Talal Qureshi explores new horizons

Independent music producer to weave magic in upcoming film ‘Dekh Magar Pyar Say’

ISLAMABAD:

For those of you who do not know Talal Qureshi — he is an Electronica music producer from Pakistan. A breed in his own kind — he mixes distinct sounds to create complex yet highly rhythmic tunes. Presenting a unique tune each time he releases something.

Talal explored his talent for electronic music at the young age of 14. This was while he was house-bound and off from school due to a fractured hand.

Fast forward to 2015, Talal Qureshi performed at the “SXSW” South by South West 2015 with Adil Omar, America’s biggest festival, has had his song featured in a DKNY fashion show, gotten all the love from BBC Radio and is working on many local as well as international projects. When it comes to musicians the general picture that comes to mind is that of a party animal laden with indulgence but it is quite the opposite in Talal’s case.



In fact, Talal’s daily routine is pretty much on the other end of the spectrum. Marked with discipline and true commitment — music making is his catharsis, fuel and passion.

“Whatever emotion I feel, be it anger or anything else, I use that energy to make music,”  Talal tells The Express Tribune.

He spends almost all of his time producing music in his studio, where he unleashes the magic of his mind. In his work he finds truth and a gateway to express his originality — which is something that he thinks is missing in most people in our society.

Currently, he is working on various projects with Ali Gul Pir and a bunch of other artists. He is also working on his Extended Play (EP), in which he will experiment with various techniques, each completely different from his previous albums  that now include vocals.

There is also something amazing lined up with Swedish singer and song writer Erik Hassle. Hassle who has written music with the likes of Rihanna and Shakira

“Anything can inspire you. It can be great people, emotions. I use all that as my inspiration for writing new music,” he says.

Working up to 18 hours straight on his music, Talal is quite structured in his life, an element that is imperative to making it big in the music industry. “Your music can speak for itself to a certain extent but you still have to work really hard for it to be heard. If you want to be an artist you have to also be aware of how you market yourself. You can have the best material but you might not have the resources to get it heard,” asserts Talal.



So far, Talal has done official remixes for Erik Hassle, Rita Morar, Talvin Singh, Mooroo, Meesha Shafi to name a few and has got more coming out this year. However, some of his remixes of local songs that caught everyone’s attention are that of Attaullah Eesakhelvi’s Kameez Teri Kaali and Meesha Shafi’s Dhol Bajay Ga.

Interestingly, independent artist like Talal gets more time elsewhere than in Pakistan. His tracks are on heavy rotation in the UK on the BBC Asian Network/BBC Radio1 and have been featured on radio stations in Finland, Austria, Iceland, Germany, Japan, India and Belgium.

Currently, he is working on upcoming projects with Adil Omar, Suphala and also producing music for a Pakistani Movie Dekh Magar Pyar Say. Just recently, Talal released a five-track EP with Adil Omar called Saturday Night Killing Machine which received an amazing response from all around the world.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st,  2015.

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