Sufi rock
Encyclopedia
Sufi rock is a subgenre of rock music
that combines rock with classical sufi music
traditions. It emerged in the early 1990s and became widely popular in the late 1990s in Pakistan
. The term "sufi rock" was coined in 1993 by writer Nadeem F. Paracha
to define the Pakistani band, Junoon who pioneered the process of fusing conventional rock music
with sufi music
and imagery.
It is mostly based on the poetry of famous sufi poets like Rumi, Hafez
, Faiz Ahmed Faiz
, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
, Bulleh Shah
, Waris Shah
and even Kabir
and is mostly sung in languages like Urdu
, Punjabi
, Sindhi
, Persian
and Turkish
.
A few artists like Junoon, Mekaal Hasan Band
and Laal
have achieved commercial success and mainstream critical recognition.
Artists=
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
that combines rock with classical sufi music
Sufi music
Sufi music is the devotional music of the Sufis, inspired by the works of Sufi poets, like Rumi, Hafiz, Bulleh Shah and Khwaja Ghulam Farid.Qawwali is the most well known form of Sufi music, common in India and Pakistan...
traditions. It emerged in the early 1990s and became widely popular in the late 1990s in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. The term "sufi rock" was coined in 1993 by writer Nadeem F. Paracha
Nadeem F. Paracha
Nadeem Farooq Paracha , , is a left-liberal Pakistani journalist, cultural critic, satirist and short story writer.-Early life:...
to define the Pakistani band, Junoon who pioneered the process of fusing conventional rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
with sufi music
Sufi music
Sufi music is the devotional music of the Sufis, inspired by the works of Sufi poets, like Rumi, Hafiz, Bulleh Shah and Khwaja Ghulam Farid.Qawwali is the most well known form of Sufi music, common in India and Pakistan...
and imagery.
It is mostly based on the poetry of famous sufi poets like Rumi, Hafez
Hafez
Khwāja Shamsu d-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī , known by his pen name Hāfez , was a Persian lyric poet. His collected works composed of series of Persian poetry are to be found in the homes of most Iranians, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day...
, Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Faiz Ahmad Faiz was a Pakistani intellectual, poet, and one of the most famous poets of the Urdu language. He was a member of the Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind and an avowed Marxist. In 1962, he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union...
, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai was a Sindhi Sufi scholar, mystic, saint, poet, and musician. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest poets of the Sindhi language...
, Bulleh Shah
Bulleh Shah
Bulleh Shah was a Punjabi Sufi poet, a humanist and philosopher.-Early life:Bulleh Shah is believed to have been born in 1680, in the small village of Uch, Bahawalpur, Punjab, in present day Pakistan. His father, Shah Muhammad Darwaish, was a teacher and preacher in a village mosque...
, Waris Shah
Waris Shah
Waris Shah was a Punjabi Sufi poet, renowned for his contribution to Punjabi literature. He is best-known for his seminal work Heer Ranjha, based on the traditional folk tale of Heer and her lover Ranjha. Heer is considered one of the quintessential works of classical Punjabi literature...
and even Kabir
Kabir
Kabīr was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement...
and is mostly sung in languages like Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
, Sindhi
Sindhi language
Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division...
, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
.
A few artists like Junoon, Mekaal Hasan Band
Mekaal Hasan Band
Mekaal Hasan Band, sometimes shortened to MHB, is a sufi rock band formed in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan in 1999 by composer-songwriter, guitarist Mekaal Hasan...
and Laal
Laal (band)
Laal is a musical band from Pakistan known for singing socialist political songs, especially on the poetry written by leftist Urdu poets such as Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Habib Jalib...
have achieved commercial success and mainstream critical recognition.
Artists=
- Junoon
- Mekaal Hasan BandMekaal Hasan BandMekaal Hasan Band, sometimes shortened to MHB, is a sufi rock band formed in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan in 1999 by composer-songwriter, guitarist Mekaal Hasan...
- LaalLaal (band)Laal is a musical band from Pakistan known for singing socialist political songs, especially on the poetry written by leftist Urdu poets such as Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Habib Jalib...
- Ali ZafarAli ZafarAli Zafar is a Pakistani musician, composer, song writer, singer, actor, painter and model, popular in Pakistan for his music, including his hit songs like "Channo", "Rangeen", "Chal Dil Merey", "Dekha", "Masty" and "Sajania"...
- Zeb and HaniyaZeb and HaniyaZeb and Haniya is a pop group from Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The duo's songs are mostly in Urdu, but some lyrics are also in Pashto, Persian and Turkish...
- Cat StevensCat StevensYusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
- mewithoutYouMewithoutYouMe Without You, stylized as mewithoutYou and abbreviated as mwY, is an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band consists of vocalist Aaron Weiss, guitarist Michael Weiss, bassist Greg Jehanian and drummer Rickie Mazzotta. MewithoutYou's music is generally dominated by...
- Kağan Tayanç
- Kailash Kher
See also
- Music of PakistanMusic of PakistanThe music of Pakistan includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Persian, Turkish, Arabic and modern day Western popular music influences...
- Pakistani hip hopPakistani hip hopPakistani hip hop is a new genre of Pakistani music. In recent years, local Pakistani hip hop artists have begun to emerge in underground scenes in large cities such as Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. The lyrical expression of cultural identity and addressing Pakistan's political and social problems...
- Culture of PakistanCulture of PakistanThe society and culture of Pakistan comprises numerous diverse cultures and ethnic groups: the Punjabis, Kashmiris, Sindhis in east, Muhajirs, Makrani in the south; Baloch and Pashtun in the west; and the ancient Dardic, Wakhi and Burusho communities in the north...
- Rock and RollRock and rollRock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
- Junoon