Ahead of our UK tour with Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali, Soni Kaur, Asian Arts Agency’s Marketing and Events Assistant, brings you a brief introduction Qawwali – this incredible style of music.

What is Qawwali music?

Qawwali is a form of music performed by Sufis to stimulate religious devotion and a sense of spiritual closeness to God. Several Qawwali songs praise religious teachers and saints. However, much of the music speaks of spiritual and worldly love. The lyricism of Qawwali music uses the ghazal form of Islamic poetry as well as numerous hymn forms.

Where does Qawwali music originate?

The origins of Qawwali can be traced back to 8^th century Persia but it was during the first major migration from Persia in the 11^th century that the musical tradition sama, meaning spiritual concert or listening, migrated to the Indian subcontinent, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

What language is Qawwali music sung in?

Qawwali songs are mostly performed in Panjabi and Urdu, due to its main migration into South Asia. However, there are many other countries, regional languages and dialects in which the compelling music is sung such as Farsi, Brajbhasha and Hindi. This long standing fusion between Persian, Arabic, Turkish and Indian music tradition has been popularised in the 20^th century, rightfully making it a prominent genre of music.

What instrumentation does a traditional Qawwali line up include?

Performed by a group known as qawwals, led by one or two solo singers, the group use traditional instruments such as the harmonium, tabla, dholak and sarangi. Hand clapping from the audience also emphasises the rhythmic structure.

What can one expect from a live Qawwali concert experience?

Qawwali is designed to be a communal experience; with the group sitting together on the floor creating an entrancing sound. A mystic combination of poetry and religious phrases sung through repetition, improvisation and variation creates a hypnotic feel.

A spiritual atmosphere is created through the entrancing vocals and hypnotic rhythm, often taking audience members on a journey and leaving them with a feeling of ecstasy. Audience participation is highly encouraged in order to truly experience the traditional intimacy of Qawwali music.

I’m new to Qawwali – where do I start?

There are many fantastic Qawwali albums and singles out there to choose from; here are some of the best traditional Qawwali as well as some exciting fusions suggested by Songlines magazine:

01: Faiz Ali Faiz – Your Love Makes Me Dance
02: Faiz Ali Faiz, Duquende, Miguel Poveda & Chicuelo – Qawwali Flamenco
03: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – The King of Sufi Qawwali
04: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – Mustt Mustt
05: Rizwan- Muazzam Qawwali – Day of Colours
06: Amjad Sabri – Ecstasy of the Soul
07: The Sabri Brothers – Qawwali Masterworks
08: Shye Ben Tzur & Jonny Greenwood – Junun
09: Various Artists – Flight of the Soul
10: Various Artists – Sufis at the Cinema

Lead artist DJ Swami and Jaswinder Singh, Project Producer and Director at Asian Arts Agency, will fly out to India this week for the PunjabTronix residency – to develop material with Punjabi folk musicians.

The residency, taking place from 19 – 26 February, will bring together DJ Swami and Punjabi musicians to explore ideas and develop new material for the project, ahead of a planned UK tour in July 2017.

Swami and the musicians will then continue refining material at another residency in Bristol prior to embarking on a UK tour between 13 – 23 July 2017.

Punjabtronix is a new live collaboration between established British-Indian electronic music producer Swami and traditional Punjabi folk musicians, synchronized with unique live mixed digital video projections, produced by Bristol based filmmaker John Minton.

An exciting international project produced by Asian Arts Agency in partnership with Watershed Bristol, Punjabtronix is part of Reimagine India 2017, a cultural exchange programme developing creative collaborations between art and cultural organisations in England and in India. Supported by Arts Council England and British Council.

For more details, visit the Punjabtronix events page.

Rizwan-Muazzam at the BBC – they have been invited to perform live on the BBC’s flagship world music programme, BBC Radio 3’s World on 3, in March as part of their UK tour.

Tune in on Friday 24 March at 11pm to hear Rizwan-Muazzam perform live in the studio and chat to presenter Lopa Kothari.

Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali will be touring to 6 major UK venues in March, bringing their stunning interpretation of Sufi texts to UK audiences.

For more details on the UK tour, visit the Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali events page.

To kick start our 2017 international showcasing programme, we took British-Asian sitar player Roopa Panesar to New York earlier this month.

Performing in a new collaboration with percussionist Pirashanna Thevarajah and tabla player Nitin Mitta, the showcasing tour included 3 concerts and 2 live radio show performances and interviews.

Starting with a House Concert in Brooklyn on Wednesday 4th January, the trio then performed at Drom NYC on Friday 6th. On Saturday 7th, they appeared on the WFMU Radio show in Jersey, before performing an evening concert at Chhandayan Center for Indian Music. On Sunday 8 January, the trio headed to Columbia University for an interview and performance on the WKCR Radio Show.

Roopa Panesar and the trio received great acclaim and we look forward to taking Roopa Panesar back to the USA later this year. Keep an eye on our Youtube channel, as we will be posting video footage from the showcase very soon.

Kick start your cultural year by grabbing a bargain ticket to some great events in Bristol and Bath in the January Flash Sale on Thursday 19 January.

The 24-hour sale starts at 10am and includes arts organisations across Bristol and Bath.

Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali concert tickets at St George’s Bristol will be included in the flash sale – so Qawwali fans, grab yourself a discount, with 25% off tickets for 24-hours only – visit the St George’s website from 10am on Thursday 19 January.

This is the biggest January sale yet, with venues and organisations participating including: St George’s Bristol, Colston Hall, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, M Shed, Bristol Old Vic, Tobacco Factory Theatres, Spike Island, The Bath Festival, Bristol Cathedral, Asian Arts Agency, In Between Time Bristol International Festival, Bristol Hippodrome, Watershed, A Handful of Singers at St John’s Church, Bath Philharmonia at the Assembly Rooms, Bath Spa Live, Fashion Museum Bath, Bath Choral Society and Bath Box Office.

To see what’s on offer search on Twitter for #flashtag or go to venue websites for details and to book tickets from 10am on Thursday 19 January.

Each show will be in the sale for just 24 hours and tickets will be strictly limited – once they’re gone, they’re gone and all prices will return to normal the next day.

Don’t miss out on the chance to catch world-class shows that won’t break the bank!

Season Greetings from Asian Arts Agency. A big thank you to all of our audiences, supporters and artists, who have helped to make 2016 another successful year for the Agency, full of exciting events and projects.

In 2016, we worked with 67 artists, 26 different venues, reaching over 30,000 audiences at 26 major events. Watch our short roundup video below:

Looking back at 2016

Back in January, we took British band the Dhol Foundation to the US, as part of our new International Showcasing programme. Impressing thousands of audiences, press and promoters in the US, the success of these showcasing concerts led to us producing their debut 8 date tour of North America in September, including concerts in Boston, New York, Washington DC and Toronto.

Roopa Panesar and Jyotsna Srikanth

In March we brought two captivating classical Indian musicians, Roopa Panesar and Jyotsna Srikanth, to St George’s in Bristol. You can watch some highlights below:

RHL & Jamblu at Watershed

In May, we produced a very different, but equally exciting, musical collaboration at the Watershed, Bristol, featuring RHL, an electronic music producer from Banglore and guitarist, trumpet player, keyboardist and vocalist Jamblu from Delhi, India.

Summer sounds of Bhangra

Summer started with the sounds of Bhangra, with Punjabi group RSVP headlining the second stage at Backwell Festival. Then with the arrival of another year of Bristol Harbour Festival, Punjabi Bhangra group 4×4 got the crowd moving with their upbeat and energetic Bhangra dancing and Dhol drumming performance.

Busy September with Barmer Boys, Dhol Foundation and Naseebo Lal

September was an incredibly exciting month. We were thrilled to bring the Barmer Boys of Rajasthan to audiences on their debut UK tour, the Dhol Foundation toured North America for the first time, and we brought the legendary Pakistani singer Naseebo Lal to audiences in Bristol, with a memorable sold out show at Colston Hall.

Asian Arts Agency at Womex

The Agency’s Director and Events Co-ordinator, Jaswinder and Steve, both travelled to Womex (the World Music Expo) in October, to network and develop new international opportunities. This year, we also supported two artists with bursaries to enable them to attend.

Carnatic Connections at St George’s Bristol

Finally, in October, we brought another interesting collaboration to UK audiences, with Carnatic violinist Jyotsna Srikanth performing alongside the Bollywood Brass Band at St George’s Bristol, and on a UK tour to promote their new album Carnatic Connection, selected by Songlines Magazine as a top ten album for 2016.

Looking forward to 2017

Announced so far for 2017, we will be managing and producing a UK tour with inspiring Qawwali group Rizwan-Muazzam. For info on tickets and tour dates, click here.

The agency is also excited to present a new international project Punjabtronix in 2017. The project will promote international collaborations between artists from England and India, as part of a cultural exchange programme Re-Imagine India. For more info about this exciting and inventive project, follow this link.

We have got many more exciting projects planned for 2017, so keep an eye out for announcements in the New Year. For now, have a lovely relaxing holiday season.

We have just released a new short film on Youtube,  Sanu Nehar Wale by Naseebo Lal.

Made famous by the legendary Madam Noor Jehan, Naseebo Lal performed this fantastic live version of Sanu Nehar Wale Pul Te Bula Ke at Colston Hall, Bristol on 30 September.

You can watch it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MZGABhK1WA

Subscribe to our Youtube channel to be the first to see new content as it’s released.

Asian Arts Agency is pleased to be showcasing British-Indian sitar player Roopa Panesar in New York, in a new collaboration with percussionist Pirashanna Thevarajah and tabla player Nitin Mitta.

Considered one of the finest sitar players on the Indian music scene, UK based Roopa Panesar is emerging as one of the most exciting young sitar players in the world. Her outstanding musical ability, along with her soulful and unique style of playing, has left listeners captivated, and has been receiving accolades from audiences and peers alike.

Performances:
Wednesday 4 January, 7pm
House Concert, Brooklyn

Friday 6 January, 7pm
Drom NYC

Saturday 7 January, 7.30pm
Chhandayan Center for Indian Music

Sunday 8 January, 7pm
WKCR Radio Show, Columbia University

US friends – if you are in New York and want to attend these performances, join the Facebook event here and visit the event page on our website to find out more.

Find out more about the artists:
roopapanesar.com
tpirashanna.com
nitinmitta.com

This tour continues Asian Arts Agency’s international showcasing programme, exporting and exposing British-Asian artists to new international markets. This tour with Roopa Panesar follows the successful showcasing of British band The Dhol Foundation in January 2016, which led to the Agency producing and managing an 8-date North American tour with Dhol Foundation in September.