Singer-songwriter Hasan Raheem is the new superman of music. All his songs have a certain edge, and it’s difficult to dislike his songs or at minimum find an overt flaw, if not subliminal.

For ‘Peechay Hutt’, an original song for Coke Studio 14, Hasan collaborated with Talal Qureshi and the amazing Justin Bibis. However, Hasan Raheem played more than one role. Apart from singing, he also wrote the song and came up with the song’s narrative with season producer and curator Xulfi. He also co-composed ‘Peechay Hutt’ with Talal Qureshi & Xulfi. Hasan clearly has range beyond singing and can read the music market. The boy who found breakthrough success with ‘Aisay Kaisay’ (ft. Abdullah Kasumbi) has got the big mo! He is one of the most active musicians on the scene.

Since ‘Aisay Kaisay’ - in no particular order - Hasan has dropped plenty of songs including ‘Khona Tha’ (ft. Maanu), ‘Aarzu’, ‘Narzo’, ‘Pukaar’, ‘Adjust’ (ft. Abdullah Kasumbi), ‘Kya Kahun‘, ‘Joona‘ (ft Abdullah Kasumbi), ‘Pukar‘, ‘Paisa’ (with Talal Qureshi), and ‘Sar Phira‘ (ft. Abdullah Kasumbi).

And of course, one of Coke Studio’s high notes this year was ‘Peechay Hutt’.

Hasan, now with a national and international presence, after appearing on Coke Studio is wasting no time in releasing music.

‘Peechay Hutt’ released in February, and Hasan is back with a new song called ‘Weli Ho’.

Collaborating with longtime partner Abdullah Kasumbi as producer and Talhah Yunus (who moonlights as a solo artist and is one-half of Young Stunners), one of rap’s strongest names, Hasan is assuring fans, critics and music aficionados that he is not going to rest on his laurels. Moving away from the addictive and delicious hook (big ups to Talal Qureshi) of ‘Peechay Hutt’, ‘Weli Ho’ is deliberately different. It isn’t backed by a brilliant video from Kamal Khan. In a sense, the lack of music video allows the listener to focus on the audio and that’s a good thing in this case. ‘Weli Ho’ doesn’t need a music video; it’s got artwork instead by HR studios.

The combined collaboration has electronic elements but of a different tone, his smooth voice in a different frame of mind, electronic elements, hip-hop velocity (courtesy Talhah Yunus) making it a different trip. The song shines on, as Talhah enters and plays on words that complement the song and his own trajectory as a rap artist.

‘Weli Ho’ works because it makes no effort to recreate past songs. The sound and words echo the loneliness within a relationship, or the loss of one and the quagmire of complexities that make it work or not. In fact, it is hard to believe that Hasan’s last release was the thumping ‘Peechay Hutt’.

This is the future of music, and it looks like Hasan, Abdullah, and Talhah not only know it but are on the fast track to gain listeners based on pure merit, skill and curious musicianship.

Rushk release new EP called Naqis

What started as an experimental music group featuring co-founders Ziyyad Gulzar and Uns Mufti - with Nazia Zuberi (on vocals) - resulted in an album called Sawal. It was Rushk’s major foray into music as a unit. The album released in 2000 and re-released in 2006 and does hold a special place in our hearts.

Rushk made a comeback to the scene with new songs and an extensive line-up in the last few years, allowing the group an opportunity to play their music live, something that was not doable with Sawal.

Fast forward to 2014 and the newer line-up along with original founders Uns Mufti and Ziyyad Gulzar began work on singles and also played shows. As the singles dropped, the line-up evolved with core members Ziyyad Gulzar (guitars and keys), Ali Jafri (bass and mix), Sikandar Mufti (drums and percussion) and Uns Mufti (guitars and songwriter) intact, while multiple vocalists entered the Rushk universe. Bending genres with each song, other featured artists included Tara Mehmood, SB (The Voice), B Griff (The Talk) among others.

After dropping singles, in 2022, Rushk has dropped a seven track EP called Naqis (which means insufficient or lacking) this month. A music video featuring Faris Khalid and Ayesha Toor has also been dropped by the band.

The EP contains the title track ‘Naqis’ as well as ‘To Ja’, ‘Bas Jao’, ‘Shikwa’, ‘Khel’, ‘Tujhey Patta To Chalay’ and ‘Muwaaslati Saiyara’. Each song is backed by artwork by Safwat Saleem that possibly takes its cue from the music.

It’s the first collective release from Rushk since their debut, Sawal. Naqis, therefore, commands special attention. Dropped this month all songs have been remastered. The melancholic writings of Uns Mufti and his observations are still a part of the EP but the sound and voices showcase innovation and not repetition.

– Available on major platforms including Spotify and SoundCloud. Watch this space for an extensive review