Sain Zahoor سائیں ظہور
Sain Zahoor or Saeen Zahur Ahmad (سائیں ظہور) (b. around 1945) is a leading Sufi musician from Pakistan. He spent his life singing in the Sufi shrines, and had not cut a record until 2006, when he was nominated 
for the BBC World Music awards based on word of mouth. He emerged as the “best BBC voice of the year 2006″, an award that had earlier recognized other prominent Sufi singers such as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Abida Parveen. Sain is not his first name but an honorific and is also spelt Saeen or Saiyan, and Zahoor may be spelt Zahur. Sain Zahoor known for his “Magical” Voice which is known to put his listeners to trance.
All his life, Saieen Zahoor has performed mainly in dargahs (Sufi tombs/shrines) and festivals, and in the streets. He adopted the folk instrument Ektara (ek= one, tar = string), in its three-stringed version called Tumbi, as his main instrument. Like some traditions of Sufi music, he has a passionate, high-energy style of singing, often dancing in a frenzied style with the tassels on his instrument whirling around him . Dressed in embroidered (kurta), beads, tightly bound turban, as well as ghungroos (anklet-bells worn by dancers), Saieen Zahoor cuts an impressive figure. His voice has an earthy tone, almost cracking at the edges, but capable of a wide vocal and emotional range.
In 1989 he performed on a concert stage for the first time at the All Pakistan Music Conference, which brought him into musical prominence. Subsequently he has emerged as a leading performer in Pakistan, frequently appearing on TV and in concerts attended by President General Pervez Musharraf. Zahoor has also given concerts in UK, Japan, Ireland and India.
Sufi singing is focused on poetry with themes of devotional love, which shares much with Persian mystic poets like Rumi and with other South Asian traditions such as the Bhakti cult. Sufi traditions highlight a softer, multi-cultural aspect of Islam, and are seen as a countering “the extremism of the mullahs who use the mosques to spread ill-will” against other cultural groups, according to some organizers of Saieen Zahoor’s concerts.
In 2006 Saieen had a record out (Awazay, sounds) with Matteela Records. In 2007 he helped produce the soundtrack to the Pakistani film Khuda Ke Liye.
