Music Today recently launched a brand new album, Mame Khan's ‘Desert Sessions’. The album is a dream project, created by renowned Folk and Sufi singer Mame Khan, his band of Manganiyar musicians and some wonderful guest artists. The album was launched by film maker and environmentalist Pradip Krishen over a live concert by Mame Khan at The Qila, New Delhi on Saturday, 26th September 2015.

Mame Khan's ‘Desert Sessions’ brings you a great selection of seven special songs, straight from the heart of Rajasthan including Rajasthani folk, Sufi and a Krishna Bhajan. These songs create a universe of colors and emotions -talking about love, mischief and hope. Mame Khan hopes that the listener will sense the smell of mud - "mitti ki khushboo" in his songs, while at the same time taking his audience on a journey time from ancient to modern times.

It is the first album created by a Manganiyar musician on his own, with a state-of-the-art approach towards the sound quality. Mame Khan and his team have recorded all the songs on clip, which means each instrument has been recorded one-on-one. Normally, Manganiyar folk artists are used to playing live in a group only, so it was a challenge to create the same emotions while each artist played alone. With a lot of team spirit, the group managed to overcome all challenges, taking this project to a whole new level.

This album is meant to be a medium not only to spread joy, but also to reach out to the world showing the potential and beauty of Rajasthani folk and Sufi music. 

The Manganiyars look back to more than 15 generations of oral tradition and Mame Khan and his team have always been working hard to keep this tradition alive. To keep this musical heritage alive, it is essential to manage the fine balance between adding a modern twist without losing the origins, so that the music appeals to a new, modern generation of listeners.

Mame Khan, noted singer and composer can be called one of the most renowned folk and Sufi singers from Rajasthan. With his signature voice, he sings a wide range of folk and Sufi music from the Thar Desert. Following the medieval and purely oral tradition of the Mangnaiyar community, he adds his very own personal flavour to the traditional songs. His musical skills are inherited from his father and teacher, the late Shri USTAD Rana Khan, who is his strongest source of inspiration till date.

Mame Khan's musical career started in a small village called Satto, near Jaisalmer the golden city of Rajasthan in West India. Originating from the land of kings, forts and great mystics, Mame Khan's passion is to keep singing the traditional Manganiyar folk compositions with all their musical finesse. He also sings a wide repertoire of Sufi songs from Lal Shahbz Qualander and Kabir to Bulleh Shah and also Mira Bai's Krishna Bhajans, transcending the boundaries of caste and religion.

His musical journey started right in the days of his childhood and to date Mame Khan is travelling around the globe in order to keep this unique musical tradition alive.

His voice has graced the most prestigious music events worldwide, from Europe to America, from the Gulf countries to Africa. Mame Khan is one of the few who has a profound knowledge of this rich, complex and rare musical heritage of the Manganiyar clan. Being a master of his art, he brings more than 15 generations of musical tradition to new life and turns these songs into a mesmerizing musical experience.