Coke Studio Explorer releases its fifth and final song ‘Ha Gulo’ featuring Qasamir from Azad Kashmir.
With ‘Ha Gulo’, Qasamir conveys a deeply emotional aura and transports you to their home ground: the scenic valley of Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir. Produced by Zohaib Kazi and Ali Hamza, ‘Ha Gulo’ is a song comprising all the hallmarks: Mahjoor’s moving words of lost love, Altaf Mir’s emotion-packed vocals anchored by the unconventional tempos of the ‘Sarangi’ played by Ghulam Mohammad Daar; the straight-ahead tones of the traditional ‘Tumbaknaer’ by Saifuddin Shah, alongside the stripped-down beats of the ‘Garha’ by Manzoor Ahmed Khan; it all makes for an overwhelming experience. The raw texture of the Kashmiri language envelopes you.
Associated with Radio Pakistan for over two decades, and having performed across Pakistan, Altaf Mir spends his days as a master craftsman of traditional Kashmiri handicrafts and is truly committed to the art of exploring the softness of his voice. Ghulam Mohammad Daar spent forty years of his life contributing his masterful skills to Radio Pakistan in Islamabad. The life stories of Manzoor Ahmed Khan as a rickshaw driver, and Saeed Saifuddin Shah as a part-time cook and laborer are fairly straightforward. In their very first commercial appearance on Coke Studio Explorer, ‘Qasamir’ grips the audience by their hearts, and introduce them to a previously unchartered realm of music.
The sound of ‘Qasamir’ is both grand and humbling and this crew of four takes immaculate care in articulating their story. The modern musical instruments effortlessly seep into the mix, as the groove of the electronic beats enhances the Kashmiri rhythmic section on ‘Ha Gulo’.
Indeed, ‘Qasamir’ is Kashmir’s true representatives of Kashmiri folk music: effortlessly maintaining a style of singing, using traditional age-old instruments; and influencing a great impact through timeless poetry.
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