The paradox in Pakistan’s burgeoning music scene is most certainly not a shortage of artists or lack of music. In terms of personal choices or talent or even languages, every genre makes its presence felt.

We have artists who are well-established, and their lesser-known counterparts, emerging talent who may or may not prefer to take the independent route, and some who are well on their way to becoming stars or in one or two cases, superstars.

If anything, there is so much music being made that it is becoming harder to keep track of it in its entirety. But one artist who is easy to keep track of is Hasan Raheem.

Riding on the waves that he first made in Coke Studio 14, Hasan Raheem has released an excellent new EP called Maybe, It’s Love.

The 25-year-old didn’t leave anything to chance. After a slew of successful songs that began with ‘Aisay Kaisay’ as well as an LP, he appeared on Coke Studio last year with the thumping ‘Peechay Hutt’. The song was a collaborative effort featuring Raheem, Justin Bibis, and Talal Qureshi, and emerged as a massive hit.

Given its enormous popularity as a pop-dance hit, laced with terrific beats, it was one of the two songs that was choreographed by QuickStyle in an original music video and fetched the singer-songwriter a couple of ad campaigns in its aftermath.

Less than a year later, Hasan Raheem has dropped a new EP called Maybe, It’s Love featuring five songs, one accompanying music video and multiple collaborations. Four out of five songs are produced by Umair with ‘Raftaar’ produced by Shahrukh. Song collaborators include Talha Yunus, Talwiinder, Talha Anjum and Shahrukh with ‘Aisa Hi Hun’ released as a solo song and as the center of the EP. Is it any different from his last major release, Nautanki? Well, that depends on what you are looking for. In terms of an EP, it is a bolder effort than its predecessor and by converting the release into an EP, Raheem has given fans a chance to listen but not get bored and flip the song to a different artist. ‘Aisa Hi Hun’ establishes the tone for the EP, which is a personal narrative where Hasan Raheem ponders about a variety of emotions including the self. It is taking the danceability of ‘Peechay Hutt’ and turning it upside down. Whether it feels like too much Hasan Raheem or too little, depends on how you interpret music. However, this EP is a show of artistic strength.

Maybe, It’s Love is stronger than Nautanki and given its personal narrative, it commands a listening session.

That Young Stunners (Talha Yunus and Talha Anjum) appear as solo artists is also telling. They are more than a duo. As single artists, they seem to have explosive verve and Anjum also emerges as the better ‘rapper’ because his delivery is stronger. Nonetheless, the combined result is some of the most exciting names in music’s many genres coming together for an EP that is cohesive and slightly flamboyant, which works in this case. You won’t find a ‘Peechay Hutt’ but that is what makes the case for this EP. It builds on past successes to reach another sound rather than repeating the same old thing. In this age of music, repeating beats or an overall sound is an unforgivable mistake because the listener might not come back to the artist. Fortunately, Hasan Raheem must be applauded for pulling off an entirely succinct EP. As he takes another step to stardom through honesty in lyrical content, with his laid back R&B vocals and the power of pure collaborations, the 25-year-old clearly has a lot more to offer as a musician. Maybe, It’s Love is substantial evidence.

– Artwork by Shayan Khan