Alan Walker is in Lahore, and the ‘Alfaaz’ singers are the reason

The Norwegian DJ flew in after spotting a masked ‘Walker’ in the viral song’s video, and has been in the studio with Hamza Malik and Zain Zohaib

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Alan Walker in a black hood and face mask at a DJ console in front of a blue screen
Alan Walker performing in his trademark mask and hood. File photo. — CRISTHIAN MIRO/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Listen to this articleAlan Walker is in Lahore, and the ‘Alfaaz’ singers are the reason2 min · device voice0:00 / 2:06

— Alan Walker, the Norwegian-British DJ behind “Faded”, is in Lahore working on music with Hamza Malik and Zain Zohaib, the singers of the viral Pakistani hit “Alfaaz”, and fans are convinced a collaboration is on the way.

It began with a comment. Watching the “Alfaaz” video, Walker spotted a masked figure walking behind the singers in a look much like his own trademark mask and hood. “Why is there a Walker in the video. Beautiful video btw,” he wrote. Malik replied on YouTube: “Hahaha, I appreciate it man! The Walker is a mystery for now… but maybe we can solve it together.”

Walker then posted a video from an airport. “Hamza has responded to me. This song is everywhere. Let’s go to Lahore and finish this,” he said. In a clip shared by Giraffe Studios after he landed, he added: “I just got to Lahore and it’s beautiful here, and I’m about to go to the studio to work on some music.”

What he has posted: on November 4 Walker shared a teaser filmed outside the Alamgiri Gate of Lahore Fort, holding a wooden box with his logo as “Alfaaz” played, captioned “more to come soon”. He has posted from the studio with the singers (“BTW, it was a very productive day”), and Malik shared a picture of Walker in a shawl with the word alfaaz written on it in Urdu, adding: “There’s another surprise as well.” Walker also found time for a halwa puri breakfast.

Neither side has announced a song, a title or a release date.

“Alfaaz”, by Malik and the brothers Zain Ali and Zohaib Ali, was released on July 25 and has climbed into Spotify’s Top 50 Global chart.

TT Lahore Bureau

Reporting from Lahore and across Punjab by The Thursday Times' Lahore bureau.

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