Devotional Songs

One of the great things I’ve discovered so far doing this project is some of the music from different parts of the world that I never would’ve discovered on my own and this is another great addition to that list.

It did take me a couple of tracks to get into it but once I did I enjoyed it more and more with every song.

Top Track - Biba Sada Dil Morr De

Glad to have listened to this album. Although I wish the book picked one of the hundreds of albums from the artist available on Apple Music.

It wasn't some life changing revelation or gateway to a whole new genre. But I enjoyed my time with it, and feel like I know a bit more about one artist in this genre now.

Situations where I’ve thought South Asian music was good:
A) In India, where it was part of the cultural experience
B) In a curryhouse, and who doesn’t love a curry
C) Listening to The Beatles, and therefore not actually listening to South Asian music at all.

Strip these things away and this kind of music does nothing for me.

i don’t really want to listen to music about god that also isn’t available on spotify

not for me

Islamic spirituals??? Interesting. Whatever. Actually. Really awesome. “Allah Hoo” has the same melody as one of my favorite Jewish spirituals, that being “hallelu.” Though a bit repetitive it’s incredibly beautiful, and I have a definite soft spot for songs of divine devotion, especially when they’re as passionate as this. This guy’s voice… it’s beautiful, and powerful, and resounding. The song structures across the album are really nice and interesting as well, and keep me looking forward to the next song. It’s actually a really dynamic album, which I didn’t at all expect. Each song is beautiful, and I really enjoy it as a whole, as well as song to song.
8.5/10

Важко якось оцінювати подібну музику. Реально сподобалась пісня Allah Hoo. А так не знаю навіть, ще й не всі пісні доступні на спотіку. Поставлю 3.

I have a feeling that if I understood the lyrics I wouldn't like this. But I really enjoy the droning beats and singing. It's not something I'm going to sit down and listen to, but it makes pretty excellent background music.

That’s a bit too Middle Eastern for my taste. I usually hear music like that coming from the overpowered show-off cars of our little friends from Asia Minor in the inner-city ghettos. And even there, I don’t enjoy it. 1/5

This isn’t for me, and that’s okay!

difficult to find. not sure if I heard the right album, but the music was good.

Surprisingly, I’m at a 5.

Traditionally, religious music, at least from my experience, has been so drab & dull. Yeah, the words have meaning, and with the right voice, they might make you feel something loosely spiritual, but for the most part, whenever I was dragged to church, they just felt like an exercise in “praise” that didn’t mean all that much to me. With these songs though, in a faith I’m only very loosely familiar with in a language I don’t know & lyrics I didn’t even bother to translate, I kind of felt the communal spirit of religion exist in a really potent way. There’s just a gravitational pull around these tracks in a way I can’t really describe; the instrumental loops would feel more bland if it weren’t for an incredible vocal energy that constantly morphs & shifts around each track to give it a sense of progression that comes from thin air. Their vocalizations & harmonies evoke the scat singers of the ‘50s & ‘60s who could just do anything with their voice and it would sound kinda magical.

I’m really shocked this only has a 2.58 on the site, as it feels like it should be higher than that. I’ll be the first to tell you that if I were paying more “traditional” attention, I might’ve tossed this aside as an album that ‘goes nowhere’, ‘never evolves’, or ‘is just the same song for 45 minutes’ – that might be true to a point, but it undermines the shared experience that’s meant to come through these tracks. You’re meant to ride off of their energy & just feel it, whether or not you can understand it. I don’t think this is an album meant to be looked at with a super critical eye, but just an album to explore another culture with. Obviously, the music being great helps a lot, and I could easily see myself coming back to these & just vibing out, regardless of religious context. Is it an album you need to hear before you die? In terms of critical acclaim or a “mandatory” piece of work, then I dunno, probably not. However, I’m very glad I heard it; it made for a good 45 minutes where I got kinda hypnotized, in a very positive way. I’ve never really seeked out Pakistani music before this, and yet I find myself wanting to hear more. Hence, a surprisingly strong 5.

I would have appreciated knowing the actual album is THE LAST FIVE SONGS OF THE DOUBLE ALBUM.

As it stands, it's festive and definitely beautiful, but man it is repetitive. I realize the express purpose of it is to be religious music, therefore chanting and mantras are to be expected. But I don't want to submit myself through this again.

Ok so, the Spotify link and the YouTube link bring you to two completely different albums. Also, the Wikipedia doesn’t have the album Devotional Songs so no way to know which one is correct. I went YouTube because the playlist was Devotional Songs and Spotify’s was Love & Devotion, which to make it all the more confusing, is what the cover art says on this website. So I have no idea if I listened to the right thing or not.

That being said it was ok. I am not a fan of call and response or group chanted vocals so that really put a damper on things. The main singer has a good voice and the instrumentation, while repetitive, was calming and hypnotic.

Yeah this is another scenario where I can appreciate the relevance and its place on the list but the music is just not for me. Nothing about this is bad per se but I just don’t get it and won’t be returning again (1/5)

I have very little context for this music and so I'm evaluating it entirely on the strength of NFAK's voice. So it's a testament to his musical powers I loved listening to this album. If he can move me, with little knowledge of what this music is about or for, so strongly, it must say something about his artistry. NFAK's voice is captivating. "Haq Ali Ali Haq" and "Mast Nazron Se Allah Bachae" are absolute bangers.

Listening to this made me go into an entire deep dive on this man and the Qawwali genre in general, so thanks for giving me something to spend my evening on. The way this genre has been around since the 12th century and how songs come to be is incredibly interesting. There's certain structures and traditionals that come back in every Qawwali song and the way that they are built up differs a lot from Western music. Due to this more free form structure, they can last for a really long time as well. Qawwali songs really have a hypnotic vibe to them, on purpose. Actively listening to the percussions, usually done by one man, in combination with Nusrat's bellowing voice and the multitude of background singers makes for a wonderful listen. Sometimes this list throws some unexpected curveballs that really reward you for deep diving into them.

Nothing against Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, but this was a tough listen. At least trying to listen to the “Love & Devotion” double album version on Spotify.

I’m sure this is really good qawwali music, but I don’t have any kind of reference point to measure against. Admittedly, a blind spot in my world music repertoire.

Surprised at how almost-Western sounding this is. Starting off, it kinda just sounded like a blues jam. Pretty quickly its like "OK yeah, traditional Islamic music" but for a bit it did have me thinking of blues, haha.

But yeah. Same as most non-western traditional/folk, I just don't have the experience or vocabulary to really engage with this. It sounds good. But I don't know of a situation where I'd sit down a listen to this in my daily life.

1.5 uur Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan gaat er niet in op deze zondagmiddag. Stukkie geluisterd wel en man, het is te horen waarom zo veel mensen dit bewonderen. Boeiende melodietjes, goeie instrumentatie.

De Spotify pagina van deze kerel is echt bizar, wat een platen en wat een diversiteit aan artwork.