Singer, composer and producer Maham Suhail has officially announced the release of her debut album ‘Mitti’ with the re-release of her original track titled “Sajjan Yaar.”
Featuring seven original tracks, all in different languages, Maham Suhail is set to embark on a journey to explore local folk music from around the world and mould it into beats and melodies overlapping with South Asian music elements and Western instrumentation to create a fusion.
The first track from the album – “Sajjan Yaar” features the poetry/’Kalam’ of Razi Faqeer Saaei’n – a disciple of the Sachal Sarmast Sufi order. The lyrics comprise the Indo-Aryan language of Western Punjab, Saraiki. The track speaks of longing to unite with The Divine and expresses devotion and love for the Beloved.
Sajjan Yaar also features Wahid Bukhsh Faqeer as the male vocalist. It is interesting to note that the original ‘Sajjan Yaar’ vocal melody was composed in a Sindhi ‘raagri’ on Wahid’s ‘Iktara’ instrument; this melody was passed on to Maham during their study of Razi Faqeer’s poetry at the saint’s shrine in Lahore. In a testimony to the universality of South Asian music, ‘Sajjan Yaar’ was an Honourable Mention at the prestigious Nashville-based ‘Unsigned Only’ International Music Competition 2019 while also ranking as an overall finalist at the same event. The track was also no. 1 on the Top 40 Charts in Indian category, on Ethno Cloud, 2020.
The video of Sajjan Yaar has been captured in the hills of Kanhatti, the inner city of Lahore and a farmhouse in the outskirts of Lahore Produced and conceptualised by Maham, directed and edited by Raphay Shahzad, ‘Sajjan Yaar’ was shot in a span of merely two days overcoming challenges of shooting in tough conditions and challenging locations like slippery rocks, monsoon humidity, hills and waterfalls.
Indeed, the video is a mix of performance, narration and concept, capturing the transitions in life of the protagonist as she embarks on a transformative and transcendental journey to explore the deeper, mystical meaning to life.
Reminiscing on the journey of the track, Maham Suhail said, “When I reflect on the entire process that ‘Sajjan Yaar’ has gone through from its multi-layered audio production to video production stages, I am reinforced in my heart about the magic that happens when such powerful poetry is meticulously carved into melody, song and the moving image! What happens in such a creative process is nowhere short of a miracle, the miracle that music and visuals can reach out to so many hearts and stir deep emotions even in the foreign language listeners. This song makes people cry, including myself till date; and I am so grateful that it does!”
Indeed, the overarching album “Mitti” was created with the intention of celebrating World Music overlaps, rooted in our South Asian indigenous/folk music forms. ‘Mitti’ in Urdu language means ‘soil’, as the title arises from Maham’s innate yearning to connect with one’s cultural identity, while being harmonious & inclusive of other influences. These mix together as intercultural music forms, just as soil is composed of diverse life forms, fading and blooming. ‘Mitti’ binds us; ‘Mitti’ connects us, ‘Mitti’ liberates us, just as a seed breaks the ground to grow into a towering, expansive tree. Exploring her own stories as a gypsy woman artist with makeshift homes, Maham Suhail wears the hats of composer, and producer/engineer, in the production process of ‘Mitti’.
Expressing her thoughts about the album, Maham Suhail said, “‘Mitti’ is a statement about bringing peoples, cultures, languages and music together: It is a world peace statement made through World Music. ‘Mitti’ has my heart, blood and sweat put into its production, where over the years since the first 2016 Kolkata recording, the album’s artistic content was evolving alongside my own growth as a human being and an artist.”
Maham Suhail is an artist of Pakistani origin. She is a travelling vocalist, songwriter, sonic artist, and a producer. Her primary genre is World Beat; Maham has performed/recorded in seven languages and composes across cultures and styles, occasionally throwing in sound samples of her own to create digi-acoustic music and soundscapes. Maham has worked nationally and internationally, with various music/arts/theatre festivals, cultural venues, spiritual gatherings, and with recorded projects. Maham believes in sharing something of value with community; through her work in music. Maham was featured as the female vocalist on the award-winning ‘Peace Song’ at the ‘Peace Music Awards’ in Canada while she also been awarded an Interfaith Harmony certificate by the Evacuee Trust Board, Punjab government for performing ‘Shabd Kirtan’ music in gurdwaras across the province. Additionally, Maham Suhail was one of the 10 global music artists selected for the prestigious Goethe Talents Scholarship residency in 2017 and the first Pakistani student to attend the Berklee College Masters’ program in Audio Production.