Malang Party, the Islamabad-based groove-laced music group that has a cult following and has given us songs like ‘Dil Jaley’, ‘Baaran Meel’ and ‘Uth Malangi’ is back in the spotlight.
Zeeshan Mansoor, the band’s vocalist and guitarist, while in Karachi where he has spent some time at A for Aleph, spoke to Instep and revealed what the line-up of the debut album will be like and what has been going on.
“Umair (Dar) has the best studio,” Zeeshan told Instep, referring to A for Aleph. “I’ve been here, working on the music, and the recording is complete.”
Zeeshan confirmed that though the group will still be called Malang Party, some members have changed. “But with new people because people have gone here and there. Ibrahim Akram (Iba) is in New York; Zain Ali (who plays with Atif Aslam) will be playing on the album. He’s a part of it. I’ll go to Islamabad and track some stuff for him. I needed a new rhythm section so Kami Paul and Anas Alam Khan came in and this is like the tightest and best rhythm section in the country.”
He continued: “We always wanted to track live and we could do it at A for Aleph, Umair told me. What tracking live means is everyone playing together at the same time.”
Zeeshan noted that he has started a new project as well. “I’ve also started a new project called Surkhwaab. I’m really into Balochi music but modern music. I’m not Balochi,” he continued. “I like blues, jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop – black music because no white person came up with these art forms. Balochi is an oral language, and it is dying.”
As Zeeshan noted, Balochi music has a lot in common with African music. And to that end, Surkhwaab will feature a different line-up than Malang Party. Apart from Zeeshan, the project includes Jasir Abro, Mishal Farina and Ajay Harry.
Upcoming plans include Zeeshan finishing the Malang Party album followed by the Surkhwaab project in the coming months ahead.
