The youngest child of legendary Sufi singer Abida Parveen, Sarang Latif was born into a family with deep ties to the musical realm.
It was inevitable then that he’d be drawn into the world of music as well, a journey he started in 2013 as a producer. He has since worked with various artists and multinational companies. Now he is pouring his passion for the craft into a new project, Bazm e Rang, which premiered this Eid.
Conceived, directed and produced by Sarang himself, the venture takes the shape of a series of songs that feature his mother as the main artist. The set will find Abida Parveen performing her tracks both as a solo artist and in collaboration with other renowned singers.
“Ammi has done more than 138 albums, MashaAllah,” Sarang gushes, “and I had always wanted to experiment with her music. I had been planning Bazm e Rang for the last five to six years but just couldn’t put together all the pieces of the puzzle until now. I guess there’s a time for everything!”
The first chapter of Bazm e Rang comprises 10 songs, starting with the track ‘Parda Dari’ featuring Atif Aslam (above). Other names that will lend their vocals to upcoming releases include Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Waqar Ehsan, Jabir Abbas, Khurram Waqar, Qasim Azhar, and the band Khamaaj.
“Ammi was always strict and really busy, but it was always inspiring to see her work so hard,” says Sarang as he recalls his childhood. “Her dedication towards her work had a positive impact on me and I’ve long dreamt of working with passion like hers.”
“I wanted different renowned music artists to collaborate with Ammi, singing her very own compositions,” says Sarang. “Unfortunately, what most people still don’t know is that 99% of the kalaams that my mother has sung in her entire life were composed by her, and she has set a world record for having composed hundreds of kalaams.”
A quest to revisit those kalams and see them in a new light as well as the chance to create new songs led to the production of the web series. The words of celebrated ancient poets and Sufis will form the basis of the songs.
“Ammi has selected poetry by the likes of Hazrat Bedam Shah Warsi r.a, Hazrat Shah Niaz Barelvi r.a, Hazrat Baba Bulleh Shah R.A, Hazrat Baba Zaheen Shah Taji r.a, Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai r.a, Hazrat Amir Khusro r.a, Hazrat Maulana Rumi r.a, Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti r.a, Faiz Ahmad Faiz sahab, Gulzar sahab, Hazrat Ghalib, and Sabir Zafar sahab. Amanat Ali and myself have arranged the music for the whole project.”
