French, Pakistani musicians to perform at Lok Virsa today

Islamabad : With the support of the Embassy of France in Pakistan, the Alliance Française -Lahore, the Institute for Art and Culture, and the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop, French and Pakistani musicians will give a live performance today (Saturday) at Lok Virsa Heritage Museum.

The concert is jointly organised by the European Network of Institutes of Culture and Face Foundation, Islamabad.

The musicians will perform at Institute for Art and Culture, Lahore, tomorrow (Sunday). They will participate in a residency in Lahore to produce fusion music bringing together qawwali melodies and electronic music with a French touch. After two years of the coronavirus pandemic, artists can finally be back on the stage all around the world.

According to organisers, French oud player Markus and electronic musician Xavier Pourcher met Pakistani singer and musician Shahzad Santoo Khan based in Lahore by chance on social media around 6 years ago.

A few trips between France and Pakistan sealed their fruitful collaboration under the name “Markus & Shahzad”, which led to the release of their two albums Janna Aana and Tumba!

The Santoo Meets Alright Mela is a new musical collaboration bringing together the three musicians and Shahzad Santoo’s qawwali ensemble. This will be the musicians’ third tour in Pakistan.

The organisers said the Santoo Meets Alright Mela would give a platform for the artists from the cities of Lahore and Angers to blend their talents in a bewitching fusion, where uplifting electronic music with a French touch and qawwali music intertwine ingeniously and embark with the listeners on a journey filled with mutual discoveries and surprises.

The audience will get the chance to witness this authentic encounter between Pakistani, Oriental and Western musical cultures within the tracks but also throughout the whole concert.