Night Song

I've had some trouble sleeping the past few nights. Again. I had a good run before that. Made it past a month falling asleep easily, and not waking in between. Just a rough patch I'm going through. Maybe it's also the effect of watching too much Breaking Bad at night. Or the late night snacking. Whatever the case, I want my sleep back. So tonight, I'm trying something different. I'm listening to music. My album of choice is Night Song by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Michael Brook.

There's something about this album that calms me. Time and again, I have turned to this album when I needed something to soothe myself with. Maybe it's that deep and powerful voice of the late ustad. Or the immaculate musical production, resulting in one of the best fusion albums. Night Song is almost like a chill out album. But it's not. There are songs that are more upbeat, and sometimes, NFAK himself ups the tempo with his vocal prowess, as heard in Sweet Pain.

And when the songs are more down tempo, they verge on melancholy. The title track exemplifies that very well. A classical interpretation that can be effective as a lullaby but also has an element of pathos. There is a deep emotion in this album that you can experience only by listening to it in it's entirety. Unfortnately, I can only share with you these two tracks from YouTube. Buy the album, if you can still find it.

I fortunately was able to get my hands on a copy at a record collectors' sale when I was in Perth. A steal for me! That's one for keeping. With that in mind, and the tune of the final track, Crest, echoing in my head, I shall try to get a good night's sleep.