Singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is always upbeat about the work he does. The unveiling of his latest album Back2love by Bollywood actors Anil Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Sonakshi Sinha at the IIFA awards, in Tampa Bay, Florida was done with considerable flair and style.
It is said to be the first time an album from the sub-continent has been launched in this manner, endorsed and greeted by a crowd of Bollywood A-listers. It ultimately reflects that the world is an oyster for Khan’s music. The album is being released by Universal Music India and will be released globally; it includes compositions of the Tradition Plus team, Sahir Ali Bagga and Mian Yousuf Salahuddin.
“The album is a mixture of love songs — about being in love, falling in love or unfortunately falling out of love. I am very excited about this album, because I feel it’s my best work thus far. There has been a dedicated team working on this for the last several months, which I believe is something you will be able to hear in the melody and lyrics,” says Khan.
Khan’s album is going to be released on June 8, alongside the IIFA telecast which will premiere on television to an estimated 600 million viewers. The intent is to go big while also keeping close to his roots. Bagga and Yousuf Salli who contributed lyrics for the song Rhim Jhim have a major role in the albums production process, along with the producer Salman Ahmed, who has helped with his experience abroad. The album will experiment with traditional melodies and maintain the cultural ethos.
“I have always said that Bagga is more of a magician than musician; he has hand crafted the music for this album,” says Khan, who tries to maintain his soft-spoken image.
“Mian Yousuf Salli has an almost impeccable role in the album and his lyrics in the song Rhim Jhim are amazing. The song has been sung by Shreya Goshal and me,” he adds.
“I have always believed that music has no boundaries, and since this album is about love, the title also has matched that sort of idea of getting Back2Love,” says Khan.
The album’s producer Salman Ahmed explained that the collaboration with Priyanka Chopra could not happen due to issues with her record label and because the time wasn’t right. Salman added that in a span of ten years, Rahat has grown into one of the most sought after live performers and playback singers with an international following.
“The main reason why he had not been able to release an album before is that he has been one of the busiest artistes in the subcontinent; he could not focus on his own personal album,” says Ahmed.
He says that the album does not compromise his dedication towards traditional and local melodies and that there will be more of an international feel to the album. He said that there were no barriers on the type of music that Rahat can explore.
“This album shows that he can do anything as an artiste, he can experiment with different genres. You will see that he doesn’t compromise on the lyrics and melody in his songs,” adds Ahmad.
Interestingly, Rahat has collaborated with several artists from across the border including Sajid-Wajid, Salim-Suleman Merchant, Goshal and others. There have been reports that Khan has been busy recording two music videos; one of them is said to be loosely inspired by Jennifer Lopez and features Elle Abram. Further, it was disclosed that the marketing and promotion budget is said to be larger than the budget of most local films.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 4th, 2014.
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