islamabad – 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 7 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 mold it into beats & 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 (Allah), and expresses devotion and love for the The Beloved (the ‘Sajjan’).
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’ (scale) 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 Honorable Mention (World Music) 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 (World Music charts), 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 conceptualized by Maham, directed & edited by Raphay Shahzad (Sophist Productions), ‘Sajjan Yaar’ was shot in a span of merely 2 days overcoming challenges of shooting in tough conditions and challenging locations like slippery rocks, monsoon humidity, hills and waterfalls.