Mekaal Hasan’s studio destroyed by fire

Lahore:An electric spark caused a fire that burned down Mekaal Hasan’s Digital Fidelity Studio on June 30, causing extensive damage within minutes and destroying decades worth of work and equipment.

“The studio was home to so many artists and the entire music fraternity is in shock at the fire that engulfed Digital Fidelity Studios,” Mekaal tells Instep Today. “The cause of the fire was an electrical spark. The damage is devastating because the fire destroyed close to 30 years of precious equipment, which includes speakers, subwoofers, computers, drives, recording preamps, soundcards, mics, and much more, including, of course, the structure in which all these very costly equipment was set.”

Founded by Mekaal in 1995, Digital Fidelity Studios played a huge role in the music industry and brought forth trendsetting sounds and styles as well as launched the careers of many artists, quite a few of whom have gone on to become mainstream icons.

Numerous albums were recorded at the facility over the years and lots of hit songs came from this special space. “[The studio was used by] artists like Atif Aslam, whose song ‘Aadat’ was produced here in the early 2000s, as well as names like Junoon, who recorded their mega hit album Parvaaz (1999) and then its follow up Ishq (2001) here, onto Ali Azmat’s solo record Klashinfolk (2007).”

Other acts that worked at DFS include Noori who started out here too with their records Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan (2003) and Peeli Patti Aur Raja Jani Ki Gol Duniya (2005); Zeb and Haniya, whose debut album Chup was recorded here in 2007; and Entity Paradigm who worked with Mekaal on their record Irtiqa in 2003. Also created at DFS were the three Mekaal Hasan Band records – Sampooran (2004), Saptak (2010), and Andholan (2014) – all of which were influential on the music scene and played a part in defining the sound and style of the late ‘90s to the entire following decade and beyond.

The studio was also unique because it nurtured so many kinds of artists and budding musicians. Till very recently, just before the fire took place, young rap artists like Maanu, Salor, Rozeo, and Faris Shafi as well as producer Talal Qureshi were making music at the studio.

“The damage is just immense. We’ve lost 30 years of hard work and hard earned studio equipment as well as a studio which was the go-to rehearsal space for bands and artists, including my own group,” Mekaal laments. “I have been getting many calls of support from my many friends and peers, all of them expressing shock, grief, and sympathy.”

The producer is now hoping to rebuild the studio and continue his journey as one of the stalwarts of the Pakistani music industry. “We are looking to rebuild this iconic space with the support of the artist community and the public,” he says, “and have set up an appeal with a campaign, both locally and internationally, where people can help us.” A GoFundMe (gofund.me/72a21570) fundraiser has been set up to help collect funds so that the much-loved studio can be reconstructed. So far, over US$16,000 has been raised of the US$100,000 goal. “Our GoFundMe campaign is going very strong. Lots of people are reaching out and helping and it’s extremely overwhelming to see how much support and love we are getting.”

As for the studio itself, it is slowly on its way to being restored to its former glory. “We are in the process of cleaning out the debris and the structure that was there before,” Mekaal reveals. “The wood and burned panelling has been cleared; we’ve cleaned out the flooring and stripped the roof. The other rooms that were not damaged by the fire but were damaged by the heat and the smoke, those rooms have been cleaned out as well and they are going to be stripped because the leftover materials are heat damaged and can’t be used. Once everything is cleared out, then we can start looking at getting the rebuilding process started.”

We wish Mekaal luck in these rebuilding efforts and hope to see DFS up and running again soon. For an in-depth look at how DFS has served the music industry in Pakistan over the years, watch out for our Sunday issue.