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Madredeus is a Portuguese band whose music combines fado influences with modern folk music. The band's founding members were Pedro Ayres Magalhães (Classical guitar), Rodrigo Leão (keyboard synthesizer), Francisco Ribeiro (cello) and Teresa Salgueiro (vocals). Magalhães and Leão formed the band in 1985, Ribeiro joined in 1986. They'd been searching for a female singer, and found Teresa Salgueiro in one of Lisbon's night clubs. Teresa liked their music and agreed to join, so in 1987 Madredeus recorded their first album, Os dias da Madredeus.

The infamous attempts of the Taliban to eradicate music from the social and cultural landscape of Afghanisatan ended in happy failure, but their puritanical zeal still thrives in the region. All the more reason to celebrate the continued existence of various Pakistani and Afghani musical traditions which all owe their spiritual fire to the Sufi path of Islam. Of these, the music of the qawwali is well known and documented throughout the world, but there is a more obscure breed of 'street' singers who still practise their art at the shrines and festivals of Pakistan and Northern India.

Shujaat Husain Khan (born 14th August, 1960) is a noted Indian musician and sitar player belonging to the Imdadkhani gharana. He has over 60 albums to his credit besides a Grammy nomination. He has also been acclaimed for his vocals, and has performed in the band Ghazal with Kayhan Kalhor. His style known as the gayaki ang, is imitative of the subtleties of the human voice. Shujaat Husain Khan was born in Calcutta to legendary sitar player, Ustad Vilayat Khan.