Afghanistan’s music reflects the meeting of Persian, Central Asian, and South Asian traditions, sustained through celebrated vocal styles and the distinctive sound of the Afghan rubab.
During the 1990s, the post-Soviet and Taliban governments banned instrumental music and much public music-making.[1] In spite of arrests and destruction of musical instruments, musicians have continued to play their trade into the present. The multi-ethnic city of Kabul has long been the regional cultural capital, but outsiders have tended to focus on the city of Herat, which is home to traditions more closely related to Iranian music than in the rest of the country.[2] Lyrics throughout most of Afghanistan are typically in Dari (Persian) and Pashto.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia’s “Music of Afghanistan” article.
Ensemble Kaboul presents a traditional Afghan sound shaped by the country’s long exchange with neighboring musical cultures.
Rubab virtuoso Homayoun Sakhi brings Afghanistan’s national instrument into a contemporary orchestral setting in “Rangin Kaman.”
Khanum Parasto represents the enduring place of the Afghan vocal song tradition in the country’s musical life.