Pakistan’s music scene broke international ground in 2024, with two albums making waves globally. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s lost album Chain of Light claimed the top spot on The Guardian’s prestigious list of best albums, while Arooj Aftab’s Night Reign secured the sixth position.
Decades after his untimely death, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan continues to shape global music. Chain of Light, a collection of four unreleased tracks recorded in 1990, was released by Real World Records on September 20, 2024. Featuring songs like Ya Allah Ya Rehman, Aaj Sik Mitran Di, Ya Gaus Ya Meeran, and Khabram Raseed Imshab, the album showcases Nusrat’s unparalleled mastery of qawwali. The Guardian lauded it as “a remarkable discovery,” cementing his legacy as one of the world’s greatest voices.
Arooj Aftab, a Pakistani-American singer known for blending classical South Asian music with modern minimalism, continued her rise to prominence. Her album Night Reign, which explores themes of love, loss, and the mystique of night, was ranked sixth. Following her 2021 Grammy-nominated Vulture Prince, Aftab has further established herself as a trailblazer in global contemporary music.
