Music & Dance
The Benju and the Sound of Makran: A Musician Found at 77
At 77, a herder’s son from the Makran coast became a global sensation with his electrified benju. Meet Ustad Noor Bakhsh and the sound of zahirok.
By Baloch.Net Editorial Team · October 23, 2026
For decades, the man behind one of the most talked-about sounds in world music stood in the background, accompanying a singer. Then, at the age of 77, a few online videos changed everything. His name is Ustad Noor Bakhsh, he comes from Pasni on the Makran coast of Balochistan, and his instrument is the benju.
Noor Bakhsh was born into a nomadic family of herders, and his father taught him music. He has been playing since he was a child. For decades he worked professionally as the accompanist of the singer Sabzal Sami, a quiet role, carrying a song so that someone else could sing it.
In 2022, a Pakistani anthropologist named Daniyal Ahmed watched Noor Bakhsh perform online and set out to find him. He persuaded the musician to record music and film videos for Instagram, and later for the online series Boiler Room. The results spread across the internet. That same year Noor Bakhsh released his first solo album, Jingul, which the music site Pitchfork praised as music that reaches deep into the soul. In 2023 he toured Europe for the first time, and in 2024 he made his North American debut.
The benju is a rare five-stringed, keyed zither that is unique to Balochistan. It is said to be based on a Japanese teaching instrument called the taishogoto. Noor Bakhsh took it further. He electrified it with a single pickup and an old amplifier found in a Karachi market, powered by a motorcycle battery. The result is a bright, sustained sound, closer to an electric guitar than to anything else. It is a story of Baloch resourcefulness: a musician with a few borrowed parts and a great deal of skill.
At the heart of his music is zahirok, a set of traditional songs and melodies at the centre of Balochi folk music. Men and women both sing it, usually with stringed instruments such as the suroz and the ghaychak. Its songs tell of separation, absence and longing, for a lover, for family, for home. The name itself is said to mean burning with longing.
It is easy to hear why it still speaks to people. Old caravan journeys and sea voyages have given way, for many Baloch families, to work abroad in the Gulf states and elsewhere. Almost every family knows what it is to wait for someone far away. Zahirok gives that feeling a voice.
Noor Bakhsh finds endless inspiration in the Makran landscape, even in the songs of its birds. He has said that birds make many kinds of sounds, but what matters is how they live in the imagination, and that when he hears them sing he tries to tune his benju to their voices.
His repertoire is wide, a reflection of Balochistan's long history as a crossroads of trade. He plays Persian and Arabic ghazals, South Asian ragas, Kurdish melodies, Bollywood favourites and his own experimental pieces, but the foundation of his sound is zahirok. Critics have compared his spare, electric grooves and delicate ornamentation to guitar masters of the Sahel, such as Ali Farka Toure.
Noor Bakhsh's story is a reminder that tradition is often carried by quiet people, in villages and on coastlines, long before the wider world notices. Nobody invented the benju sound for an audience. A man learned music from his father, played it for decades and kept it alive. The world simply arrived late.
So look around you. There may be a grandfather who plays, an aunt who sings zahirok, a neighbour who knows the old tunes. Ask them. Record them, with their permission. Those voices are our archive.
Share your story: do you know a benju player or a zahirok singer, or have a recording or a memory of one? Send it to us at baloch.net/contribute and we will preserve it.
Sources: Richmond Folk Festival, "Ustad Noor Bakhsh" (2024); Songlines, review of "Baluchistan: The Instrumental Tradition"; Benju and Balochi music (Wikipedia).
A Musician in the Background
Noor Bakhsh was born into a nomadic family of herders, and his father taught him music. He has been playing since he was a child. For decades he worked professionally as the accompanist of the singer Sabzal Sami, a quiet role, carrying a song so that someone else could sing it.
Found Online
In 2022, a Pakistani anthropologist named Daniyal Ahmed watched Noor Bakhsh perform online and set out to find him. He persuaded the musician to record music and film videos for Instagram, and later for the online series Boiler Room. The results spread across the internet. That same year Noor Bakhsh released his first solo album, Jingul, which the music site Pitchfork praised as music that reaches deep into the soul. In 2023 he toured Europe for the first time, and in 2024 he made his North American debut.
An Instrument Like No Other
The benju is a rare five-stringed, keyed zither that is unique to Balochistan. It is said to be based on a Japanese teaching instrument called the taishogoto. Noor Bakhsh took it further. He electrified it with a single pickup and an old amplifier found in a Karachi market, powered by a motorcycle battery. The result is a bright, sustained sound, closer to an electric guitar than to anything else. It is a story of Baloch resourcefulness: a musician with a few borrowed parts and a great deal of skill.
Burning With Longing
At the heart of his music is zahirok, a set of traditional songs and melodies at the centre of Balochi folk music. Men and women both sing it, usually with stringed instruments such as the suroz and the ghaychak. Its songs tell of separation, absence and longing, for a lover, for family, for home. The name itself is said to mean burning with longing.
It is easy to hear why it still speaks to people. Old caravan journeys and sea voyages have given way, for many Baloch families, to work abroad in the Gulf states and elsewhere. Almost every family knows what it is to wait for someone far away. Zahirok gives that feeling a voice.
Listening to the Birds
Noor Bakhsh finds endless inspiration in the Makran landscape, even in the songs of its birds. He has said that birds make many kinds of sounds, but what matters is how they live in the imagination, and that when he hears them sing he tries to tune his benju to their voices.
A Crossroads in One Repertoire
His repertoire is wide, a reflection of Balochistan's long history as a crossroads of trade. He plays Persian and Arabic ghazals, South Asian ragas, Kurdish melodies, Bollywood favourites and his own experimental pieces, but the foundation of his sound is zahirok. Critics have compared his spare, electric grooves and delicate ornamentation to guitar masters of the Sahel, such as Ali Farka Toure.
Why It Matters
Noor Bakhsh's story is a reminder that tradition is often carried by quiet people, in villages and on coastlines, long before the wider world notices. Nobody invented the benju sound for an audience. A man learned music from his father, played it for decades and kept it alive. The world simply arrived late.
So look around you. There may be a grandfather who plays, an aunt who sings zahirok, a neighbour who knows the old tunes. Ask them. Record them, with their permission. Those voices are our archive.
Share your story: do you know a benju player or a zahirok singer, or have a recording or a memory of one? Send it to us at baloch.net/contribute and we will preserve it.
Sources: Richmond Folk Festival, "Ustad Noor Bakhsh" (2024); Songlines, review of "Baluchistan: The Instrumental Tradition"; Benju and Balochi music (Wikipedia).