Coke Studio Season4 will start airing in Pakistan from 22nd May 2011, announces JAL the Band on its Official Fan Page.

Coke Studio, which is highly anticipated musical show, not only in Pakistan but in sub-continent and far behind, is also famous for not leaking any inside news. Fans have been waiting for this great musical show very eagerly and as always no Official statements and information haven’t been provided to anyone. As there were no official confirmations and channels, we were bringing all the news for our readers ourselves.

As per our information: Sajjad Ali, Ataullah Khan Essa Khelvi, Akhtar Channal , Mekaal Hasan Band, Faraz Anwar, Komal Rizvi, Kaavish, Jal Band , Quratulain Balouch, Bilal Khan and some others acts will be the part of this season. Two Indian musicians who are also said to be a part of this season are : Rabbi Shergill and Kailash Kher.

However, as per CS policy or may be contract terms, no associated band/artist is allowed to reveal their inclusion in Coke Studio. The only band which has been playing the role of “Whistle Blower” is the band JAL. JAL the band (sources say included in Coke Studio on ‘Popular Public Demanad’ ) first announced the news that they are inn. Later we saw  pictures leaked inside from Coke Studio of Jal Band members with QB. It was all un-expected !

And just now, they have quite confidently announced the dates of the Coke Studio Season4. According to them:

Coke Studio Season4 starts on 22nd May 2011

Screenshot below:

We haven’t heard anything from Official sources yet , as they always keep ‘lip-tight’ on the situation. But we are hoping that we would soon be provided with some official news and press releases to share with our readers.If they can’t do this, they should better hire JAL the band as their Official PR Agency.

Till we get more information, we would like you to imagine the upcoming days power packed with some block busters:

On 20th May, there is expected the release of Shoaib Mansoor’s second and Atif Aslam’s debut movie BOL. then we have Coke Studio on 22nd May so readers, fasten your seat belts as the upcoming weeks gonna offer the nation the true Pakistani entertainment.

So Mojambos, What’s the scene ?

Read more at: Coke Studio 2011 (Season 4) to start from 22nd May

The classical trained Sufi Singer and ex-lead vocalist of Mekaal Hasan Band – Javed Bashir – has recorded three(3) songs with Indian Composers, reported a Qatar based publication.

Bashir, who recently toured Doha for a couple of sufi oriented events, was welcomed by the Classical Music Listeners. His two back to back performances in Doha Cinema and the Diplomatic Club simply amazed Doha’s audience. In an interview there, Bashir talked about his performance and musical ventures.

About his performance and audience the prominent Sufi singer and lyricist said: “It was very encouraging to see people in Qatar enjoying Sufi music as much as I enjoyed singing it for them”. For the very first time, he also said something about leaving his band.

Javed Bashir on his departure from Mekaal Hasan Band:

“The differences between me and the band grew too strong, and it became increasingly difficult for us to work together. The way Mekaal and I work is very different, and I think it was in my best interest to leave the group” Bashir said.

As now he has gone solo, and recently launched a complete album ‘Sub Rung’ with Times of India, Bashir is now looking for playback singing for Bollywood. Reportedly, he has recorded three(3) songs with renown Indian/bollywood music composers – Shankar-Ehsan-Loy, Vishal Shekhar and Monty Sharma.

As a student of legendary Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan and Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Will Javed Bashir also be able to do some blast in Bollywood ? Can he become a strong contender of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan? Well, it would be so early to claim something but we believe if his couple of songs hit the charts, he has all the potential to become the next apple of eyes for bollywood music producers.

What do you guys think ??

Read more at: Javed Bashir records 3 songs for Bollywood

Ex-Vocalist of Mekaal Hasan Band and Eastern Classical trained Javed Bashir has released a solo album called ‘Subrang’ in India. We have just got hands on the album. The album description reads, ‘A soulful album by the famous world renowned Pakistani singer Javed Bashir, includes various genres of music – classical, pop,sufi, & Punjabi Folk’.

Here is the album track list:

01. Na De NA De
02. Naina More
03. Mora Tum Bin
04. Dil Beqarar
05. Aa Jao
06. Kabhi Na kehna
07. Jao ree jao
08. Sun le sadawan
09. Chori Chori
10. Waqt Nachata
11. Mere Hania

We have just compiled some songs for a promotional Album demo, You can check it out and stream below:

Javed Bashir’s Subrang Album can be purchased online from here

Read more at: Javed Bashir’s Solo Album Subrang Track List and Demo

If you haven’t already discovered yet, what we have broken in last few days about the line up of upcoming Season 4 Of Coke Studio. Please take a Quick Tour and read our previous posts:

Komal Rizvi in Coke Studio Season 4

Quratulain Balouch(Q.B) in Coke Studio 4

Sajjad Ali, Faraz Anwar, Jal Band and Ataullah Essa Khelvi in Coke Studio 4

Today’s post is about the possibility of the inclusion of Mekaal Hasan or his whole band in Coke Studio’s Upcoming Season 4.

If you are a fan of Mekaal Hasan or have listened a couple of the band’s songs , its not that difficult to imagine what the band’s music is all about. In this Modern Era, not many bands are there in Pakistan who can make a perfect fusion of western music and eastern vocals. The band has also greatly contributed towards ‘Sufi Music’ and with their hits like Chal Bulleya, Waris Shah, Rabba and so many other tracks MHB has successfully given a tribute to the poetry of some very well-known poets and Sufis such as Bulleh Shah, Amrita Pritam etc.

If you are wondering what can be the connection of Mekaal Hasan Band with Coke Studio , then let us reveal that Pakistan’s premier music Producer and the owner of critically acclaimed Sufi Rock Band Mekaal Hasan has made his space to Coke Studio.

If you remember MHB’s first vocalist ‘Jawad Bashir’ who recently released an album in India, he has also been featured in Coke Studio. It seems impossible that the vocalist of the band makes it to Coke Studio while the base, the band’s backbone, haven’t yet performed on the magical platform. It is very much obvious now that Mekaal Hassan will be the part of Coke Studio season 4.

The question popping into our minds is that whether Mekaal Hasan will only play in Coke Studio or his new younger vocalist Asad Abbas will also appear in the season.

As per THE NEWS (not Jang Wala, its Hamara Wala), we are only hearing about Mekaal Hassan in the Coke Studio Sessions and not a single source revealed Asad Abbas inclusion in the CS4. This is also pretty obvious due to certain factors: Firstly, MHB’s ace vocalist Javed left the band last year to pursue his solo career, the band might not want to expose the talent of new vocalist who when become popular can also choose the same way as Javed Bashir chose. Second possibility can also be that Asad Abbas is not enough mature to be a part of high profile Coke Studio.

We are just hoping and optimistic about some kick ass performance by Mekaal Hassan in this session. Those who have forgotten, He(Mekaal Hasan) is one of the finest music producer and sound engineer of Pakistan and is the guy behind many hit tracks in Pakistan.

Keep checking this space as we have so much to reveal about ‘Inside Coke Studio’.

Have a good Sunday =)

Updated on 6/3/2011 : We have just confirmed from the sources that Asad Abbas – the lead vocalist of Mekaal Hasan Band – will also be featuring in the Coke Studio Season4.

Read more at: Mekaal Hasan OR Band in Coke Studio Season 4 ???

9th Lux Style Awards, Music Winners List

Mekaal Hasan Band sweeps the music category in the 9th Lux Style Awards with 3 awards for the Best Singer, Best Artist and for the Best Video Director and Rohail Hyatt won an award for the Best Producer for the Coke Studio Sessions.

* BEST ARTIST:

Mekaal Hasan Band for Saptak

Others nominated in this category:
Maryam Kizilbash
Overload for Pichal Pairee
Rahim Shah
Shiraz Uppal

* SINGER OF THE YEAR:

Javed Bashir for Chal Bulleya by Mekaal Hasan Band from Saptak

Others nominated in this category:
Zain ul Abideen
Imran Khan
Rahim Shah
Shiraz Uppal

* BEST MUSIC VIDEO DIRECTOR:

Bilal Lashari for Chal Bulleya by Mekaal Hasan Band

Others nominated in this category:
Ahsan Rahim
Farhad Humayun for Mela Kariyay by Overload
Sohail Javed
Zeeshan Parwez

* BEST MUSIC PRODUCER:

Rohail Hyatt for the Coke Studio Sessions

Others nominated in this category:
Mekaal Hassan for Saptak
Farhad Humayun for Pichal Pairee, Overload
Shiraz Uppal for Ankahi
Shani and Kami for Rahim Shah

Read more at: 9th Lux Style Awards, Music Winners List

The Pakistan America Peace Through Music Project is a Musical Journey to Peace, Freedom and Understanding (A Collaboration of The Sonic Peace Makers and SHINE HUMANITY)

Background:

Mention Pakistan today and what comes to the minds of most Americans is terrorism, poverty, and hopelessness. That’s all they see in the news. But Pakistan also has one of The World’s most diverse and rich cultures, equaled only by its spectacular natural beauty as home to part of Kashmir, the Khyber Pass and high mountain peaks like K2. Once upon a time in the not so distant past, Texan gun enthusiasts brought their prized antique revolvers to Peshawar’s gun smiths to make copies, actor Robert DeNiro posed for pictures with restaurant owners while vacationing in Chitral, and Mick Jagger tested his dance skills with Lahore’s most well-known Mujra dancers. And many of Pakistan’s greatest musicians and singers like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan regularly collaborated with their counterparts in Europe and America such as Peter Gabriel and Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder.

Two decades ago, America’s leaders failed to uphold our principles and fulfill a moral obligation to help rebuild Afghanistan and help Pakistan with the painful aftermath of the Soviet-Afghan war, which included millions of Afghan refugees who still live in Pakistan. In stark contrast, America helped rebuild its enemies Germany and Japan after WWII, but inexplicably abandoned its friends after the war in Afghanistan, a key factor in allowing extremists to begin their destructive swarm across Afghanistan and Pakistan’s western frontier and become a grave threat to the security and stability of the entire world. But today, while the wounds are deep and the challenges are great, the forces of light and sonic harmony are again on the ascendance.

Pakistan today is home not just to 11 music video channels and has one of the most innovative and vibrant music scenes anywhere in the world. A country that has produced some of the greatest sitar and tabla players is today home of some of the finest singers, guitar shredders and drummers. Music pioneers like Junoon, the godfathers of Sufi Rock, are joined by Qawwali rockers like Mekaal Hasan and Aaroh, indie projects like Peshawar’s Sajid and Zeeshan, and Heavy Metal innovators like Akash and Karavan. In recent years Atif Aslam has become the most successful Pop singer in all of South Asia with a growing following world-wide.

The Project:

The Pakistan America Peace Through Music Project was inspired by the work of Greg Mortenson (author of the bestseller Three Cups of Tea and Stones Into Schools) and is based, among other things, on world music pioneer Manu Dibango’s declaration that musicians are all from the same tribe regardless of their race, nationality or religion and John Coltrane’s belief in the power of music to spread peace and harmony.

Building on the millennia-long tradition of musical and cultural exchange in Pakistan and South and Central Asia more broadly, we will bring a group of leading musicians from the U.S. to Pakistan led by guitarist/producer Lanny Cordola (House of Lords, Giuffria, The Beach Boys), drummer/producer Matt Sorum (Guns n Roses, Velvet Revolver), singer/guitarist Todd Shea and many others for a month long musical caravan throughout the country, creating and performing with some of Pakistan’s most well known, talented and creative artists such as Atif Aslam, Shehzad Roy, Strings, Arieb Azhar, Abda Parveen, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, Rustam Fateh Ali Khan, Beo Rana Zafar and celebrated record producer Rohail Hyatt (Vital Signs, Coke Studio).

The inspiring poetry of Allama Iqbal and other revered poets will be prominently featured as an artistic and cultural base for the musical collaboration. Later on in the year, the Pakistani musicians will come to the U.S. for performances and events joined by their American comrades (including members of Guns n Roses, Velvet Revolver, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc.), which will also include time for more song writing and recording. Both the Pakistani and American legs of the gathering will be filmed for a documentary. The music and film will then be completed and released for sale on CDs & DVDs.

Goals:

The project’s goals will be to bring Americans and Pakistanis closer together by erasing misconceptions and raising awareness of the diversity and beauty of Pakistan and its people, ultimately revealing the commonalities between Pakistani/Muslim and American cultures, to show Americans the Pakistan they never see in the mainstream media and to support Pakistan’s courageous artistic community, as well as raise funds and awareness to help establish and equip music schools and fund innovative health and education projects across Pakistan and Afghanistan. Once the initial project has been released, the music will continue with a series of collaborations with musicians and artists from all over the world to bring people together and help people in need.

Activities:

Musical fusion and celebration of diverse cultures will erase misconceptions and raise funding which will lead to a lasting positive effect on vulnerable children in developing nations, and help create a better, safer world for all Humanity

Project Message

“Music has incredible power to inspire and energize Human Beings to bridge divides and create a better world”.
- Todd Shea, Chief Operating Officer

“Peace Through Music DVD featuring members of Guns n Roses, Lanny Cordola, Atif Aslam, Shehzad Roy, Strings, Rohail Hayat, Arieb Azhar, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, Todd Shea & Many More!

Guitaristan: Where Musicians and Music Lovers Meet To Create A Better World.

About Guitaristan:

Guitaristan was conceived by accomplished rock guitarist Lanny Cordola (The Beach Boys, House of Lords, Guffria and studio guitarist for hundreds of top recording artists) and drummer Matt Sorum (Guns n Roses, Velvet Revolver) to build cultural bridges of peace and understanding between the peoples of Pakistan, Afghanistan and America through music. Famous guitarists and recording artists from America and Pakistan will be performing their music together and promoting events to raise awareness and funds to address the needs of children in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Founders:

Matt Sorum
Lanny Cordola

The Guitaristan Mission:

* Engage in wholesome, family oriented creative and artistic projects that utilize music to bring people together and wash away misconceptions.

* Provide funding to health and education projects in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

* Provide guitars and lessons to children in Pakistan and Afghanistan who wish to learn about music.

* Be respectful and mindful at all times of Islamic principles which guide the ways which music, musical instruments and social gatherings are permissible as long as the intentions are pure and in the cause of good.

The Sonic Peacemakers Music & Film Project:

The Musical Peace Project features Atif Aslam, Adil Omar, Shehzad Roy, Slash, members of Guns N Roses, Velvet Revolver, Cypress Hill, Red Hot Chili Peppers and others. This is all very exciting and for a good cause.

Adil will be rapping with Cypress Hill and other BIG surprise special guest on the Sonic Peacemakers Music and Film Project that we’re doing with some of the best Pakistani and American recording artists, says Todd Shea.

About Todd Shea:

Todd Shea, a singer/songwriter and guitarist by profession in USA, a social worker and a humanitarian in Pakistan. He always used his music to perform humanitarian work and support charitable causes. He came to volunteer in Pakistan after the 2005 earthquake, a disaster that killed 80,000 people. Shea established frills charity hospital in Kashmir called CDRS, or Comprehensive Disaster Relief Services, which provides quality healthcare services to the people in the remote and earthquake-affected areas in northwest Pakistan. CDRS’ efforts are concentrated in Chikar, one of Pakistan’s poorest and most remote villages located about 25 miles from the Indian border with a population of about 150,000 people. He doesn’t have a college degree or a medical background, but told the Times, I’m certainly not the most qualified person to take on the task of building in this area at least a revolutionary healthcare system, but I’m the one who’s here.

A musician prior to his time in Pakistan, Shea indicated that he once suffered from addiction issues. Now however, he decided to get addicted to something that was good for other people. In fact, Shea uses music to raise awareness about CDRS and their efforts, at one point performing at MTV’s studios in Karachi with a Pakistani musician. CDRS now runs on $170,000 a year and served over 100,000 patients in 2008.

Todd Shea’s Message About The Project:

The project will promote peace and understanding through musical collaborations and a documentary film that will not only introduce America and the World to the great musicians and poets of Pakistan as they perform and create with some of America’s greatest musicians, but more importantly, will showcase all the wonderful attributes of Pakistan, its People and its rich culture that most Americans never see. Then, with a new perspective on Pakistan, we believe that everyday Americans will begin supporting projects which effectively bring help directly to Pakistan’s most vulnerable families and communities. After the recording session, Atif Aslam and producer Lanny Cordola met with prominent members of the Southern California Pakistani American Community at the home of Pervaiz and Almas Lodhie to introduce the project and its goals. Promoting organizations that are doing great Humanitarian work in Pakistan such as Developments In Literacy, Zindagi Trust, Greg Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute and many others, this project aims to highlight the efforts of The National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) to form partnerships with all governmental and non-governmental organizations, large and small, to work together towards ensuring that Pakistan meets the UN’s Millennium Development Goals of minimun 85% Basic Literacy by 2015.

There are significant costs associated with such a large undertaking, so we need your help to raise the funding needed to pay for the project’s production, recording, filming, mass duplication, marketing and travel expenses. Please give generously, your contributions are tax-deductible and represent an important investment in Pakistan. Thanks to Air Blue for becoming our first sponsor, donating the flights for the The Sonic Peacemakers travel in Pakistan this summer. Philanthropist Pervaiz Lodhie, Author Ethan Casey, Businessman Amin Hashwani and Professor Mark Levine are the official Ambassadors for the Sonic Peacemakers. Please note that all musicians and recording artists who are contributing their time and talents to this project are doing so completely free of charge.

Todd Shea
Shine Humanity / CDRS / Sonic Peacemakers
www.ShineHumanity.org

Watch Todd Shea performing Live with Sarmad Ghafoor:

Read more at: The Pakistan America Peace Through Music Project

So the line-up has changed and the news is confirmed, Javed Bashir departs from Mekaal Hasan Band and Asad Abbas – the first Pakistan Sangeet Icon Winner – joins the band as a new vocalist.

It was updated yesterday on the Offical Fan Page of MHB:

Catch MHB live with Asad Abbas tonight on FM 91 from 8pm to 10pm (PST)

Till that time, there was a confusion whether they are featuring any song or etc. But today’s update at the fan page has announced the decision clearly.

Asad Abbas has been selected as the new lead singer for Mekaal Hasan Band! Catch him live on the Moring show on Express News at 8 am on 5th March with Mhb!

There were already rumors surrounding about it but nothing was certain, this announcement by the band has given a “Shock” to the fans and many are not ready to accept this change.

Well, we have seen many break-ups and departures , there are examples of AAROH & FUZON as well. We hope that this will bring some new innovation & dimension to the band’s music, but It must be a positive one and not destructive(and we are sure It won’t)

We – the Team PakiUM – wish Javed Bashir for his solo projects & also to Asad Abbas for his new venture with MHB and also looking forward to this situation very optimistically.

Here are some of the live performances videos by Asad Abbas:

Sanwal

Rabba

Read more at: Asad Abbas as new Lead Vocalist of Mekaal Hasan Band

These Exclusive Photos are taken by

“Zeeshan Haider“  ( www.zeeshanhaider.net )

Read more at: Pictures : Mekaal Hasan Band Album Launch

Saptak Album Download Link

From Sampooran (a set of five notes) to Saptak (a set of seven notes), we preview Mekaal Hasan Band’s latest album.

By Madeeha Syed

I’ll confess: the Mekaal Hasan Band (MHB) for me (and for quite a few people) has been an acquired taste; mostly brought upon by attending some of its live performances. The first album, Sampooran, featured artistes that are the best in their field, but has often been described as too ‘hard to digest’. It definitely wasn’t listener-friendly, and the worst critique that one can give it is that the sheer perfection sought in the technique employed in the musical and vocal arrangements had robbed it of its soul. Getting off to a slow start, the album picked up a couple of years later, once the style of music (an attempt at a type of eastern jazz, if you may) managed to penetrate the minds of local audiences. Sampooran is now one of the stronger music albums to come out from the local pop arena.

After a hiatus of five years, the band is now set to release the much-awaited second album, Saptak. The album is being released independently, without the support or affiliation of a record label, making the band some of the very few musicians in the pop industry that are free to promote their music on whatever medium that suits them.

The album launch song, Chall Bulleya, begins the album on a softer note. The lyrical content which is its prime focus, is a mixture of Bulleh Shah’s poetry (predominantly in the main chorus) fused with verses by Bhagat Kabir, focusing on bringing society up on a more positive note by eliminating the evils that exist in it.

The new additions in the musicians who contributed to the album include Aamir Azhar on bass, whose presence can be felt on tracks such as Bhageshwari which starts off with a funky bass-line. The song which has been written by vocalist Javed Bashir himself features a similar flute solo by Mohammad Ahsan Pappu. An upbeat energetic number, it’s one of the more listener-friendly tracks onthe album and has the potential to be one of the album’s more popular numbers.

The multi-percussionist from the UK, Pete Lockett (with whom Mekaal collaborated and toured with in 2001) is also featured on the album on a track titled Albaella. Listeners unaccustomed to the nuances of classical or heritage music might relate it to the version (officially titled: Albela Sajan Ayo Re) from the Hindi film, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, as classical raags are often used in Bollywood productions. Based on Raag Ahir Bhairav, the composition inthe album has been presented in its original form; in the Indian version, the structure of the composition had been changed from teen taal (common in the North Indian classical tradition) to a Kaherava (an eight-beat taal common in the North Indian non-classical tradition). Pete Lockett fuses in Arabic and Turkish beats into the composition, giving it a softer feel and bringing the deeply-rooted composition into the modern era. As with Late Moon Jam in thefirst album, Albella embodies the most ‘western’ feel with the music sounding very much spontaneous.

Bandeya is a track with embodies the most old-school MHB signature sound without sounding out-of-place in the overall composition ofthe album. It has Javed Bashir’s characteristic recitation of paltain interspersed with his consistent rendition of the main chorus lines, the guitar solos, etc. Perhaps the best way to describe the old MHB sound of the song would be to say that the numerous guitar solos exist, but only in moderation.

Perhaps the only song that really doesn’t belong in the album is Mohi. It starts off with Ahsan Pappu’s flute solo and the song progresses to sound like an attempt to shift from pop to a more film/soundtrack-oriented music, although the shift can only be felt slightly.

Almost half the album is already familiar to the band’s listeners. Sanwal and Waris Shah are tracks that have been picked up from the last album, although Sanwal is featured in a more reggae light. This version of Sanwal made one smile inadvertently, its light, its fun and a nice alternative to the original. But having grown accustomed to the original, I personally prefer that version in place of this one. Waris Shah, while retaining most of it in original form, has been ‘cleaned’ up of the additional instruments that seemed to dominate it in thefirst album. The song definitely belongs entirely to Javed Bashir’s vocal skills and Ahsan Pappu’s haunting virtuosity on the flute.

Three songs from the album have been making rounds on the airwaves for some time now. They are Jhok Ranjhan (the song single-handedly responsible for proving that the band can still do a lighter, more ‘pop’ sound and still sound good), Huns Dhun and Andholan (which goes back to the band’s more intense, ‘darker’ roots. Very much like the old MHB, it’s a little out of place in this album) and are therefore familiar to the local listener.

For listeners who were expecting more of the band’s signature listener-unfriendly, hard, intense music, they’re in for a disappointment, but only for that reason alone. The band may have shed some if its ‘darker’ sound, but they’ve retained their musical virtuosity. The songs have a very strong MHB touch to them, and as a whole,the album also plays largely on nostalgia since half of it has already been released in the form of music videos. The best from the album definitely include Chall Bulleya, Albaella, Jhok Ranjhan, Huns Dhun, Bandeya, Waris Shah, Bhageshwari.

Definitely one of the more ‘complete’ body of work to come out in the past two-three years in the music industry, the release of this album has been long overdue.

Read more at: Album Review: Saptak By Mekaal Hasan Band

Mekaal Hassan Band’s Brand New Album ‘SAPTAK’ has been released online & without under any record label. Some of the tracks in the album have already been released quite a while ago, in their debut album as well.

Chal Bulleya – the first track of the album – is making waves these days through its fabulous video . Jhok Ranjhan & Andholan video was  both performance based videos  released by the band in the last few years. An Animated Video of Waris Shah by Zeeshan Pervaiz is ready for a year now , but it hasn’t been officially released yet.

The remaining & unheard tracks are listed below in bold with complete track list:

Chal Bulleya [4:30]
Bandeya [4:46]
Ranjha [4:00]
Jhok Ranjhan [4:25]
Sanwal [4:44]
Bhageshwaari [4:43]
Huns Dhun [5:21]
Waris Shah [7:27]
Andholan [6:23]
Mahi [6:27]
Albaella [9:57]

Here are the album notes :

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Saptak — Eternal Flight

Saptak is the new offering from Pakistan’s premier music group, the Mekaal Hasan Band. Coming as it does after their highly successful debut album Sampooran, the new body of work is ample testimony to MHB’s high quality and commitment to this difficult path of taking the best of two disparate elements and fusing them into one memorable musical outpouring…

Mekaal Hasan, the spirit behind MHB’s success, has long believed that fusion cannot be simply mixing eastern instruments with western or singing eastern melodies against a jazz-rock setting. True fusion requires an in-depth and serious study of the two streams, an understanding of what makes them whole and of then merging, blending and fusing the two so that what appears is not a mixture but music of strong identity. It is this spirit that has driven the band to seek new avenues in a field maligned by those who have maintained a shallow understanding of the music involved.

Where Sampooran was mysterious and haunting, Saptak soars with an uplifted mood that makes it at once brighter, daring and inspiring. The album features the work of Bulleh Shah, the mystic poet whose work is beginning to inspire a new generation, Shah Hussain and the poetess Amrita Pretam along with bandishes that flow down to us from the great musical exponents of the South Asian subcontinent. Each musical journey is magical, made memorable by the strong bass lines laid down by Amir Azhar, with breathtaking solo flights from Mohammad Ahsan’s flutes, Javed Bashir’s fiery and heart stopping vocal renditions and amidst all this, Mekaal’s deft and musically inspiring touches of guitars drifting in and out of the melodies, panning effortlessly from side to side and creating a unique atmosphere of musical excellence. Against this formidable quartet, John Louis Pinto and British percussionist Pete Lockett, weave their magic and provide just the right rhythmic drive that makes Saptak an album that tempts repeated listening at many levels.

Saptak means the completion of the 12 notes of the musical scale with it’s Western equivalent being the musical octave. It is apparent that this unique album from the Mekaal Hasan Band is destined to go up and up.

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Still waiting for any thing ?  I guess I have provided all the details about the album . If you are looking for complete album’s download link , DOWNLOAD IT, but only after purchasing it online

Purchase & then Download the album Online from CD BABY

P.S: We have got our hands on the album & its really very different & mature album & a must buy. We dont want to upload the album & hurt the artist. Chall Bulleya is just a trailor .Buy the complete album online from CD baby & Listen to the genuine & legal music.  The band has not received a lumpsum amount from any record label so in order to support them we are taking this step. Hope you guys would understand.

Read more at: Download Now Mekaal Hassan Band’s Latest Album ‘Saptak’