The Mekaal Hasan Band on Tuesday officially announced on their Facebook page a new lineup of its band which include a vocalist, a drummer and a bassist from India.
While Mekaal Hasan will remain on the guitar and Ahsan Papu on the flute, Mumbai-based vocalist Sharmistha Chatterjee, drummer Gino Banks and bassist Sheldon D’Silva will contribute their talents to the new band.
According to a statement on their Facebook page, the band has already completed its first show in India “to a roaring crowd of thousands”, and will be releasing a quick video of the event later on Tuesday.
The statement also announced that mixing and mastering of the band’s new album is complete and an album can be expected soon.
This will be the first time the band will be working with a female lead.
Son of a jazz pianist and composer, drummer Gino Banks has performed with musicians like Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shivkumar Sharma, apart from having played with many rock bands and international musicians.
Sheldon D’Silva, who will be responsible for bass, was mentored by Banks’ pianist father and has played with Gino in a band called Nexus.
Before joining the Mekaal Hasan Band, Chatterjee had lent her voice to various bands, TV commercials and movies.
The Mekaal Hasan Band, which formed in 1999 in Lahore fuses jazz, classical and rock music and has established a distinct identity in Pakistan over the years. It seems the band is now all set to reach a global audience.