Son of harmonium player, Farrukh, and nephew of Nusrat, the modern voice of qawwali, Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan has risen to stardom in his own right. Born in Faisalabad in 1974, his family initiated him into the mysteries of Indian and Pakistani Sufi music from the age of six. Passionate about music, as a child he spent many years on stage sitting “right up close” to his uncle, and gave his first solo concert in Birmingham, England, in 1985. At the age of fifteen, he joined Nusrat’s ensemble and played with them until his uncle passed away in 1997. Since then then he has expanded his music to include playing the ghazal and lighter melodies composed for cinema and television, both in Pakistan and India. Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan has toured the world with unrivalled success.

Véronique Mortaigne