Search - Ustad Mahwash, Ensemble Kaboul :: Radio Kaboul

Afghanistan reclaims its cultural past...

Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 01/24/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Well now, here's a record with a real story behind it! Prior to the advent of broadcast radio in the 1940s, musicians in Afghanistan held an indeterminate place in their culture: many were cultivated by the rich as a source of entertainment, yet there were still largely associated with questionable social elements (taverns, houses of ill repute, etc.) and seen as marginal figures, near outcasts. That changed when radio helped democratize culture and brought music into the lives of the masses -- the decades that followed were golden years for Afghani music, with countless composers and performers suddenly in high demand. This album was recorded in honor of the musicians of Radio Kabul, who were persecuted under the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and banned under the hyper-Islamist Taliban, which suppressed popular song and banned musical instruments altogether. The set features vocalist Farida Mahwash, whose ascent in the 1970s established her as one of her country's most celebrated singers, and who earned the title of "Master" (Ustad) towards the end of the decade. The ensemble is led by the elder Hossein Arman, one of the original musical composers of the Radio Kabul broadcast station (the others died under deprivation or in exile), and his son, multi-instrumentalist Khaled Arman, who co-founded the Ensemble Kaboul with his father. The music may seem familiar, quite similar to Indian and Pakistani popular song and romantic ghazals; Mahwash still has a lovely voice, and the music, though somewhat formal and restrained is also quite elegant and rich. Worth checking out!"