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INTERVIEW: Maham Suhail presents Exile To Space



The fourth single to be released from their debut album titled 'Mitti' ('Mitti' is Urdu, for 'earth/soil'), 'Exile to Space' is a soundscape with a hybrid Ethnic-Chillout-Blues-Rock sound. 'Exile to Space' has a mystical and empowered vibe as the English and Urdu lyrics blend into each other. While the English lyric speaks of the relationship with her Beloved and the qualities of both merging into a unit; the Urdu lyrics (excerpts from his poem, titled 'Faqeer' ('Mystic')) declare an almost real sense of liberation discovered while in 'exile' ('jilawatni', in Urdu). This exile is a state of being, not a physical banishment, but an emotional/spiritual escape to a parallel universe where he found freedom and yearns for enlightenment.


What was the first thing that attracted you to the world of electronic music?


The first thing that attracted me to the world of electronic music was, the rave culture when I started going to such events. There was a series of rave parties organized by a couple of friends who had just started a niche events' company, and some of the DJ's at these events were also friends.

I was told by some friends to consider producing back then, and people really appreciated the way I moved to the beats and told me the way I enjoyed the music 'made them trip more'!!


Do you remember any album or concert that has changed everything?


It wasn't one album or one concert, but one event organized by 'Pop Kultur Berlin' which I was invited to as one of ten global artists, as part of a Goethe Talents Scholarship, did open me up to the international music business scene.

I collaborated with a few global artists at a local studio in Berlin, curated a collaborative performance with a Jazz pianist and a Taiwanese DJ, and attended workshops & networked.

This also led me to an opportunity to visit WOMEX 2017, the annual European World Music Expo, where I met industry professionals from around the world and got to hang out & exchange contacts with them.


Since you got into this professionally, what did you miss the most nationally, internationally and on the contrary, what helped you the most to grow, even to believe in yourself?


Since I've gotten into this professionally, I miss at the national level, having solid music business models here, conducive systems for welcoming celebrity artists who are on world tours, as well as formal education facilities for certain speciailized music disciplines, to begin with!

Internationally, while travelling and living in different places for my music, honestly, I didn't really miss much, and only actually got to learn more how to try to make things work for my own music career.


How is the music scene living in your city with this murky pandemic situation?


The music scene is actually quite active these days in Lahore, Pakistan! I was in Spain for most part of the global lockdown back in 2020, things were also slow in some parts of 2021.



What are your favorite places to hang out in the city?


Parks, museums, art galleries, art cafes, go-carting or artificial rock-climbing walls.

How was your last project born?


The very intial production stage of 'Exile to Space' was based on a whim, to make a one-day trip to Islamabad city (from Lahore) to record the 'Suroz' (Balochi instrument), as the Suroz maestro Sachu Khan, was in town only for 1-2 days. I had asked him to let me know when he was visiting Punjab province down from his hometown in Balochistan, which he did. Hence the entire composition & production for 'Exile to Space' started from the pure Balochi folk music recordings at the veteran producer Sarmad Ghafoor's studio.


Later, in Valencia (Spain), during my Masters (Music Production) program, I recorded everything else, arranged & composed the track, and Thomas Bingham & Carlos A. Sierra helped arrange the Piano section & the Bass respectively, which they played on the track.

The Balochi vocal samples at places, were actually leakages on the microphone used for Tambouro recording by the player (the


'Tambouro' is a stringed, percussive Balochi instrument). I decided to use these as sound design elements.


What do you want to convey in this work? What is the concept behind?


The sound of my latest is a blend of Chillout-Ethnic-Blues-Rock, more like post-genre World Music.

The concept behind this track is that of discovering freedom in escape from the confines of the limited self, and getting liberated into a parallel universe where there is connection with the inner self.

'Exile' here, is a positive connotation, as the chorus of the Urdu lyric also talks about finding her kingdom in a state of exile.

The English lyric compliments this by also talking about what is in Sufi mysticism, referred to as 'Ishq', the most eveolved stage of love where the lover, the devotee becomes one with the Beloved (the Divine).


And this stage can only be reached by liberting oneself from the confines of the always needy, the limited, material self which has not experienced love as a state of being.

The music video shows symbolic elements as totems of the raven, which later burns down to transform into a phoenix, just as the protagonist in the narrative goes through passages to transmute eventually into an evolved being who is awakening to her higher purpose.


As for your studio, what is your setup currently made of?


Mac Book/Desktop, M-Audio MPK 249


(MIDI Controller keyboard), Yamaha electronic keyboard, Focusrite 2-channel audio interface, Yamaha HS-10 studio monitors, Shure & Audio-Technica dynamic & condenser microphones, micrpphone stands, pop-filter, cables, and a few music instruments!


What's the one team you'll never get rid of, no matter what?


Family members & friends, who are there to advise and emotionally support me when I need it but least expect it.


What would you say is the definition of your sound?


Hybrid, post-genre music from around the world, & beyond!


What was the last record store you visited and what did you get out there?


Been a while (been mostly listening to music digitally lately!). But the last visit was to a store in Lisbon (Portugal) with a notable Rock & Funk collection to my eye, and I didn't get anything because I don't have an LP player for vinyls (there were all vinyl records there).



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