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Shabaz and Fana Fi Allah in Grass Valley

The Center for the Arts
Grass Valley, CA

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Shabaz and Fana Fi Allah in Grass Valley

Shabaz is brother-sister singing duo - Sukhawat Ali Khan and Riffat Sultana - and producer/guitarist Richard Michos. This innovative band is based in the Bay Area but has a sound straight out of the Indian Sub-Continent.

Both siblings were trained in North Indian Classical and Sufi singing. Their voices complement each other perfectly, at times becoming indistinguishable. This makes perfect sense when one considers that the two singers have been studying and singing together since childhood.

Music runs in the family; their father was one of the people to introduce Khayal to the world in the '60s. However, the latest generation seeks to not only introduce the world to Sufi- Qawaali music, but also to combine the music with Western styles such as hip-hop and rock. They succeed due to two major factors: location and production. Michos understands the music and he worked wonders on the first album, Taswir, and then proceeded to outdo himself with Zindagi. Both albums were successful with East Indian expats and Left Coast underground scenesters.

Fanna-Fi-Allah began performing outside of Pakistan, India and Hawaii in the summer of 2004, and have become well known on the west coast following performances at Earthdance, Dancing Dragons Festival, Oregon Country Fair, The Auburn Sacred Arts Fair, and many more. The party often incorporate dancers, performance of Sufi tales, translations of the songs and teaching about classical ragas.

Tahir Qawwal and Amena Chisty Qawwal, are disciples of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, the greatest Qawwali master of Pakistan and only nephew-successor of the great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and Dildar Hussein, world renowned tabla master from the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Qawwali party.