یعقوب قاسمی / Yaghoub Qasemi – 45 rpm on Mercuri label

Yaghoub Qasemi – Shab Ke Az Nesha e Mey

Yaghoub Qasemi was the son of Ustad Qasemi, also known as Qasim Afghan, known to this day as the first Afghan musician to have recorded songs published then on HMV label, through the Indian Gramophone Company in India.

We can see Yaghoub here on the extrem right, while his father is in the middle. We can also recognize on this picture a young Ustad Rahim Bakhsh playing harmonium.

Afghan musicians’ picture taken from ariaye.org website

This 45 rpm released in Iran that we propose today was previously released in 1959 with 78 rpm format on the Soviet label as you can see on the picture below, taken from Amir Mansour’s review published in Tehran. 

The song is introduced on the label as a folkloric song and while listening, we can easily recognize the typical Afghan Ghazal style.

On the Mercori blue label, Yaghoub Qasemi is not credited and once again, only the word Afghani / افغانی is written to present the music.

On the side B is a second song full of romantism and nostalgia that I let you discover now.

Yaghoub Qasemi – Djanam Benafsheh