MUSIC BEYOND BORDERS – 18TH NOV 2017

MUSIC BEYOND BORDERS

Commemorating 70th anniversary of Partition, Connecting communities & Celebrating shared Heritage.

Madan Gopal Singh & Chaar Yaar (India)

Hamza Akram, Taimur Abdul Qawwali Ensemble (Pakistan)

Tariq Mehmood (Kashmir)

The Farcroft Hotel, Rookery Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, B21 9QY

Curated by Kalaboration as part of the 70th anniversary of Partition, this soul stirring music concert brings together on a shared stage, artists and musicians, whose music crosses boundaries and is rooted in the poetry and philosophy of the ancient mystic Sufi saints of the sub-continent.

Madan Gopal Singh is a renowned popular Sufi musician who has performed internationally and has been widely recognised for his luminous compositions of Shah Hussain, Rumi, Bulleh Shah and Sultan Bahu as well as contemporary poets. Born in Amritsar and based in Delhi, he and his ensemble of stellar musicians ‘Chaar Yaar’ will be performing some of their original compositions as well as the classic poetry of the ancient mystics of the sub-continent.

Hamza Akram and Taimoor Abdul are the nephews of Pakistan’s leading Qawwal Ustad Freed Ayaz. As inheritors of an 800-year-old musical lineage, they are the direct descendents of Samad bin Ibrahim, a disciple of Amir Khusrau. Their repertoire recalls the ancient wisdom of Sufi poet philosophers and using their extraordinary vocal dexterity, along with thunderous tabla beats and hypnotic clapping, they transport the audience to a state of spiritual ecstasy.

Tariq Mehmood has a distinctive voice that radiates raw intensity, with a power to mesmerise and captivate audiences. Born in Mirpur, Kashmir, Tariq started singing from the age of 10 after having visited the shrines of local Sufi saints; he was totally seduced by the poetry of Baba Bulley Shah and Mian Muhammad Baksh.