t isn’t every day that an artist like Turhan James actually works in a music video with a cultural occasion like an Eid mela as its backdrop. We’ve seen recreations and this idea in some formats before, but cannot think of a recent song of such nature. Lahooti Melo is a different idea altogether.

But with ‘Aao Na’, they did something challenging. Confirming it on Instagram, Turhan James explained that instead of shooting a music video, they went to an Eid mela where Ali Tariq was performing and introduced the song to the people at the space and asked them what they thought of the Ali Tariq x Turhan James track. They used those shots as the music video.

It is also, by design, a very precocious idea, and when you watch the music video and the single, it fits the space, which is as unexpected as the music video concept.

Pushing personal geography aside, Ali Tariq and Turhan James deliver a song that is embedded in romance and pop, layered over with an electronic layer. This is a song that knows where to draw the line sonically. It is, after all, a fine line.

Ali Tariq and Turhan James also make an interesting pair since both artists have developed a decent following in Pakistan in the last few years, and don’t exactly work within the same genres. This kind of a collaboration, a genre-bending one, to be honest, is something more artists should follow if they hope to rise to the surface.

James, (who has collaborated with other acts before) is adding to the burgeoning electronic music ecosystem where some do want to hear such songs.

It creates choice for consumers and a larger understanding of electronic music and its various hues.

Working with Ali Tariq was a good bet because in terms of voices that have materialized in recent years, Tariq has a vocal edge over others, appearing on the horizon in prominent fashion via Nescafe Basement 5 and going onto sing for high profile cinema soundtracks featuring the likes of Mahira Khan. Moving out of his comfort zone was, therefore, necessary for the artist.

Turhan James, in addition to playing shows abroad and in the country, when possible, is building his name in the local scene by working with artists such as Ali Tariq, Maanu, Blal Bloch, Haider Mustehsan, and even the most popular kid on the block, Hasan Raheem.

Collaboration can often be key to increasing your demographic and with ‘Aao Na’, both artists have dabbled into each other’s demographic without posturing and that’s certainly a commendable effort.