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ARE YOU READY FOR THISSSSS 🎶 #DilKiKhair

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Pakistani singer Ali Sethi is known for complimenting his songs with artsy, eccentric music videos, and he has done it yet again. Set amidst a party in a Lahore house, the music video for Sethi’s new song Dil ki Khair is a groovy rendition of a melancholy ghazal written by Faiz Ahmad Faiz.

A collaboration with the Grammy award winner Noah Georgeson, Dil ki Khair is the “first-ever reggaeton ghazal”, Sethi said in an Instagram post.

The Reggaeton style of music is believed to have originated in Puerto Rico, and highlights Caribbean rhythms.

In another post that detailed the inspiration behind the song, Sethi said that work on the song started in November 2018 in Los Angeles. He also mentioned how a clip of Bollywood actors Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore’s famous song Roop Tera Mastana was a cue to understanding the “cabaret Bollywood feel” that he wanted.

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#DilKiKhair Behind the Scenes (Part One, Los Angeles, November 2018): it started with a vibe! Trumpets on a rainy night; sultry deferrals; the ache of longing or ‘intizaar’ that sets the tone for Faiz Sahib’s playful ghazal. I remember showing this clip of ‘Roop Tera Mastana’ to @noahgeorgeson as a reference for the funky/flirty feel (60s/70s “cabaret” Bollywood) that I wanted us to bring into the song. As you can see, we got to work with some incredible musicians (Todd on bass, Josh and @gregoryrogove on drums, @rooseyaghmai on violin, Jordan on horns and Noah Khansahib on guitar) to build the track. By the end of our third day @seahorsesound in LA, I was bopping my head to the first (groovy) draft of #DilKiKhair — very much feeling the retro-desi vibe but also this unexpected (and totally welcome) Latin-music dimension (not surprising, since a lot of desi music from the 70s was actually a glorious dialogue with the instrument known as Spanish guitar!) 🖤🎶🤞🏾#culture #music #history #composition #arrangement #dilkikhair

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Dressed in a quirky, buttoned-up shirt, Sethi stands out from a swank crowd in the video that also features actor Mira Sethi – his sister – actor Emmad Irfani, model Rehmat Ajmal, and a host of other celebrities.

Watch the full video of the song here.