Ali Sethi is one artist who has always delivered beyond our expectations. Whether it was to keep the spirits high in a tough pandemic with his live sessions or inviting international stars despite criticism, the singer knows the pulse of his audiences and has never disappointed us. Now, with his recent attempt at a fusion composition, Ali has aced EDM as well.
If you don’t believe a classical singer like him will do that; try listening to Mere Aur Hein Iraaday on his YouTube channel, which has garnered 110K views in just four days. Ali has sung an Urdu ghazal written by Agha Hashr Kashmiri on a composition that will blow you away. The artist explained on Instagram how he came up with his upbeat and racy version of this classic poetry.
“Two years ago the crazy-talented music producer Leo Kalyan sent me a racy instrumental track in an email. EDM, I thought, so not my style. Yet I was immediately vibing with his sweet-and-sassy chords, working old-fashioned aalaaps (arias) and cheeky harkats (trills) into his glitzy beats. It was an Urdu ghazal on my lips (surprise!), a little-known ‘peshkash’ in the now-forgotten ‘mujrai’ or seductive style that was once all the rage in India’s ‘disreputable’ salons and parlours,” he wrote.
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He gave credit to all those involved in making this fusion track possible and gave us a insight in its history.
“‘Mere Aur Hein Iraadey’ — ‘I have Other Plans.’ A love letter to your hapless inner self, the one that craves release and simply can’t abide. Written by Agha Hashr Kashmiri, the self-styled ‘Shakespeare of India’, and performed on the Calcutta stage by his darling companion Mukhtar Begum in the early 1920s. Recreated 100 years later by us in Lahore, London and New York.
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Though the song doesn’t have an equally catchy video but we are not complaining because the audio is enough to get us hooked. In another post, Ali revealed how many instruments they have used to make this beautiful tune. They have used sarangi and harmonium in an EDM track. Well, only a maestro like Ali could make a ghazal fit so beautifully in a pop music genre that is usually used for club music and add a desi touch to it!
“Can you fit a wailing sarangi and phlegmy old harmonium into twinkle-twinkle EDM? Yes you can! BTS footage from our long jams in Lahore last summer: Zohaib Hassan on former and Shehzad Ali on latter instrument. @anthonysoshil was solidly clocking the takes with team in his studio. We went phrase by fulsome phrase, line by lusty line — hell, we even stopped for ‘meends’ (glissando) and ‘surtis’ (microtones)! But you gotta, when you’re trying to evoke the majestic 16th century Raga Darbari. We got plans, we got plans!”
The whole process is amazing to watch and undoubtedly, proves that Ali is great at creating masterpieces. All we can say keep giving us such great tracks.
You can listen and enjoy the song here:
