Late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s songs and qawalis have been rehashed and remade hundreds of time locally and internationally. While some artists do justice to his phenomenal music, others fail miserably at it. One of the recent and quite successful attempt is by saxophonist Lenny Massey who has released an instrumental cover of NFAK’s Wohi Khuda Hai.
According to a press statement issued by the artist, he chose this particular kalaam because “Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan sahab has always inspired me and I grew up listening to him. I thought of covering it because this composition is one of my all-time favourites.”
The tune is soothing and doesn’t meddle much with the original masterpiece. Lenny has produced the composition of the iconic kalaam on saxophone and piano at his home studio. Saxophone is indeed an unexpected choice to perform a Sufi sound and it is also a rare instrument to use by musicians in Pakistani industry. However, Lenny said that his prime focus as a musician is to always do something different and out of the box. “It clicks or not; that is secondary for me,” he said.
Screengrab from the video
Performing NFAK’s iconic melodies is a challenge in itself but Lenny never took it that way. “I left no stone unturned to ensure that the iconic kalaam doesn’t lose its soul in the fusion,” he said.
Lenny has previously worked with Sajjad Ali in Coke Studio season 10 and holds the honour of performing the saxophone version of the national anthem of Pakistan first time ever in the history.
Watch Lenny’s rendition of Wohi Khuda Hai here and share your thoughts:
