Ha Gulo

In a snap of a moment, Altaf Mir conveys his deeply emotional aura and transports you to his home ground: the scenic valley of Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir.

In a career spanning four-decades, Mir has remained truly committed to the art of exploring the softness of his voice. Supported by the melodic harmonium and high notes of the chorus, Mir creates the very force that makes ‘Qasamir’s’ performance of folk-Kashmiri-tales so very poignant.

The sound of ‘Qasamir’ is both grand and humbling. This crew of four takes immaculate care in articulating their story. The unconventional tempos of the ‘Sarangi’ played by Ghulam Mohammad Daar; the straight-ahead tones of the traditional ‘Tumbaknaer’ by Saifuddin Shah, alongside the stripped-down beats of the ‘Garha’ by Manzoor Ahmed Khan; it all makes for an overwhelming experience. The raw texture of the Kashmiri language envelopes you.

Associated with Radio Pakistan for over two decades, and having performed across Pakistan – Mir spends his days as a master craftsman of traditional Kashmiri handicrafts.

Ghulam Mohammad Daar, spent forty years of his life contributing his masterful skills to Radio Pakistan in Islamabad.

On its face, the life stories of Manzoor Ahmed Khan as a rickshaw driver, and Saeed Saifuddin Shah as a part-time cook and laborer are fairly straightforward.

For all of them, however, true fulfilment lies when they come together and mesmerize their audience.

In their very first commercial appearance on Coke Studio Explorer, ‘Qasamir’ will grip the audience by their hearts, and introduce them to a previously unchartered realm of music.