#20 - IRFAN ALI TAJ - Musical Storyteller

A for Aleph Podcast

In this episode of the Aleph Podcast, A For Aleph Founder Umair Dar is in conversation with Irfan Ali Taj. The conversation is about Irfan’s journey into the music industry starting from his childhood to what he is doing currently. Umair Dar gets into the details of Irfan’s musical endeavors, inspirations, achievements and how it’s been for him working on different projects recently.
Irfan Ali Taj is a musical story teller. A Singer, Songwriter, Composer, Producer and a multi-instrumentalist from Chitral. A culturally rich and diverse district of KPK in Hindukush in the North of Pakistan. He plays the Rebab or Rubab, this instrument independently spread via the Islamic trading routes over much of North Africa, Middle-east and Europe. Irfan’s music derives from rich cultural sounds of Chitral and modern sounds of the city. His work is mostly written in Khowar (کهووار), also known as Chitrali, an Indo-Aryan language of the Dardic group spoken in northern Pakistan. ‘Kho' means the people of Chitral, "War" means language. The core of his artistic experiments lies in the fusion of these two styles of music, bringing the peaceful music of the north to the world.
For the last 7 years Irfan has been making original music in Khuwaar (native language of Chitral) as well as in Urdu and Persian to entertain, educate and create awareness through his art. Irfan not only seeks to promote the poetry and music of the mountains but also the folk instruments and the local culture. His music has pioneered and paved the path for contemporary art forms in Chitral and gave a new direction to the music of the Pakistani north. His work so far has been recognized all over the world by people like Micheal League from Snarky Puppy and through the support of numerous international patrons Irfan has also been featured in a BBC editorial and recognized in South Asia Magazine. Irfan’s latest album Mahal, which was released almost a year ago is a collaboration of northern folk, jazz and blues music in the mainstream Pakistan music scene. The sound, instruments and language used in this album are original, experimental and contemporary.
Irfan has successfully established his own new sound with fresh tunes and unique blend of folk and modern instruments. His work has been vital in giving a new direction to folk music of Northern Pakistan and many of the young artists takes inspiration from his work and craft. His music takes inspiration from sounds of Chitral and his exposure of the city after moving to Karachi. His album 'Mahal' featuring Anas Alam Khan & Aziz Kazi, takes you on a musical & cultural journey of Pakistan with local folk instruments like the Rubab & Chitrali Sitar fused with modern instruments like the drums, bass, guitars to preserve the ancient language Khowar spoken in the northern region of Pakistan.
Irfan is recently working on a new venture ‘Intimately Unplugged’ where he calls different musicians from all over Pakistan to interact with their audience and give them an experience of most intimate ways with a single instrument but full of emotions and purity. He is also curating ‘The Record Rivayat’ a unique session designed to promote and perverse the regional and folk music.
FOLLOW IRFAN ALI TAJ:

• Be a patron of Irfan’s Art: irfanalitaj
• Bandcamp: irfanalitaj.bandcamp.com
• YouTube:

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A for Aleph is a unique creative collaborative space and initiative based in Karachi, Pakistan, that is focused on the patronage and empowerment of the arts and foster the growth of independent contemporary artists from across the region in order to heal, evolve and expand our collective consciousness, the Aleph.
More here: https://linktr.ee/aforaleph