Let The Music Play

His new album— Kyun Dooriyan (Music Today,Rs 199) that released last week,is the culmination of the exchanges that took place during that period. His proposed visit to India to promote the album has not taken off,since the artist has not yet managed a visa,but Ali is hopeful the album will do well in India nevertheless. “The audience in India has always loved me,and I am hoping they will love this album as much,” he says in a telephonic interview from Lahore ,Pakistan .

The 11-track album features an exciting array of high energy tracks with pronounced rock overtones. While the singer has composed 10 songs on the album,he has also done all the music arrangements for it,using unusual combinations of flute,guitars and dholak to add a folk feel to a few tracks. There is an interesting thumri too in raag pahari . “Solo albums are more fun to work on than working under a music director,since every little thing about the album depends on your decision. It’s a high that I really enjoy,” says Ali who is the son of legendary Amanat Ali Khan of the Patiala

gharana. Incidentally,this is Ali’s second solo album after Tabeer,which came out last year.

The album also contains a track Wo jaanta hai —Ali’s tribute to the victims of 26/11. “I wrote it after the attacks. It’s a mellow track and is a protest against terror and violence,” says the artiste,whose last track Tere Naina from My Name is Khan has been a chartbuster in India.