NFAK’s Chain of Light tops Guardian’s 10 global albums of 2024

Late maestro Ustaad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s posthumous album Chain of Light has topped the 10 global albums of 2025, according to The Guardian. Another Pakistani singer and musician to make to the list is Arooj Aftab clinching the sixth spot in the list.

The album Chain of Light was released earlier this year and made waves in the industry with NFAK once again giving his fans to savour his qawalis, a surprise delivered 27-years after his passing. In 1990, he recorded ‘Mast Mast’ with producer Michael Brook, who added the western element of the electric guitar, thus creating a fusion to last for ages.

Before this, however, NFAK also recorded four traditional qawalis with the same producer which were never released. These qawalis were recently rediscovered and remastered, ultimately leading to the release of Chain of Light.

Appreciating the album especially Ya Gaus Ya Meeran, The Guardian said, “Over nine minutes of shifting rhythms, Khan anchors us in his counterpoint and longing cries, cementing his status as one of music’s great voices.”

The first Pakistan to win a Grammy Award, Arooj Aftab’s fifth album Night Reign has been dubbed as a shift from a ‘quiet intensity’. The Guardian said: “Aftab’s powerful voice anchors each composition, gliding languorously over shifting sounds to embody the night-time settings that provided inspiration for this music.”

The list features a diverse range of musical offerings, including Poeji’s evocative soundscape Nant, DJ Love’s reimagined classic Budots World (Reloaded), Indian classical vocalist Ganavya’s soulful exploration Daughter of a Temple, Malcolm Jiyane Tree-O’s personal narrative True Story, Lord Spikeheart’s experimental electronic sounds The Adept, Fabiano do Nascimento’s innovative Brazilian music, Sam Gendel’s introspective jazz The Room, and the collaborative masterpiece Milton+Esperanza by Milton Nascimento and Esperanza Spalding.