Radiodiffusion Internasionaal Annexe

♬ Golzaar / گلزار

♬ Kupc Gul Jorah Wahe / کپک ګل جوره وه

Other than the fact that he was born in Kandahar, I have not been able to find any information on Wali Mohammad Qandahari.

On a side note: Transferring cassettes can occasionally be more challenging than trying to salvage old vinyl. Believe it or not, this cassette was sealed when I got it. But due to how it had been stored, there was a lot of grime in there…

If you have any further information about this artist or anything else about this recording, please leave it in the comment section below.

Catalog number M-631 on MMC of Peshawar, Pakistan. No release date listed.

♬ Tu Adjab Balaee / تو هجب بلائی

Muhammed Zahir Howaida / ظاهر هویدا was born in the Waras district of Afghanistan on February 28th, 1945.

Upon graduating high school, Zahir attended the Institute of Theatre and Arts of Kabul and joined the Kabul Armature Orchestra, He earned a scholarship to learn operatic and eastern classical music at Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, Russia in 1966. After leaving Moscow in 1972, Zahir spend time in Tehran, Iran. There, he performed the song “Kamar Bareek-e-Man” / “کمر باریک من” which became an instant hit in that country.

Many of Howaida’s songs are political in nature and anti-establishment. He often spoke out against the monarchy and the first president of the Afghan republic, Mohammad Daoud Khan / محمد داود خان. After the fall of the republic of Afghanistan into the hands of the Marxist communist regime, Howaida found many opportunities on National Television and Radio Kabul. He recorded most of his songs during this tenure, hosting a variety of shows on both mediums. After the fall of the communist government, Zahir and his family fled to Hamburg, Germany. He passed away on March 5th, 2012.

Catalog number ۲۸۳ on Pars Record of Iran. No releases date listed.

♬ “Welcome”

♬ “Song”

Ahmad Zahir was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. Among the people of Afghanistan, he is considered an icon of Afghani music and is widely regarded as the “Greatest Afghan Singer of all time” or the “Elvis of Afghanistan”.

He learned to play various musical instruments including the harmonium, guitar and accordion – his favorite instrument – by the time he was 16 years old. His privileged and affluent background (his father, Abdul Zahir, was an ambassador, a minister, and later the Prime Minister of Afghanistan) gave him the opportunity to travel and become exposed to the burgeoning musical revolution of the 60s and 70s occurring in the United States, Europe and India – where he studies for two years. He was an avid listener of all genres of music and he incorporated elements of Western (pop, rock, jazz), Indian, Middle Eastern (Arabic, Iranian), European (French and Italian belle chanson, Spanish Flamenco) and Afghan Folk in his songs.

After his death, Zahir was considered a national hero. His tomb was destroyed by the Taliban in the late 1990s, but was reconstructed as recently as 2018 by fans who have established a foundation in his name in hopes of continuing his legacy.[Source]

If you wish to learn more about Ahmad Zahir, be sure to check out his website – ahmadzahir.com – where you can find an extensive biography as well as  23 albums of music that you can stream for free.

The Spanish label Guerssen has released two compilations of Ahmad Zahir’s music, and that label’s subsidiary Pharaway Sounds released the third volume.

PLEASE NOTE: Whereas the song titles were translated from the cassette cover posted above, the legitimacy of the titles is somewhat questionable. As you can see in the artwork, the last song on side one and the last song on side two have the same title – which translates to “Song” in English. I have another cassette from this label, and the last song on side one is also “Song”.

Many thanks to Mark Gergis for translating the song titles.

Catalog number M-624 on MMC of Peshawar, Pakistan. No release date listed.