Atif Aslam – “I always wanted to perform ‘Mai Ne Mein’.”

One of the most interesting tunes to come out of Coke Studio this year was ‘Mai Ne Main’, which was sung magnificently by Atif Aslam. It was one of the most daring moves Atif has made in his career. After all, this song is iconic. And to be able to re-do a song that is such a huge part of our folk music hertitage was certainly not easy. But Atif proved his mettle and how…

“I always wanted to perform ‘Mai Ne’ with a dhol formation. I got a chance to do that at Coke Studio and I can’t thank the musicians enough,” said Atif while speaking to Instep.

Speaking about this particular tune, Rohail Hyatt, the producer of Coke Studio told Instep: “Coke Studio’s version of ‘Mai Ne Mein’ is a real dhammal malang version of a folk track. I love the rawness and it winds around quite naturally like a river. It has a few intense moments in it too with Atif wonderfully holding his notes very artfully. It’s not like a usual song at all – it’s just a long winding trip, which is what I love the most about it. Atif really shines through with his amazing focus, talent and expression and the house band seem to drift wonderfully well with the mood of the song. The chemistry of the song was certainly reflective of the mood and ambience of Coke Studio and I’m rather glad experiments like these have finally made it to main stream music.”

Telling us more about the history, Rohail further stated, “The original ‘Mai Ne Mein’ by Hamid Ali Bela is one of my favorite folk songs and although this version is nothing like the original, I believe that’s the real beauty of music – that one can totally re-work a track and make it their own. That’s music. I hope people are inspired to hear the original version after hearing this version. Not to compare – but to appreciate the past and the present.”

If you still haven’t seen or heard this song on television, radio or the Internet… check it out now!

Source: INSTEP today