I'm stuck with Alif Allah. It's been on repeat for the past hour on my stereo. Damn catchy song. Coke Studio's description of the track:-
Again a Sufic track, some lyrics have been borrowed from Arif Lohar’s father Alam Lohar’s works while others are derived from folk stories and songs. The track's central philosophy is the promotion of peace and love for mankind. The track is also a cross blending of people of this country and will long be remembered for its seamless merging of modernity and tradition. Arif Lohar and Meesha Shafi compliment each others’ styles effortlessly, and the charged atmosphere with the infectiously positive energy permeating is hard to miss. Music wise, it is folksy yet funky: where Lohar clanks his trademark chimta, Meesha lends her powerful vocals and Gumby wows all with his thunderous drumming.
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The collaboration had actually come about on the request of Meesha Shafi. “I am a huge fan of Arif Lohar; I feel he is a rock star and has tremendous energy. [I thought] his voice and my voice would be very interesting to put together. [And the end piece] with the energy and visually has been interesting. I was glad that I was given this opportunity by Coke Studio. My image might become versatile — a lot of people don’t expect a girl who looks a certain way to sound a certain way. I speak my languages well, be it Urdu or Punjabi, and am very proud of it.”
According to Rohail Hyatt, the song worked to change the mindsets of some house band members too. “There were some members who did not like to play a desi tune. They felt it was too cheesy… but as we rehearsed, their perceptions changed. Desi can be cool too!”