Allah Je Chaa - Talib Trio featuring Ahmed Sheikh on Ghara

Aap ka number hai? by Talib Trio is out now on Bandcamp: https://honiunhoni.bandcamp.com/album...

If you feel this music, get it directly from the artists via the link above and enjoy the album with high quality downloads and streaming. You can even gift it to your loved ones for Eid and this way you'll be giving Eidi to these lovely musicians too!

About the track:
This track features Ahmed Sheikh on the Ghara, a large clay pot traditionally used for carrying water but also a percussive instrument with a low end spectrum that is really worth hearing on big speakers for the full effect. A student of one of the greatest living Tabla players in Pakistan, Ustad Basheer Khan, Sheikh is a virtuoso of this simple instrument which he approaches with a high degree of rhythmic sophistication.

The tune is an old and not so well known Sindhi song, originally sung by one of Sindh's most iconic voices of the mid 20th century, Master Chander.

About the album:

Aap ka number hai? Is this your number? This phrase coined by Talib can be interpreted in various ways. It's Talib's pet phrase, and as is typical in Karachi style dialogues, it will either be said to you in a friendly manner, or swung right at you.

The album features Talib playing two experimental instruments, the Fretted Tambooro (his own invention), and the Electric Bulbul. The tunes are original compositions by Talib, reinterpretations of Sindhi and Balochi pieces, and two popular Pushto songs, all played from a heart that understands the melancholia of Karachi's immigrant labourers and the bittersweet sentiments of its kaleidoscopic communities.

Who is Muhammad Talib?

Muhammad Talib is a multi-instrumentalist musician, composer, and educator from Karachi. He hails from one of the most important musical families of Sindh, his uncle was the great Ustad Muhammad Juman. Talib inherited the Damburo (long necked lute) from his father, who also played the Surinda (bowed lute). Later he studied more deeply and also learnt Benju from Ghulam Mohammad aka Ghulamu, arguably the greatest exponent of the Sindhi Benju style, before learning composition from the renowned film composer Niaz Ahmed.

It was Ghulamu who planted the seed in Talib's mind, that his Damburo didn't need to limit itself to the usual rhythmic accompaniment. By adding frets, he could approach the instrument in a completely new way, playing both melodies and chords on on what was an instrument designed to only play a rhythmic drone.

Growing up in the urban thickness of Karachi, he learnt and absorbed various adjacent styles like Classical, Pushto, and Balochi, whilst dedicated his life to reinventing his Damburo, which now speaks the many tongues and dialects of Karachi.

released March 22, 2024

Credits:

Muhammad Talib - Fretted Tambooro
Muhammad Khan - Dholak
Shahid Ali - Harmonium

Produced by Daniyal Ahmed
Assistant Producer: Zubair Fida

Recorded by Nizar Lalani and Daniyal Ahmed
Mixed and Mastered by Nizar Lalani
Assistant Sound Engineer: Muneer Khan

Film by Daniyal Yousaf and Daniyal Ahmed
Edit by Daniyal Yousaf (Shararat Films)

Special Thanks to Noor Ali Kanjee, Muhammad Saifullah, Khadim Hussain, and everyone from Clifton Court Apartments, Karachi.

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