Silsila: Infinite Qawwali

Come you lost Atoms to your centre draw
And be the Eternal Mirror that you saw
Rays that have wandered into Darkness wide
Return and back into your sun subside*

Silsila: Infinite Qawwali is a new and exciting context for setting the heaven-sent world famous voice of the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Sahib, arguably the greatest qawwali singer of the modern era. Placing his unique voice back where it came from, among the sounds of the cosmos.

For the opening of Asia Triennial Manchester 2011 the artists, Tasawar Bashir and Brian Duffy collaborated with astrophysicist Dr Tim O’Brien, who provided all the cosmological sounds, to perform a live version of the Infinite Qawwali. 

For the duration of ATM11 the Infinite Qawwali will be presented as an installation of sounds and abstract Islamic geometric visuals at the University of Manchester’s recently opened Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre. The whole installation is inspired by a 1000 year-old Sufi poem called Conference of the Birds by Farid Uddin Attar where 30 birds embark upon an epic journey to the edge of the known world in search of a golden feather and its owner the King of the Birds, the Simorgh. 

A live data feed based on whatever the giant Lovell radio telescope happens to be listening to will trigger a sound bank of 30 sounds that include different cosmological sounds and a range of vocals taken from Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Sahib’s masterpiece Allah Hoo (God Is) to create an endless self-generating qawwali. The radio data will also trigger a visualisation of a classic Islamic geometric pattern. 

Qawwali is a centuries-old devotional music form inspired by the universal wisdom of Muslim Sufi thinkers. Traditionally, the music begins as a vocal drone and raaga to build steadily into a high-energy experience, inducing hypnotic states in musicians and audience members. 

The range of cosmological sounds used in the installation include the galactic background radiation, an echo of the Big Bang from a sound wave that lasted millions of years and is 13.75 billion years old. Other incredible sounds include the sound of X-rays escaping a black hole, a range of spinning stars known as pulsars that are millions of light years away, solar winds from our Sun, and magnetic storms from the planet Jupiter are just some of the amazing sounds used for the cosmic symphony.

Artist Tasawar Bashir reveals the hidden symmetry between disparate concepts and explores the presence of the sacred in documentary film, sound installation, and experimental architecture. His public/private spiritual enquiry finds beauty in the everyday and the banal while attempting to enter communion with Allah.

Brian Duffy is a conceptual artist, whose work involves live performance, installations, original music composition, and the creation of new musical instruments. He has performed and presented internationally. Exploring the limits of human sense data and the notion of perceptual habit his work reveals the hidden world around us by utilizing modified and self-built apparatus.

Tim O’Brien is a Reader in Astrophysics at the University of Manchester’s Jodrell Bank Observatory. His research concentrates on the study of exploding stars using telescopes around the world and in space.

A Shisha commission supported by the Foyle Foundation.

Curators – Alnoor Mitha & Teresa Anderson
Cosmological Sounds – Tim O’Brien
Qawwali Vocals – The Late Ustaad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Sahib, supplied by Mohammed Ayub of Oriental Star Agencies
Visualisation and Programming – Chris Plant
Technician – Jim Wyatt-Lees

*Extract from Farid Uddin Attar’s poem The Conference of the Birds.

Please note Silsila: Infinite Qawwali is generally open to the public between 3pm and 5pm each day. However, please check the Jodrell Bank website before visiting, as it will be closed on some days by prior arrangement.

Jodrell Bank Visitor Centre charges admission, gaining you access to the radio telescope, explore the two visitor centres with exhibitions and interactives , the cafe & also the gardens including arboretum, planetary garden, children's play area.

The University of Manchester, Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 9DL
Tel: +44 (0)1477 571 766
Website

Opening times
Monday to Sunday: 10am–5pm (last admission 4pm)
Check for off-peak seasonal opening times

Discovery Centre admissions: £5.50 adult, £4.00 child/concession