Beginning his second world tour in the nation’s capital is the famed and much admired Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Trained from an early age by his uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rahat began performing when he was still very young. Although originally trained in the classical Qawwali genre of music, which originated more than 700 years ago as a mythical type of music for Sufism, over the years he has blended more modern tunes from the Bollywood scene.
The tour is being organised by PME (Portfolio Marketing & Events LLC), and it will take in 50 other countries including the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. The award-winning artist shared his thoughts with us.
You began performing in front of audiences at the age of ten, can you tell us a bit about how being on stage has changed for you over the years?
I would not say that things have changed exactly as I am from a family who have always insisted on me following classical/Sufi singing along with Qawwalis, which is what we have always been about. It has been in recent days, or may I say over the last decade, since I started singing in the Bollywood industry that my songs have evolved. Now they are not only based on the music that our family
has believed in but there is a blend of our classical music with modern tunes. This is what makes my songs different from others.
This is your second world tour, can you tell us a bit about your best and worst moments so far?
In fact I would like to give credit to my international promoters PME for this, who have taken on this mammoth task of doing over 100 concerts within a space of 18 months. I have been lucky in many ways and until now I have only had good moments and I pray that it remains this way. It has been fascinating to see the sort of love, admiration and fan following I have had from one continent to the next.
What are you hoping for from your performance in Abu Dhabi?
The Abu Dhabi concert is at a very special venue, which is the Emirates Palace Hotel. Last year I had a record-breaking concert at Wembley Arena in London with over 12,000 people and it was one of my best live performances. I would like my performance in Abu Dhabi to be even better. To date I have only had one concert in Abu Dhabi and I am looking forward to it, and I am sure that I will get a warm welcome from the audience as well.
Who is your personal musical idol?
There can be only one idol for me and that is my late uncle and my ustad, or ‘master’, for life, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He always treated me as his own son and pushed me to higher limits because he wanted me to do well and believed in me.
If you had to try another style of music, what would you like to do?
I was born to do what I am doing now. I do not mind experimenting, but there is nothing better than classical Sur Taal, so I’m happy and feel blessed with what I am able to do. For me it is about spreading love, peace and harmony and I feel that through my music, I am able to do this. It gives me immense pleasure when people from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan and also from the West are all enjoying my concerts under one roof.
The concert takes place on April 4. Ticket prices for the Rahat Fateh Ali Khan World Tour at the Emirates Palace are: bronze package Dhs250; silver package Dhs400; platinum package Dhs1,500; VVIP package Dhs2,250 which includes a meet and greet with the artist. Tickets are available from www.timeouttickets.com and www.dobazaar.com.
Quick facts about Rahat
•The Pakistani national was born in Faisalabad, Punjab in 1974.
•In 2010 he was the winner of Best International Act at the UK Asian Music Awards.
•To date, he has produced over 50 albums and appeared on the soundtrack to 75 films.
