Ustad Noor Bakhsh (Pakistan)

Durchlüften Main Act Label Night: honiunhoni

Ustad Noor Bakhsh (rechts) mit Benju und begleitendem Musiker

On four summer weekends, DURCHLÜFTEN transforms the Humboldt Forum’s  Schlüterhof  into a free open-air meeting place where musical traditions from across the globe unfold as living cultural archives.  

5 years open. Already 5 years DURCHLÜFTEN. For the sixth time now, DURCHLÜFTEN transforms the Schlüterhof courtyard of Berlin’s Humboldt Forum into a vibrant open-air stage for global music, cultural dialogue, and shared experience. From 9 July to 1 August 2026, across four summer weekends, the festival presents 24 live acts and 12 DJs from around the world. Each evening features two concerts followed by a DJ set, creating twelve nights of musical discovery, movement, and encounter in the heart of Berlin — once again with free entry for all.  

This year at DURCHLÜFTEN we invite the independent label honiunhoni, and the work of Daniyal Ahmed, the Karachi-based musician, ethnomusicologist and founder of the label. The label’s name loosely translates as “impossible possibilities” — unexpected musical encounters that open new worlds of listening. What began as a small archive of field recordings has grown into a platform dedicated to documenting and supporting remarkable regional musicians from across Pakistan.

After welcoming the extraordinary Baloch benju master Ustad Noor Bakhsh to our stage in a previous edition (2024) , this evening marks our second look into the music and culture surrounding honiunhoni. With Muslim Shaggan and a special DJ set by Karachi’s Lyla Safi, we continue exploring the beauty and diversity of Pakistan’s musical landscapes — another chapter of these impossible possibilities.

Ustad Noor Bakhsh is a celebrated master of the benju, a keyed zither central to the musical traditions of Pakistan’s Balochistan region. Born on the Makran coast in Pakistan, he began playing the instrument as a child and spent decades performing at weddings and community gatherings across the region before his music reached international audiences later in life. Playing an electric benju through a simple pickup and amplifier, Noor Bakhsh creates an unmistakable sound rooted in Balochi musical forms but enriched by influences from South Asian raags, Persian and Kurdish melodies, and popular music from across the region. His improvisational style builds hypnotic grooves and trance-like melodic cycles that often send audiences dancing. After the release of his debut album Jingul in 2022, he has toured internationally, introducing global listeners to the powerful, evolving traditions of Balochi instrumental music.

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Bandcamp

honiunhoni – Labours of Love by Servants of Sound / Independent Record Label Rooted in Pakistan

- Price: free admission

- Duration: 90 Min

- Location: Ground Floor, Schlüter Courtyard

- Belongs to: Durchlüften 2026

Next date:

• Date Friday, 17/July/2026 20:30
• Venue Humboldt Forum: Schlüterhof (Berliner Schloss)
• Address Schloßplatz 5, 10178 Berlin-Mitte