In conversation: Abdullah Qureshi talks about Daro Na

MAG Exclusive

Since releasing his debut song, Tere Liye in 2013, singer, songwriter and music composer Abdullah Qureshi’s success and maturity as an artist has grown by leaps. His songs speak of the awe-inspiring transition the talented songster has made while growing from performing covers on YouTube to creating originals. Since then, Abdullah has released several songs that gained him international recognition. His songs Kali Santro and cover of Junaid Jamshed's Ilaahi Teri Chokhat Par were also featured in Gulf News. Qureshi’s new single, Daro Na marks another new chapter in the singer’s career while continuing his evolution as a consummate artist. Daro Na is Qureshi’s tribute to the frontliners in times of a pandemic. The song honours doctors, nurses, paramedics, and health workers overall, who are working day and night to saves lives of the affected. The message in Daro Na offers us hope to push past this time in order to get to the good. MAG recently spoke with the self-taught singer about his new single and more in an exclusive interview.

Recording and jamming are very social activities, so how did Qureshi execute the release amidst a lockdown? “I’m mostly in my studio recording new stuff since there’s nothing else to do these days so I thought of writing a positive, hopeful song to feel better,” Qureshi starts. “It was a collaborative effort and everything was done online. I have a home studio so I recorded my parts there and had my band members send in their parts via email. Then we called out our friends and a few celebrities and we received a total of 500 videos in one day. Compiled everything and dedicating it to the doctors who are healing others while putting their own lives at risk.”

How long did it take the band to put together the track while most of us are down with a severe case of the blues? Turns out, it was pretty fast track. “Somehow creativity is at its peak these days so we wrote and recorded the song in one day, received the videos the next day and edited and released on the third day.”

Singers across the globe have made their contributions by engaging and performing from their homes and all art forms have been a tremendous coping mechanism at present; Qureshi says he received a ton of messages saying Daro Na has become listeners’ quarantine anthem, a response he and band are feeling very happy about after such a long sad stretch.

The lyrics were written by Qureshi, band keyboard player Musa Javaid and drummer Tabbish Mahmood over a WhatsApp video call.

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