Malkauns – Alap (part I)

Raag Malkauns – Ragini Miyan Ki Todi (Bombay 1968) is an archival album featuring a 1968 performance by dhrupad vocalists Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar. Black Sweat Records released the recording on June 26, 2024, as a 12\" vinyl format. The album preserves a live rendition captured in Bombay, showcasing the Dagar brothers’ interpretation of the raag traditions within the Dagar bani (style) of dhrupad.

The opening track, titled Malkauns – Alap (part I), occupies side A of the vinyl and spans 22 minutes and 44 seconds. The composition centers on the alap section of Raag Malkauns, a raga associated with the late-night hours and characterized by its pentatonic scale omitting the fourth and seventh notes. The performance emphasizes the brothers’ collaborative vocal technique, marked by sustained tonal explorations and microtonal inflections typical of the Dagar tradition.

The album’s release date in 2024 reflects a posthumous issuance, as both artists ceased performing decades earlier. Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (1929–1990) and Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar (1932–2013) belonged to the 19th generation of the Dagar family, a lineage central to the preservation and evolution of dhrupad. The 1968 recording period aligns with their active years as leading exponents of the genre, though specific details about the original recording venue or accompanying instrumentalists remain undocumented in available sources.

Black Sweat Records, an Italian label specializing in experimental, archival, and non-Western music, produced the vinyl with attention to audio restoration. The release omits additional tracks or supplementary material, presenting the 1968 performance as a standalone document. The label’s catalog often features historically significant recordings, and this album continues that focus by introducing a previously unreleased dhrupad session to contemporary audiences.