Abbas Ali Khan won't give up solo career for film music

Musician feels Chalay Thay Sath will showcase a very different side of his music

KARACHI: Film music is a whole different beast altogether. The audience doesn’t notice it as much but it adds to the overall feel of the film. As we attempt to produce different kinds of films, our local music composers get to delve in film music and experiment.

Abbas Ali Khan has previously composed the score for Asadul Haq’s Dekh Magar Pyaar Say (DMPS) and Yasir Jaswal’s Jalaibee. He continues his journey with the upcoming Chalay Thay Saath, which stars Syra Shehroz and Kent S Leung in the lead roles.



Speaking with The Express Tribune, he said the experience of working on Chalay Thay Saath was very different than his previous ventures. “For Jalaibee, the direction was to do some 80s style music, which I’m a huge fan of. Then Asad wanted to create a whole new world in DMPS. He wanted to show a stylised Lahore so it was a different feel.”
But for the Umer Adil directorial, he wasn't given any reference. "There was no reference this time around and that’s a great thing, because as a composer, I get to experiment and play around.”

As Chalay Thay Saath revolves around a road trip and is shot near Pak-China border, Khan said he incorporated a variety of instruments in the score. “Most films have a main theme, which runs throughout the film. But we don’t. Chalay Thay Saath is a more character-centric film so the soundtrack is composed accordingly.”

He added that he has incorporated different instruments and styles in the score. “We have played bebop on rabab in a scene. We have a lot of instruments from Hunza. It’s interesting because in those areas, the Pahari raag is quite dominant. And I found out a scale in Chinese music, which has very similar notes to the raag so it was easy fusing the two." He went on to say that Chalay Thay Saath’s score is not inspired or influenced by any particular composer or style. "It’s an amalgam of many elements and that makes it different. We have also used Chinese instruments like Guzheng, which is a Santoor-like instrument, Xiao and Dizi.”

Khan, whose last album Tamam Alam Mast was released in 2015 is busy working on film and television ads these days. In fact, he is working on another film Azad directed by Rehan Sheikh. Talking about Azad’s music, he said, “It revolves around an RJ. Its music is also very moment-driven. I have also composed and sung two songs for the film.”



Asked if he plans to release more singles or another album, he said, “Abbas Ali Khan has two sides – a singer/songwriter and a music producer. Currently, I am enjoying working on these projects. Every day, I get to work on a different piece and that’s a fun challenge. Most of my music you would hear in the coming days would be in films. But that doesn’t mean I’ve left my solo career. I absolutely intend to continue making music and maybe, even release it online.”

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