Hamza Akram Qawwal - Hamza Akram Qawwal (A for Aleph Live) (2024) [Hi-Res]

Hamza Akram Qawwal [A for Aleph Live] is a studio-live release recorded at the A for Aleph residency studio in Karachi and issued by the label of the same name in 2024. It belongs to the "A for Aleph Live" series, through which the label documents key figures of the Pakistani music scene — from experimental master Naseeruddin Saami to independent rock and indie outfits — capturing them in unified, overdub-free studio sessions.
Hamza Akram leads the ensemble alongside his brothers Taimoor Akram and Abdul Akram, representing the 26th generation of the Qawwal Bachon ka Gharana — one of the oldest Sufi musical lineages of the Delhi Sultanate, traced back to Saamat bin Ibrahim, the first qawwal of the subcontinent and a disciple of Amir Khusrau. Grandsons of the revered Munshi Raziuddin, the Akram brothers studied under their uncle Fareed Ayaz Qawwal and under Naseeruddin Saami, the last living practitioner of pre-Islamic Surti vocal tradition — a dual pedagogical lineage that audibly shapes their treatment of the classical repertoire.
The programme braids canonical Sufi poetry with the virtuosic improvisation at the heart of qawwali: the opening "Haiderium" is a manqabat dedicated to Hazrat Ali; "Gulon Mein Rang Bharey" is the celebrated Faiz Ahmad Faiz ghazal immortalised by Mehdi Hassan; "Tona" and "Rung" are drawn from the traditional arsenal of the gharana, with "Rung" customarily closing a qawwali concert as the ritual climax whose origin is attributed to Amir Khusrau himself. The recording preserves the live dynamics of the ensemble — harmonium, tabla, hand-claps, and the call-and-response chorus — drawing the listener toward haal, the ecstatic Sufi trance.
The release holds a special place in the A for Aleph catalogue: founded by Anas Alam Khan and Umair Dar in 2020, the label positions itself as a sanctuary for independent Pakistani music, and its "Live" series is a curatorial manifesto bridging classical heritage and Karachi's contemporary independent scene.

Tracklist:
1-1 Hamza Akram Qawwal - Haiderium [13:43]
1-2 Hamza Akram Qawwal - Gulon Mein Rang Bharey [20:59]
1-3 Hamza Akram Qawwal - Tona [11:04]
1-4 Hamza Akram Qawwal - Rung [6:47]