Pakistani singer Ustad Saami is the last known surviving practitioner of the modal form of khayal technique, devotional music pre-dating the better-known qawwali style. Khayál translates as “imagination” and stems from the Qawwal Bachon ka Gharana music school, based on mystical Sufi poetry.

Saami, whose name translates “to hear”, continues a daily routine of exercises, from 4 AM to midday, to preserve this ancient technique. He is regarded as the last living surti master, or ‘Ustad’. While he does have students, including his sons Rauf, Urooj, Ahmed and Azeem, none have been initiated with his level of absorption to the form from such a young age. Saami’s sons add their voices in layers beneath their father’s droning mantras, with additional harmonium playing and sparse but effective percussion on tablas and tambura.

While a life-long musician in his mid-seventies, Saami only recently started recording music for wider release. His debut album is "God Is Not a Terrorist" was released in 2019, followed by the 2020 album "Pakistan Is For The Peaceful". Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.