We might have just missed our first indigenous nomination to the Grammys by a whisker. Indus Raag: Beyond Borders, a 12-CD compilation of classical and folk, spread across 13 hours of back-to-back music was short listed for a nomination in the ‘Best World Music ‘ category earlier this year but unfortunately couldn’t make it to the final five.
Prior to Indus Raag being accepted as an indigenous entry, legendary musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was nominated for the Grammys twice, with compilations made by foreign producers. Indus Raag, which features local classical musicians, has been mixed and mastered in Pakistan.
The album was recorded by Faisal Rafi of Silent Music Studios and mixed and mastered by Fuzön’s Emu, and veteran music producer Iqbal Asif of Emix Studios.. The album features Ustad Fateh Ali Khan Gwalior Gharana (vocals), Ustad Rais Khan (sitar) , Ashraf Sharif Khan (sitar), Ustad Mumtaz Sabzal (banjo), Kamal Sabri (sarangi player from India), Raza Ali Khan (vocals), Jawad Ali Khan (vocals), Mazhar Ali Khan (vocals), Mubarak Ali Khan(vocals), Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (mohan veena player), and Ustad Naseerudin Sami (vocals). The album also features one of the very few sarod players from Pakistan, Asad Qizalbash, who fled the country after receiving death threats from extremist groups.
According to Reuters , British soul-pop artist Sam Smith, R&B star Beyonce and singer-producer Pharrell Williams led artists with six Grammy nominations each, including nods for the top prize of Album of the Year, the Recording Academy said Friday.
Smith’s In the Lonely Hour, Beyonce’s self-titled album and Pharrell’s Girl joined rocker Beck’s Morning Phase and British singer Ed Sheeran’s X in the Album of the Year category, announced during the CBS broadcast of ‘A Very Grammy Christmas’ concert late Friday.
Smith, 22, picked up nods in the three top Grammy categories including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for his song Stay with Me. He follows in the heels of fellow British soul-pop singer Adele, who won all six of her Grammy nominations in 2013 including the top three awards.
Smith is a contender for the coveted Best New Artist, alongside Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, British pop-rockers Bastille, country singer Brandy Clark and California sister trio Haim.
Record of the Year nominees include Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off, Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass, Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX’s Fancy and Sia’s Chandelier.
Song of the Year also includes Swift’s Shake it Off, Trainor’s All About That Bass and Sia’s Chandelier, alongside Hozier’s Take Me to the Church.
Pharrell, 41, earned Grammy nominations for his own album Girl and his production work on Sheeran’s X and Beyonce’s self-titled record.
Beyonce, 33, became the most-nominated artist in Grammy history with 52 nominations. Her self-titled album, released without fanfare last December, is one of this year’s biggest-selling records with 2 million US copies sold.
Swift’s 1989 album, which has sold more than two million US copies since October, did not land any nominations, but its song Shake It Off picked up three nods.
The soundtrack from Disney’s Oscar-winning film Frozen, the year’s top-selling album with more than 3.5 million US copies sold, scored nominations in the categories for music written for visual media.
The Recording Academy comprises music industry professionals who select Grammy contenders from music released between October 1, 2013, and September 30, 2014.
In an effort to draw younger viewers to the annual Grammys ceremony in Los Angeles on February 8, 2015, the Recording Academy chose to announce the nominees in 82 of its 83 categories throughout Friday morning on its Twitter feed. reuters
Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2014.
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