'I was sick of commercial music': Atif Aslam

After nearly two decades, Pakistani singer Atif Aslam is returning to the album format with Subh Aye Na a project he describes as a deeply personal journey of self-exploration, creativity and artistic freedom.

Speaking to The Express Tribune at the album launch, Aslam said the release carries a very different feeling for him because it comes 18 years after his last album.

"Very much excited, because after 18 years we are releasing the album. And it's a very different feeling altogether," he said, recalling a time when artists would personally visit stores and put up posters to promote their albums.

"Now that you have Spotify, it's done," he added, highlighting how dramatically music consumption and promotion have changed.

'I was sick of commercial music'

For Aslam, Subh Aye Na was not born out of a desire to follow commercial trends but from a need to reconnect with himself as an artist.

"To be very honest, I was sick of commercial music. And for once I wanted to create something that I wanted to create," he said.

He described the album as a process of self-exploration, explaining that after years in the music industry, he felt the need to step away from a routine that had begun to limit his creativity.

According to Aslam, artists can become stagnant when they repeatedly produce the same kind of music.

"Artists become very stagnant if they are producing the same sort of music over the years," he said, admitting that he had begun feeling the same way.

"I would just go into the studio and do playback and come back again. So there was no creativity for me."

While he acknowledged that commercial music had taught him a great deal, Aslam said the album allowed him to return to the original reason he entered music in the first place to put himself and his creativity out there.

"I started off because I wanted to put my gut out there, put myself out there," he said.

From hunger for fame to hunger for art

Looking back at his career, Aslam sees a clear difference between the artist who recorded Aadat and the one behind Subh Aye Na.

Describing his early years, he said: "Aadat was when I was hungry for fame. And when I was hungry for creativity." Today, however, he believes his priorities have changed.

"Subh Aye Na is when I'm hungry for art and not for fame," he said.

For Aslam, that shift is at the heart of the new album. Rather than creating music based on what is expected of him, he wanted to experiment with sounds, production, collaborations and new writing styles.

"The idea is to become fearless and not follow anything," he said.

'Subh Aye Na' is a catharsis

Among the songs on the album, the title track holds a particularly personal place for Aslam.

"The whole album for me is a lot of finesse. Subh Aye Na is a different place for me," he said.