Riffat Sultana

★ A New Signing ★

Riffat Sultana Joins X DOT 25 Music

We are proud to welcome Riffat Sultana to the X DOT 25 Music family. Her arrival brings a third generation of the Sham Chaurasi Gharana to the label — joining her father, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan. Two new albums on X DOT 25 Music, Entezar and Melodies of the Soul, are out now — released worldwide Friday, October 9, 2026 through The Orchard / Sony Music Group — followed by an album-releases celebration concert at the Orinda Theatre.

Melodies of the Soul — In Concert

A Persian · Urdu · Punjabi Fusion Concert — celebrating the release of both new albums

★ X DOT 25 Music in collaboration with The Orinda Theatre ★

Melodies of the Soul — Riffat Sultana in Concert

Double album release — celebrating Melodies of the Soul & Entezar

Riffat Sultana — Vocalist, in concert
with Richard Michos (guitar), Georges Lammam (violin) and Rami Ziadeh (drums)

With Special Guest

Ashkan Ghafouri

Persian Tar Maestro

accompanied by Mona Gafari — percussion

Saturday, November 21, 2026

Reception 6:00 PM · Concert 7:00 PM

The Orinda Theatre · 2 Orinda Theatre Square, Orinda, CA 94563

♪ Get Tickets →

Next to Orinda BART · 400+ parking stalls in the Plaza · 4-hour validated free parking

Qawwali & Sufi Vocalist · San Francisco Bay Area

Riffat Sultana is a Pakistani-American vocalist whose voice carries the devotional fire of the Sufi tradition and the warmth of South Asian folk song. She is the daughter of the legendary Ustad Salamat Ali Khan — one of the great masters of the Sham Chaurasi Gharana — and grew up inside that living lineage of classical vocalists, absorbing raga and the discipline of khayal from childhood.

Rather than remain solely within the classical form, Riffat carried that training outward — into Sufi kalam, qawwali, and the folk songs of Punjab and Sindh — bringing their ecstatic, prayerful spirit to listeners far beyond the subcontinent. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, she has become one of the most distinctive South Asian voices in American world music, with a repertoire that moves between longing and devotion, intimacy and trance.

Her family line of the Sham Chaurasi Gharana reaches back some 500 years and eleven generations. She is the sister of Shafqat Ali Khan, the late Ustad Sharafat Ali Khan and Sukhawat Ali Khan — and the first woman of her family to perform in public. Born in Lahore and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, she has worked with Ustad Zakir Hussain, Quincy Jones (including the 2004 We Are The Future concert in Rome), DJ Cheb i Sabbah, Ben Harper, Khaled and Simon Shaheen. Her recordings have appeared on Ark 21 / Universal, Six Degrees, Triloka and City of Tribes.

With her signing to X DOT 25 Music, Riffat continues a family tradition that spans generations — now on a new label, and soon on a new stage. Her first two releases for the label, Entezar and Melodies of the Soul, are out now — released October 9, 2026.

New Albums

Out now — released worldwide Friday, October 9, 2026 via The Orchard / Sony Music Group

★ Out Now · New Album ★

Entezar

Riffat Sultana · Qawwali / Sufi / World · Urdu & Punjabi

♪ Out Now — October 9, 2026

Entezar (“waiting”) is a nine-track album sung in Urdu and Punjabi. It opens with its title track, a classical Urdu ghazal of longing for an absent beloved. Love songs — Naina Re Naina, You Are My Life and Hosh — sit alongside Sufi devotional pieces: Jhule Lal, Sadqe Sadqe, Where Love Waits, The Throne Beyond the Stars and Whisper to the Divine. Produced with her husband and longtime collaborator, guitarist Richard Michos, it blends the ghazal and qawwali traditions she inherited with a contemporary world-fusion sound. Released worldwide on X DOT 25 Music through The Orchard / Sony Music Group.

▶ Spotify ▶ Apple ▶ YouTube

1Entezar7:48
2Jhule Lal6:50
3Naina Re Naina5:36
4You Are My Life8:10
5Where Love Waits7:50
6Hosh4:49
7The Throne Beyond the Stars4:01
8Sadqe Sadqe5:00
9Whisper to the Divine5:20

Credits

Produced by Richard Michos · Songs by Richard Michos & Riffat Sultana except where marked Folk · Vocals in Urdu & Punjabi

Entezar — Daniel Berkman (kora), Manose (bansuri), Richard Michos (guitar synth)
Jhule Lal — Richard Michos (12-string), Salar Nader (tabla), Marcos Saez (sarod), Riffat Sultana (tambourine)
Naina Re Naina — Richard Michos (guitar), Manose (flute), Salar Nader (tabla) · Folk
You Are My Life — Manose (bansuri), Salar Nader (tabla), Riffat Sultana (tambourine), Richard Michos (guitar) · Folk
Where Love Waits — Gurdeep Singh (tablas), Manose (flute), Richard Michos (mandolin), Riffat Sultana (tambourine)
Hosh — Salar Nader (tablas), Manose (flute), Richard Michos (guitars)
The Throne Beyond the Stars — John Steiner (keyboards), Richard Michos (guitar), Salar Nader (tabla), Riffat Sultana (bells) · Folk
Sadqe Sadqe — Gurdeep Singh (sitar & dholak), Richard Michos (12-string)
Whisper to the Divine — Salar Nader (tabla), Richard Michos (harmonium)

★ Out Now · New Album ★

Melodies of the Soul

Riffat Sultana · Sufi / Folk / World · Urdu & Punjabi

♪ Out Now — October 9, 2026

Melodies of the Soul is a ten-track album sung mainly in Punjabi with Urdu. Where Entezar is reflective, this is bright and celebratory — Sufi anthems for Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (Jeevay Lal, Dum Ali Dum, a new take on “Dama Dam Mast Qalandar” with a rap section) move into pop and dance territory. Bridal and love songs — Shingar, Naina, Meri Zindagi and the dance-floor invitation Nach Le Sade Naal — sit alongside Sohne Yaar, a kafi in the Bulleh Shah tradition, and Piya Ghar Aaye, a classical bandish reborn as world fusion. Deem Dana is a wordless vocal piece. Produced with guitarist Richard Michos. Released worldwide on X DOT 25 Music through The Orchard / Sony Music Group.

▶ Spotify ▶ Apple ▶ YouTube

1Jeevay Lal5:16
2Shingar3:55
3Meri Zindagi6:47
4Deem Dana5:55
5Piya Ghar Aaye5:34
6Dum Ali Dum5:34
7Nach Le Sade Naal3:28
8Naina4:58
9Sohne Yaar3:33
10The Night Love Came Home5:58

Credits

Produced by Richard Michos · Songs by Richard Michos & Riffat Sultana · Sung mainly in Punjabi with Urdu

Jeevay Lal — Richard Michos (guitars & keys), Paulo Baldi (percussion), David Rosenthal (bass)
Shingar — Imran Akhtar (keyboards), Rami Ziadeh (percussion), Richard Michos (guitars)
Meri Zindagi — Matt Venuti (EVI), Hans Christian (sarangi), Sukhawat Ali Khan (vocals)
Deem Dana — Charles Mozelle (shakuhachi), Rahiz Khan (tablas), John Steiner (bass)
Piya Ghar Aaye — Myron Dove (bass), Mohammad Nejad (shehnai), John Steiner (keyboards)
Dum Ali Dum — Isaac Frierson (raps), Sonya Jason (saxophone), Richard Michos (guitars)
Nach Le Sade Naal — Shujat Ali Khan (vocals), Richard Michos (guitars & programming), Mohammad Nejad (shehnai)
Naina — Konstantine Baranov (synthesizer), Jyoti Rout (vocal), Richard Michos (programming)
Sohne Yaar — Richard Michos (Indian banjo), Celso Alberti (drums)
The Night Love Came Home — Mohammad Nejad (shehnai), Shujat Ali Khan (keyboards)