Shallum Xavier teams up with Ali Zafar, Sanam Marvi

Trio to release song for infant mortality awareness in rural Sindh

KARACHI: “For those who have never been to rural Sindh, they don’t know how tough people have it over there,” said guitarist Shallum Xavier. “For someone visiting for the first time, it is like stepping into an ancient area.”

Aiming to highlight neonatal health issues, the Fuzon musician is currently working on a song titled, Hum Roshan Tou Kul Roshan. “The song is basically to raise awareness about the issue of high infant mortality in Sindh,” he said.

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Attributing it to a lack of adequate health facilities in the province, the guitar virtuoso said the main purpose of the song is to not just mobilise NGOs but also spur the common man into action. “If the song can bring this issue to the attention of people in urban centres such as Karachi and can help in the cause, that would be great,” he said.

Joining hands with the former Coke Studio performer in this initiative are two noteworthy musicians: Ali Zafar and Sanam Marvi. According to Xavier, the decision to collaborate with the two artists was easy to take. While Zafar is an old acquaintance of Xavier and “feels genuinely about the cause”, Marvi’s involvement on the project served as a double-edged sword. “The fact that she hails from Sindh helps bring a local flavour to the track,” he noted, adding, “But more than her star power, what will be helpful is that she is a mother and knows the love a parent has for their offspring.”



Praising her collaborators on the single, Marvi shared how she drew inspiration from some of the recent tragedies that had struck the province. “Unfortunately such incidents have become common in the region. Recently, I heard how several infants died in Thar because they didn’t have access to proper medical facilities,” she said. “Ever since then, I have made it my personal mission to spread awareness about this cause.”

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Expected to release sometime towards the end of June or the beginning of July, Xavier described Hum Roshan Tou Kul Roshan as an earthy track. “It’s not world music,” he clarified. “Essentially it is fusion music but not like the sort of stuff audiences expect from my band [Fuzon]. I would describe it more as Eastern contemporary in its arrangement,” added Xavier. “We’ve used instruments such as flutes and played mandolins like iktaras, so we were basically aiming for a more Eastern sound.”

Barring Zafar’s Ureinge which was released as a tribute to the victims of the Army Public School attack in Peshawar, not many tracks meant to create social awareness have translated well with listeners. Despite this, Xavier is confident about his upcoming release, feeling that the context and genre of Hum Roshan Tou Kul Roshan is such that it will strike a chord with the general public.

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There are also plans to release a music video alongside the song. “It won’t be a performance-based video but would instead be something concept-driven,” he stated. To a question about whether he wanted to get more artists on board in the video, the way Zafar did for Ureinge, the guitarist replied, “These two artistes are enough. They have enough star power to carry the track.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2016.

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