Le Guess Who? presents a three day residency of Pakistani legends Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali during the 2025 edition of the festival. The vocalist duo, nephews of qawwali master Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, together with their ensemble will present three different performances at different locations during the festival.
Rizwan and Muazzam Mujahid Ali Khan are the torchbearers of a tradition that goes back over 700 years. Qawwali is an Arabic word that means ‘utterance’ and it is the devotional music of the Sufis of Pakistan and India. This improvised singing practice is known to be one of the most exhilarating genres to experience live, as we've also experiences when we presented a performance of Faiz Ali Faiz at Le Guess Who? 2023.
This year, our audience can dive into it through the three-day residency of Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali. When their uncle, the unforgettable qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, died in 1997, he left a musical vacuum into which stepped his two teenage nephews.
At Le Guess Who? 2025, the ensemble will present music from their newest album At the Feet of the Beloved, released via Peter Gabriel's Real World Records, as well as compositions from Chain of Light, the lost Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan album. The group performs in traditional style - sitting on the floor and accompanied by harmonium drones, handclaps and tablas - as the virtuosic soloists hypnotize with majestic, ecstatic vocal melodies.
Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali perform at Le Guess Who? 2025 on Thursday 6, Friday 7 and Saturday 8 November. Also performing at the festival are a.o. Mohammad Mostafa Heydarian, Ali Sethi & Nicolás Jaar, Katokye, and more.
Photography by Mobeen Ansari
