After finding out about the mistranslations of Rumi by Coleman Barks through the @persianpoetics Instagram account, I began to think about the way in which culture was watered down for western audiences. I also remember having conversations with family about the way in which the commercialisation of Qawwali within the film industry had diluted the original meanings.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khans collaboration with Peter Gabriel, a famous “world music” producer whose efforts to showcase non-Western music profited record companies immensely. Together, they produced the neo-qawwali track “Mustt Mustt,” which was praised by music critic Ron Givens of Entertainment Weekly for sounding “relaxed and more secular” than traditional qawwali. The song proved to be so popular that it featured in a Coca Cola commercial during the 1990s.
Personally, I don’t see Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan the catalyst for the commercialisation – examining the issue – Peter Gabriels self-proclamation of being a “world music” artist seems to do more damage to Qawwali than anything Nusrat ever could. On top of that Ron Givens “praise” of this newer, more “secular’ form of `Qawwali plays into the idea that Qawwali is too otherworldly for western audiences. I think this is an angle I could explore through the audio paper.