LAHORE (The Thursday Times) — Alan Walker has released his version of “Alfaaz”, the Pakistani hit he flew to Lahore to work on earlier this month, with the singers Hamza Malik and Zain Zohaib and the British singer James Arthur.
The track, titled “Alfaaz (Alan Walker Relight)”, came out on Thursday with a video on Walker’s YouTube channel. The video shows Walker, in his trademark hood, outside the Alamgiri Gate of Lahore Fort, where he filmed a teaser on November 4.
Walker brings his electronic production to the song, while Arthur, known for “Say You Won’t Let Go”, sings new lines alongside Malik and the brothers Zain Ali and Zohaib Ali, who perform as Zain Zohaib. The qawwali and Sufi touches of the original stay at its core.
Sharing a teaser on Instagram, Walker wrote that “Alfaaz” had brought them together and said he hoped fans would enjoy the new version. In an interview on Thursday he said it was “possible for Pakistani music to make it worldwide”.
From a comment to a collaboration
The link began when Walker noticed a masked figure in the original “Alfaaz” video, dressed much like his own stage look, and asked online why there was a Walker in it. Malik replied, and Walker soon flew to Lahore, where he spent days in the studio with the singers and posted clips from around the city.
“Alfaaz” was released on July 25 and climbed into Spotify’s Top 50 Global chart. A post from Zohaib’s music account said it reached No 1 on Spotify in both Pakistan and India.
Walker is the latest of several big international names to turn to Pakistani pop this year, after Fred again.. reworked “Pal Pal”. Read more: why the world’s biggest DJs are chasing the Lahore sound.
