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Contemporary Pakistani Music

It’s not all about Junoon anymore, if it ever was. CNN ran this article several months ago about heavy metal in Pakistan, including some type of hip-hop dancing thing. Videos below: Compare this view of music to what the Kominas deal with in their expression of punk (h/t Sepia Mutiny): Of course, both sources have distinct narratives they need to tell. The truth of the popularity and acceptability of such music in Pakistan is somewhere in the middle. Although Junoon did lay the ground work, the increase in Islamist activity and thinking means that performing music remains problematic. I’m not…

Qawwalis, Found Sounds, and Benghazi: Locating the Sacred in a New York Church | On Being

Qawwalis, Found Sounds, and Benghazi: Locating the Sacred in a New York Church | On Being. The combination of Yoon’s voice and the electronic components helped create a bridge between the trappings of the modern and sense of spirituality as being ancient. The stories were inverted, and technology was ancient, with spirituality being modern. Perhaps that is the state of affairs we are entering. Twitter and the writing stick are both technology, and we are coming to grips with our own spiritualities now. And when I think about the prayer of the monks, with nothing but their voices, it makes…