The Dream Journey: Meet the friends bringing Pakistani music back
| DIPALPUR, PAKISTAN
In the short interlude between musical pieces, Tuqeer Ali Khan looks suspiciously at his harmonium.
鈥淗as someone tried to tune this?鈥� he asks, his eyes squinting in disapproval.
鈥淣o one has touched it but you,鈥� replies his brother and musical partner, Khurram.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onThe cultural effects of an oppressive regime can linger for generations. But in Pakistan, a collective of music lovers is reviving the country鈥檚 musical heritage and spreading joy across borders.
鈥淎re you sure?鈥� says Mr. Khan, raising an eyebrow. 鈥淚t sounds a little off to me.鈥�
If it is, no one in the small audience seems to have noticed. Though he is only 10 minutes into the mehfil-e-samaa 鈥� a concert given in an intimate setting 鈥� he has created a mood of rapture. He resumes the performance with one of the numbers that made him famous. 鈥淪pring has come but my beloved has not,鈥� he sings. 鈥淢y heart cries in anguish.鈥�
Though he comes from a family of musicians and is now considered one of Pakistan鈥檚 most promising classical vocalists, up until a couple of years ago Mr. Khan was virtually unknown outside of Dipalpur. Then he and his brother were featured on The Dream Journey.聽
Now in its ninth year, the audio-visual project is helmed by a small group of friends who record Pakistani musicians and publish their material on a dedicated YouTube page. The Dream Journey aims to promote traditional, Sufi-style music, the popularity of which has declined in recent decades due to geopolitical pressures. Their channel has amassed over 36 million views and 169,000 followers, and has launched several careers. But above all else, it serves as a source of joy not just for international audiences, but also for the project鈥檚 music-loving founders and featured musicians.
鈥淢y brother and I used to go around begging music producers to give us a chance,鈥� Mr. Khan says. 鈥淚t was only when we were featured on The Dream Journey鈥檚 YouTube channel that our careers began to flourish.鈥�
鈥淚 pray for them every day,鈥� adds Khurram, who is himself an accomplished singer and tabla player. 鈥淎ll of our success is due to them.鈥�
A joyous surprise
The Dream Journey project was started by eight music enthusiasts.
鈥淲e basically got to know each other online,鈥� says Musab bin Noor, a medical doctor. 鈥淚t was always a desire to someday get together and listen to music as a group and that finally happened in 2014 when everybody鈥檚 schedules aligned.鈥�
They decided to visit musicians in their homes 鈥� the place where they practiced and felt most comfortable. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing made up about it,鈥� explains Arif Ali Khan, a founding member who lives in Canada but regularly travels to Pakistan to work on The Dream Journey Project. 鈥淭he focus is only on the music.鈥�
After the group鈥檚 first trip to Karachi, team member Mahera Omar, a documentary filmmaker by profession, published her concert recordings online. 聽
鈥淵ouTube was becoming quite big in Pakistan at that time,鈥� she remembers. 鈥淭he response we would get and people鈥檚 comments would just blow us all away.鈥�
Asif Hasnain, another founding member, describes the success of the YouTube channel as 鈥渕iraculous.鈥澛�
鈥淲hen you put up a video and it gets 10,000 hits, you say 鈥極h my God, it鈥檚 huge!鈥� Then suddenly it gets 50,000 hits, and you say, 鈥業t鈥檚 huger!鈥� And then suddenly you find that something has hit 3 million,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 think the beauty of it is the surprise.鈥�
And for listeners, discovering the sounds of traditional Pakistani music 鈥� including new twists on familiar qawwalis, or Sufi devotional songs 鈥� brought its own kind of joy.
鈥淪o heartening to see a young qawwal party deliver a performance that would make the old maestros proud,鈥� writes one YouTube commenter by the name of Talha Khan. 鈥淭hank you for sharing and giving these artists the recognition they deserve!鈥�
Decline of Pakistani music
The launch of The Dream Journey channel came at a time when Pakistan鈥檚 classical music scene was stagnant, leaving many performers struggling to make a living.聽
鈥淭he job of the artist is not to go around begging people to listen to them. We are supposed to practice and perform,鈥� says Akbar Ali, a classical vocalist based in Lahore. 鈥淢usicians who were millions of times more talented than I am have left this world in a state of destitution.鈥�
According to Dream Journey member Vaqar Ahmed, the decline of classical music was a direct consequence of the Islamization policies instituted by military dictator Zia-ul-Haq, who took over in a 1977 coup d鈥櫭﹖at.
鈥淲hat he started no one has been able to reverse,鈥� he says. 鈥淗e vocally and practically suppressed art, music, and writing. Those were the dark ages of Pakistan鈥檚 culture.鈥澛�
Yet veteran performer Babar Niazi credits The Dream Journey with helping to revive the genre, saying 鈥渢hey鈥檙e basically filling the gap left by state institutions who have stopped doing their jobs.鈥�
For Vienna-based team member Asif Hasnain, those political events were manifestations of a much deeper issue. 鈥淭he problem is that in Pakistan, since independence, there鈥檚 been an eternal debate on your cultural identity,鈥� he says.聽
Specifically, is it more of a subcontinental nation, drawing from the cultures and musical traditions of India, or a Middle Eastern nation?
鈥淔rom the beginning of Pakistan, this tension was there, and its implications are very profound,鈥� he adds. 鈥淚f you start talking about a Middle Eastern identity you鈥檙e talking about a certain aridity. If you鈥檙e talking about the subcontinent, you鈥檙e talking about a certain explosion of cultural influences which all crystallized into qawwali and Sufi music and art.鈥�
Global audience
It is no surprise then that a large proportion of The Dream Journey鈥檚 audience comes from neighboring India. In the view of Dream Journey member Mian Shaukat Hussain, this is clear evidence that the joy of music can bring the people of these two historically antagonistic countries together. 鈥淚 definitely believe that music goes to the soul, not to the body, and that the soul has nothing to do with politics and has to do with some higher values,鈥� he says.
Even the devotional Islamic music published on The Dream Journey鈥檚 YouTube channel has a large audience across the border, receiving praise not just from Indian Muslims but also from Hindus, Sikhs, and 海角大神s.聽
鈥淥ur ancestors came from there and we still sing the way they did,鈥� says Tuqeer Ali Khan, the harmonium player and qawwali singer. 鈥淪o, when people in India listen to our music, they feel a connection with what we鈥檙e doing.鈥�
Chicago-based team member Saad Alvi credits the channel鈥檚 success to the team鈥檚 high standards. 鈥淎 good thing is always a good thing; it鈥檚 timeless,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e are very careful in what we choose.鈥�
As part of this process, the Dream Journey team encourages musicians to perform their more obscure works.聽
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to listen to the famous few pieces that everyone is performing,鈥� says architect and music lover Mushtaq Ahmed, who is credited with discovering many of the Dream Journey鈥檚 lesser-known performers. 鈥淲e ask them to perform the music that is unique to their household.鈥澛�
He says artists often tell them that these become some of their most requested pieces.
Though the COVID-19 pandemic has meant the team hasn鈥檛 been able to travel since 2020, their next listening tour is planned for the end of this year, and at some point, the group plans to release a feature documentary on Pakistan鈥檚 classical music scene. Till then, there is the small business of sifting through hundreds of hours of material to select the music to publish on their YouTube page, which continues to gain subscribers year after year.
